Ring of Honor's use of LFI (La Facción Ingobernables) as real "bad guys," legit pisses me off, as a fan. It's been so long since I felt this way while watching wrestling, it feels kind of weird. Some would call me a "mark" for feeling this way, but they don't get it, at all. This is how wrestling is SUPPOSED to work. The heels aren't supposed to be cool, and likeable. They are supposed to inspire disgust, and hatred toward them, without having "go away" heat. Over the years, since the near destruction of “kayfabe,” nearly all wrestling organizations across the world have struggled greatly to introduce “bad guys,” or “heels,” in their companies. For the most part, heels have been smarmy, cocky, arrogant, characters that typically attract male fans to their side. Think of “The Bullet Club” for example. Have they ever really been heels? Fans have flocked to them, and bought their t-shirts until they were out of stock. Few actually booed them, and even those who did, or do, only do so because they are popular, not because they are legitimately hated. I’m not picking on the Bullet Club though, they are just an easy example. Recently, La Facción Ingobernables won the Ring of Honor World tag titles by cheating behind the referees back, using a closed fist for the second time (something that in the Pure division is an instant disqualification) defeating beloved Pure wrestlers, the former champs, Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham, in a match of their own, a Pure Rules match up, only the second ever Pure tag team match. If that wasn’t enough, on that same program, Ring of Honor World Champion faced the much heralded, and respected, Shane Taylor, for the title. Taylor, a Ring of Honor “lifer” at this point, having worked his way up to this match, voted into it by the fans, on Ring of Honor’s official Facebook group, seemed to be a favorite going in. His longtime friend, but La Facción Ingobernables member, Kenny King, was conflicted for several weeks leading up to the match. Numerous times we saw King arguing with his faction members about fighting Taylor honestly, and honorably. It seemed King had heat with his friends for this, as they don’t care about anything but humiliating anyone that would dare cross them. After nearly 20 minutes into the brutal World title bout, Rush slammed into the referee, and got a steel chair out from under the ring, ready to wrap it around Taylor’s head. Instead, King rushed to his friend’s defense, only to then turn, and nail Taylor with the chair himself, giving Rush the win, retaining his title. While I am sure there are plenty to La Facción Ingobernables fans, I assume most are Lucha fans, supporting anyone of that style, and most others are just fans of the “bad guys” because that’s the cool thing to do. The presentation, and use of La Facción Ingobernables has been done better than any heel faction that I can recall in a long, long, time. They have legitimate “heat,” and in today’s wrestling world, that is so difficult to garner. This is simply yet another thing Ring of Honor is doing perfectly, and why they are clearly the world leader in Wrestling Done Right!
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