Forget Seth Rollins' cowardly connivances or Bray Wyatt's boogeyman shtick: You want to see some real heel heat? Tune in to Raw whenever Kevin Owens' music hits and he moseys down the ramp to cut a promo or powerbomb your hero off the ring apron. Since his high-profile debut in NXT late last year, KO has become a phenomenon, jumping to the big leagues and turning the clock back to a pre-Attitude Era by committing himself to being a great, straight bad guy – with no chaser or chance of confusing him for an anti-hero.

Let's hope it sticks, and that neither the crowd nor controlling interests in WWE coerce a turn toward audience favor, because what pro wrestling needs right now are clear battle lines. And make no mistake: Noted family man and storied indie underdog Owens (formerly Kevin Steen, his given name) is the enemy. Moreover, his breakthrough in the world's biggest sports-entertainment promotion has helped wake our senses to who the good guys really are.

But that's all storytelling. What can't be scripted is the way an individual's work puts them over. And while Owens had his share of doubters – largely rooted in kneejerk backlash and barbs about his size – heading into his feud with face of the franchise John Cena, his fine-tuned repertoire of modified power moves (he might just make humdrum fallaways and flapjacks obsolete) and ability to shift weight while spinning atop and leaping off turnbuckles has made him more must-watch than Neville. He's like Yasiel Puig circa 2013, commanding us with his performance without asking that we condone how he conducts himself between the base paths (or, in this case, ring ropes). Point being, it's OK to admire and admonish our best athletes. The only superstars we adore more than role models are the ones we love to hate, which is far more timeless than the tendency toward hating to love, which is all that so much babyface confusion amounts to.

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