Recently I heard Ryback on his podcast stating that Vince would have Michael Hayes and Arn Anderson come right in and tell them to cut a promo and Hayes and Arn could do it on command and cut a better promo than anybody on the roster. It really doesn’t surprise me. Hayes, IMO, is the most underrated mic worker of all time and Arn is a HoF’er on the mic in his own right.
But, what I had to laugh about is the notion that Vince was more or less putting down the current wrestlers for not being able to cut a promo and then have Arn and Hayes ‘show ‘em how it’s done.’ The WWE simply doesn’t have many promos these days. Instead, they rely on vignettes. And when you don’t give wrestlers the time to cut a promo they certainly are not going to get good at it.
Vignettes are used way too much in wrestling. There are 3 major issues with using vignettes:
1. The logic of a backstage camera filming wrestlers talking rarely makes sense.
2. Wrestlers, by and large, are not good at vignettes because it requires acting skills.
3. Vignettes, even when executed well, rarely sell the audience on what the promotion is delivering.
#3 is about as important as anything and is something completely lost from wrestling today, even when they do cut promos.
The wrestlers have to SELL to the fans what they and the promotion have to offer.
Paul Heyman recounted a story when he first came to WCW that he went on TV and was super-duper charged to stand out. Afterwards, the booker Dusty Rhodes told him (paraphrasing) ‘That’s terrific energy, kid. But, where’s the MONEY?’
It’s not surprising to me that Dusty said that because Dusty was the best I ever saw at cutting a promo and making sure to sell to the fans as to why they should pay the money to come see him take on his opponent. And I wasn’t even a big Dusty fan, but from the perspective of being able to actually sell to the fans to come see him in a promo, nobody was better than Dusty.
This is really the main fundamental of promos. It’s a sales pitch to the fans. There are numerous ways to cut face promos and numerous ways to cut heel promos. But the tried and true fundamental is that the babyface sells to the fans that if they pay money to see him wrestle, he will right the wrongs that the heel did to him. And the face will tell you where and when that will happen.
As I said before, there’s numerous ways to cut heel promos. But, the heel still needs to sell his rivalry and upcoming match as well. And the most basic form of that is the heel is authentic in his belief that he will defeat the babyface and revel in the fans’ anger over his victory.
This is why the current system of using TV writers works so poorly. Yes, wrestlers having to portray a character and stick to strict script is a recipe for bad promos. But, it’s not always that bad. However, TV writers have failed to understand how to get a promo that sells the product to the audience.
I see a lot of the modern fans don’t quite realize this as well. Today, when I read about somebody being ‘great on the mic’ I tend to see it as a person that appears comfortable on the mic and doesn’t stumble over their words. But that doesn’t equate to being great or even very good on the mic.
I think Bray Wyatt is a great example of this. Yes, he is comfortable on the mic and has some neat lines to say. But the reality is that it all forms into mostly gibberish and fails to sell him and his rivalry and upcoming match against his opponent. Furthermore, he uses a catchphrase (Follow the Buzzards) which is a babyface type of move and again…is mostly nonsensical and doesn’t sell the viewer on who he is fighting against.
Another final issue with today’s wrestling when it comes to promos is the announcer (or reporter) that is holding the mic.
I think the announcer holding the mic plays an important role when a wrestler is cutting a promo. They need to react properly to the wrestler’s statements so the audience can get the entire effect of what is being said. Where I give Vince credit is that he will usually get professional looking talent to hold the mic. This is better than having somebody with a gimmick and a color outfit holding the mic. Those types usually distract from what the wrestler is saying.
The problem is that people like Renee Young, Byron Saxton, etc. have zero reaction or have the wrong reaction to what is being said. This is why guys like Gene Okerlund, Tony Schiavone, Lance Russell, Joey Styles, Jim Ross, etc. were so valuable. They didn’t look like models, but they got more out of helping with the promo and thus selling the product to the audience.
Here’s one of my favorite promos of all time with Jos Leduc on Jerry Lawler. Leduc was a monster heel and cuts a promo where he’s angry (and crazy) like a monster heel should be. And that he’s fed up with Jerry Lawler and is obsessed with hurting Lawler. Lance Russell does a great job of showing that he’s uncomfortable and scared for Lawler which helps the promo because now the audience is more concerned for Jerry.
And here’s one of my favorite babyface promos by Buddy Landell. Landell is turning from heel to face and is presenting himself as an underdog that has been knocked down by his own demons, but is rising up again. And what’s great is how he sells to the audience as to why you want to come see his match along with making sure that they know where and when the match will be.
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