10 Promos That Totally Changed Your Opinion Of A Wrestler
Killing auras with the crush of an apple.
The process of getting over as a good promo guy is usually gradual; for a handy visual aid, think of Vince McMahon internally molesting himself, surveying Stacy Keibler's legs in that meme-chair.
A performer like Will Ospreay isn't a giant of the field, and hasn't cut one landmark, flashpoint post-match promo. He has matured over time to fashion himself as a super hard-working babyface who promises to be the best performer he can be, and delivers on that promise, as he ascends up the ranks. AJ Styles, never a natural, hovers between serviceable and genuinely funny, a skill honed through his time constantly hammering out written material on TNA's talk-heavy soap opera.
Those who aren't naturals get there through sheer graft and devotion; those who get it were born with it. Steve Austin didn't become an awesome promo when he first riffed on a biblical verse; he did so with such belief and fury because too few thought him capable, even when he was blowing people's t*ts off in WCW when bantering off Arn Anderson.
It takes some doing to ruin your career with one promo, but by golly, some can teleport into oblivion.
Deh!
10. Bret Hart Reverses A Career Narrative
Before the promo:
An in-ring genius who effectively told a generation of young pro wrestling fans how to read the art beyond the fad with his classic storytelling masterpieces, Hart was never rated as an excellent mic man, and he wasn't. When composed, he expressed his character brilliantly, but he undermined it at times with many a flub. His quirks didn't help either; his fans love him for it, but his odd tendency to insert or remove a determiner furthered his status as a man that drew ridicule from peers that thought him self-important.
After the promo:
Hart played the role of Ace with a true authenticity, but his embittered heel run truly elevated him to the realm of elite in one glorious nightmare of a year in 1997. Fuelled by reality, Hart on the WrestleMania 13 go-home RAW cut a searing, passionate, apoplectic promo at the expense of Vince McMahon, exposing every valve of his darkening heart. "Frustrated isn't the goddamn word for it! This is bullsh*t!" he roared, after shoving McMahon to the canvas, the half-erect cage artfully symbolising his unraveled mental state.
Hart in minutes evolved into a heel, master mic man, and an architect of a future he never did reap, adding as much power in retrospect as the moment.