10 Greatest Promos In Modern Wrestling History
7. Sami Zayn Welcomes You To His House
Yet another aspect of the business that has tumbled into near-total excess, swearing can still be effective or at least funny.
As with so much else - blood, the Canadian destroyer, a long match booked to create an ultra-competitive feel - it works best when underpinned by a sense of discipline.
The idea behind a promo is in the name. It exists to promote a match and sell the public on its quality and or the outcome they want to see. It needn't go long - as Triple H proved in the early 2000s, only the most self-conscious wrestlers drone on forever in the doomed pursuit of saying something interesting - and, in Montreal on the go-home SmackDown ahead of Elimination Chamber, Sami Zayn said very little.
He didn't need to. All he had to do was bask in that electrifying crowd reaction. It deserved to be put over. He didn't need to talk over it because people only talk to get that reaction in the first place. All he had to do was use that awesome crowd reaction to fuel his sense of belief. Staring out, looking not merely confident but intimidating, in French, he said "Roman Reigns, you're in my f*cking house."
This was a masterclass of body language. The man looked determined to do the impossible, to end the most (kayfabe) impressive title reign of the modern era, and sold the public on precisely that.
Even if you don't speak French, you could infer that he said something very powerful. You never hear swearing in WWE - and that is why it was so stunningly effective.