Logan Paul played the heel role to a T at WWE Smackdown in Vancouver on Friday night.
The social media influencer turned celebrity boxer turned professional wrestler is the current holder of the WWE United States Championship belt after defeating Rey Mysterio in October. The champion was in Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Friday, making an entrance ahead of the match between Kevin Owens and Santos Escobar. The winner of the match would earn the right to take on Paul at WWE's Royal Rumble set to take place at the end of January.
Owens might be known to Canucks fans as one of former head coach Bruce Boudreau's five favourite professional wrestlers of all time. Owens even surprised Boudreau at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, which is near where Owens grew up as a diehard fan of the Montreal Canadiens.
So, when Owens defeated Escobar to earn his shot at the U.S. title, Paul couldn't help but cut a promo that played up Owen's Canadianness and also took a shot at the Vancouver Canucks, whose home arena he was in.
"You all thought a Canadian — a Canadian? — could have the United States championship?" said Paul to boos from the crowd. "Kevin, brother, you beating me for the U.S. title is like the Canucks winning a Stanley Cup: it's never gonna happen!"
In wrestling terms, Logan Paul is a heel — the villain. He's the antagonist and the bad guy, who is meant to be hated. For example, he beat Mysterio for the championship in the first place by cheating and using brass knuckles.
In terms of being a heel, Paul played his role to perfection, earning the ire of the Rogers Arena crowd.
The other purpose of the heel is to put over the face. To put someone over in wrestling is to make someone look good or get the fans on their side. The face is the hero — the good guy. Kevin Owens is a face, clearly being set up to earn the rooting interest of the crowd to take down the heel.
By reminding the Canadian crowd that Owens is a Canadian, then dissing the Canucks on top of it, Paul couldn't have done more to get the crowd on Owens' side.
The moment was capped off by Owens knocking Paul to the ground with the cast on his broken right arm — yes, he was wrestling with a cast on — to enormous cheers from the crowd.
And, of course, there was a "Bruce, there it is!" sign in the crowd as a nod to the former Canucks coach and Owens' biggest fan.
