10 Legendary Wrestlers Who Couldn't Cut A Promo
2. Rob Van Dam
One of the few ex-WCW/ECW stars to truly get over with WWE audiences during and following the Invasion angle was Rob Van Dam, who built a rapport with the crowd very, very quickly despite barely opening his mouth.
It was clear WWE had something marketable on their hands in RVD by the time the Invasion pay-per-view hit. His Hardcore Championship clash with fellow non-talker Jeff Hardy was a major highlight on a hit-and-miss show. Van Dam was given a platform to showcase the full breadth of his skillset, and he prospered, bringing all the hyper-athleticism and flashiness that helped him take flight in ECW, enjoying the bulk of the crowd's support despite playing the villain. Great stuff - and a near-perfect microcosm of why Rob Van Dam, the wrestler, worked.
While there has always been a certain charm to Van Dam's spaced-out promos (and his current hard-partying character is amusing), he remains a below-average talker, particularly when you consider his other abilities. See Matt Riddle for a more compelling example of how to pull stoner vibes off on the mic.