10 Best Wrestling Talkers Of 2018

4. Juice Robinson

Chris Jericho Intercontinental
New Japan World

A revelation of a promo man, Juice Robinson should inspire so many misused (or not used at all) WWE performers.

Because, by leaving NXT of his own volition to advance his career, he did precisely that. Reinventing himself from what was so obviously a gimmick to a fire-in-his-belly throwback to the working man babyface of yore, Juice Robinson has catapulted to show-stealing relevance in NJPW's unreal midcard as a result of his in-ring perseverance and witty, hugely passionate promo work.

Just prior to his near-seminal exchanges with Jay White, in which he promised hellish vengeance with a broken freakin' hand, Juice first laid claim to his United States Title after defeating him in a tag team match at Dominion. Sweating buckets and selling his achievement with a panting exhaustion, he delivered a minor masterclass of a character showreel. Grabbing David Finlay on the ass to let us know he's one of the boys having the time of his life in the babyface locker room, Robinson put over both his opponent and his credentials by referring to himself and White as "bad motherf*ckers". Mixing up "short" with "shirt", he deftly and comedically worked the slight botch into the promo - "Long story short, I'm gonna shower and put a shirt on" - which he signed off with a boy-popper of a Rick James impression.

Once tasked with an impossible gimmick to get over, Juice is now impossible to dislike.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!