The "Progressive Liberal" Is Maybe The Perfect Wrestling Heel 

Kentucky-based Appalachian Mountain Wrestling has graced the world with the presence of “Progressive Liberal” Dan Richards. He definitely isn’t a face.

Here are some of Richards’s promos—one of them has him in a shirt covered in a bunch of Hillary Clinton faces—as well as a tag-team match in which Richards has “PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL” plastered across the back of his briefs:

During a ring appearance earlier this year, Richards cut an in-ring promo in which he praised Hillary, and was interrupted by attendees chanting “Feel the Bern!” At about the 2:08 mark, some little kid yelled, “You better shut up,” always a mark of decent heat.

“You know what, I think Bernie Sanders would make a great Secretary of State,” Richards said before being jeered. Later on, he tried to persuade the crowd. “I want to exchange your bullets for bullet points. Bullet points of knowledge.” A few minutes later, Timmy Lou Retton came out to wrestle. (Richards lost. You know who would have won, though?)

The Progressive Liberal is a solid character. He strikes the right level of condescension and punchable smugness. His line delivery’s a little suspect and his actual wrestling leaves something to be desired, but those can be remedied. At its root, this is a good gimmick. If you’re in Kentucky and free on Friday, watch Richards against some guy in a sleeveless shirt in a “Crybaby Match,” where the loser “will have to wear a diaper and suck on a bottle.”

Update:  We spoke to The “Progressive Liberal.”

H/t to @MurderBryan