10 Powerful Wrestling Promos That Never Uttered A Word

9. Roman Reigns

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WWE

The WWE fans once despised Roman Reigns.

It wasn't some panto call-and-response bit. They didn't love to hate him. They ardently loathed him. He symbolised the machine that would not listen to them. Reigns was entitled.

None of his storyline achievements resonated with them, quite the opposite: it was felt that Reigns was somehow desecrating the notion of achievement in itself in a sort of deranged game. Vince McMahon, adamant that he was the man, seemed to operate out of wilful stubbornness to make his paying fans fall in life. We had to acknowledge him. Everybody was Jey Uso between 2014 and 2018.

Four years of that sh*t.

It didn't matter how talented he was, even to his supporters; and to his detractors, he simply did not do enough moves for their liking, which is why Teddy Hart is the biggest megastar of the 21st century.

And then he defeated the Undertaker at WrestleMania to further scramble our brains. Shouldn't we have resented him for that? Didn't people resent him already? How was this going to help?

In truth, on the post-'Mania RAW, he didn't need to do a damn thing but stand there. A smug smirk gradually revealed itself. He surveyed the crowd with a bemused expression, as if they expected a different result. After minutes of incandescent heat he somehow conspired to flare up, he did actually utter a word by declaring "This is my yard now".

It didn't feel like an achievement, but rather something that just had to be accepted more than acknowledged.

The official WWE YouTube clip has been upvoted 37K times and downvoted 42K.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!