10 Veterans Who Would Be Ideal Role Models For Younger Wrestlers
2. The Rock (Comedy, Promos & Also Charisma)
If there was one lesson to be taken from WWE in 2014 and much of 2015 so far, it’s this: WWE has failed at comedy, despite supposedly having comedy writers working in their head office in Stanford.
Maybe it’s a lack of understanding on how wrestling is a unique form of entertainment, or maybe it’s because Vince McMahon has a bizarre sense of humor. Either way, WWE hasn’t been genuinely funny since The Rock was a regular on the show.
There’s a very good reason for that: The Rock is the best comedy man and talker in WWE history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekyUt8iZhkk
Some might think that’s an over-exaggeration. But think about it: From 1997 to 2001, The Rock came up with more memorable catchphrases than anyone else in WWE history, and is to this day remembered more for his charisma and hysterical promos.
One of the reasons that Rocky has been so good at speaking is that he didn’t have the limitations put on him by Vince that most wrestlers do now. There is so much more of the show that is scripted now that most of the WWE Superstars’ promos come off as disingenuous or, well, fake.
Furthermore, Rocky was bad at promos at first, and it was only after he took the initiative of taking extra communications classes that his promos got better. But the truth is, Rocky became the funniest man in WWE history because he said things that came in his own mind, instead of having to repeat word-for-word what was fed to him by the WWE’s higher-ups.
If more Superstars were to speak freely, they’d be able to come up with the right kind of comedy, instead of Vince’s outdated concepts of what’s funny. While no one can copy the Rock, even if someone were to follow the same philosophy that he did and use context-specific humor and ad-libs, the results could be much better than what’s supposed to be funny these days.