10 Wrestling Clichés You Can't Ignore

2. "GIMME A F*CKIN' MIC..."

Corey Graves Michael Cole
AEW

The immortal words of Scott Steiner as he was being given a f*cking mic at the 2002 Survivor Series, and with good reason - the microphone is a weapon both loaded and booby-trapped depending on the person holding it.

It's also - in normal times - a marker that a person's words matter. A debate with friends at the pub isn't dictated by who happens to be mic'ed up all the time, otherwise the old fella that does the quizzes would be the only one making points.

It's something that's somehow endured through the pandemic era, despite the fact that commentators could be heard calling matches in replays during Performance Center tapings. Chris Jericho's aforementioned exchanges with Matt Hardy decided to take a different tact, and oddly more jarring for it.

'LeChampion' sported a headset microphone at one point, and both went without anything for another. The visual difference was jarring, so accustomed as we all are to the now-clichéd sight of a fire-spitting performer requiring the stick to shout. It was, in their defence, an attempt to bring some humanity to the deathly dull new normal we'd all eventually become accustomed to.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett