Everyone from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to Vince Russo has had a pop at WWE's heavily-scripted feel during promos. Nowadays, wrestlers are expected to memorise a ton of lines before reading them out - pretty much word-for-word - on television, which contracts mightily with how guys like Austin were expected to do things during the 'Attitude Era', or even before then. In Austin's heyday, bullet points were explained to him, or even handed to him on a sheet of paper. The wrestler was then expected to do the rest, filling in the blanks in his own unique style, but that's not the way things are done in WWE now - it's not uncommon for performers to be asked to copy hundreds of words, spewing them out when push comes to the shove and the cameras start rolling. Obviously, this comes across to those who fell away from the industry years ago, because whereas promos used to be a highlight of the show, they're now a dreary excuse for a toilet break, such is the scripted feel that bogs them down. To lapsed fans tuning in now, it must be akin to watching wrestlers be railroaded into becoming professional actors and actresses, something they most definitely are not.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
