10. Macho Man Randy Savage
Few men in the wrestling business have been more iconic, entertaining and colourful than the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
His distinctive voice made him an obvious choice as the star of the legendary “Slim Jim” commercials that made Savage’s name synonymous with pop culture.
His heel promos as the Intercontinental Champion first brought Savage to the light as a major singles star.
A large part of the success of the Hogan-Savage feud was down to the intensity that the “Macho Man” showed on the microphone.
It was his natural charisma and clear mic skills that led to him becoming a valued member of the announce team in the twilight of his WWF career.
Few men in the wrestling business have been more iconic, entertaining and colourful than the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
His distinctive voice made him an obvious choice as the star of the legendary “Slim Jim” commercials that made Savage’s name synonymous with pop culture.
His heel promos as the Intercontinental Champion first brought Savage to the light as a major singles star.
A large part of the success of the Hogan-Savage feud was down to the intensity that the “Macho Man” showed on the microphone.
It was his natural charisma and clear mic skills that led to him becoming a valued member of the announce team in the twilight of his WWF career.
9. Mick Foley
Foley brought intelligence and feeling to his promos, and they never failed to engage a crowd.
Foley provided us with so many classic moments during the days of the Rock N Sock Connection but was also skilled at more serious promos.
His rivalries with Ric Flair in the WWE and TNA have produced the most intense and emotional promos that I have ever witnessed, and it is all the more real considering the legitimate personal issues that Flair and Foley have had in the past.
His “Cane Dewey” promo in ECW will never be forgotten by the fans that witnessed it, and those who have read Foley’s books will know that he always dug deep to find a real personal issue that would make his promos that much more memorable.
Foley’s key skill on the mic was his ability to make the audience empathise with whatever problem he faced.
8. Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes was one of the most popular wrestlers of his era, and his classic feuds with Ric Flair characterized what the NWA was all about.
He represented the common people, and although he did not resemble an elite athlete in any shape or form, but he was able to get over with the sheer emotion of his promos.
His “hard times” promo after coming back from injury will go down as one of the most heartfelt speeches in wrestling history.
The way he reached out and appealed to the people and made it clear that he was going to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the people was inspirational.
It was very obvious why the “American Dream” received such adulation from the adoring fans.
7. Chris Jericho
One of the best promo men of the modern era, Jericho was able to hold his own in verbal showdowns with Austin and the Rock and delivered a highly memorable promo on his WWF debut by interrupting the Rock.
Jericho was also the highlight of the WCW Cruiserweight Division providing comedy in abundance and Y2J never had problems making people laugh.
But it was the more psychotic and sadistic incarnation of his character that brought out the best in Jericho.
Jericho was the top heel in the WWE from 2008-2010 and provided some extremely entertaining feuds with Shawn Michaels in particular.
The arrogance and the narcissism that he was trying to portray was extremely convincing.
6. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the face of the Attitude Era and achieved higher pay-per-view buy rates and television ratings than any other champion in WWE history.
But there were two separate promos that transformed the career of Steve Austin from Ted DiBiase’s lackey to the most popular wrestler of all time.
Days after being ignominiously fired from WCW by Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman gave Austin a microphone in ECW and told him to speak his mind.
What followed was the promo that changed Austin’s career and put him on the pro wrestling map. Austin’s time in ECW was ultimately short-lived, but it was this single promo that first attracted Vince McMahon to the intense Texan.
The second and perhaps more famous of the two promos was where Austin coined one of the most successful catchphrases in wrestling history in terms of merchandise sales.
Austin 3:16 was a catalyst in elevating him to main event status and eventually superstardom.
He would excel on the mic for the rest of his career.
5. Jake The Snake Roberts
Every diehard wrestling fan loves and remembers the intense believability of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s promos, particularly “Austin 3:16.”
But in much the same way that Randy “Macho Man” Savage was The Rock before The Rock, Jake Roberts was an earlier incarnation of Stone Cold.
Roberts also portrayed a rebel that was anti-establishment, and he pioneered the concept of the anti-hero in professional wrestling before Austin broke into the business.
His many promos and interviews always appeared real and natural, which was essential in a world where the business was viewed as reality.
He had a unique way of expressing himself, and he could get himself over as a “bona fide sicko,” in the words of Gene Okerlund, with surprising and disturbing ease.
Every feud that he was involved in seemed important and was impossible to look away from.
Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage and Rick Rude were all involved in memorable feuds with the Snake that produced countless unforgettable moments
4. Paul Heyman
Paul E. Dangerously managed the Midnight Express, Stunning Steve Austin, Adrian Adonis and Don Muraco back in the day, but he is perhaps better remembered for his creation of the ECW brand.
In recent times, Heyman demonstrated his skills as a manager with the nurturing of Brock Lesnar, the “Next Big Thing.”
Heyman’s reputation preceded him, and the heat that he received was transferred to Lesnar, who was quickly established as a monster heel in the WWE and a legitimate main event player.
Heyman’s skills as a manager came about almost directly due to his incredible gift of the gab.
While the founder of ECW will never be remembered as a competent businessman, he was always a tremendously entertaining on-screen character.
3. Rowdy Roddy Piper
Hulk Hogan’s greatest ever rival, the man that was given his very own talk show, arguably one of the greatest heels of all time!
Roddy Piper was given a chance to shine in Piper’s Pit, the interview segment where he would invite a whole host of guests and question them.
Piper’s Pit inspired so many talk shows in WWE such as the Heartbreak Hotel, the Barbershop and the Highlight Reel, but it was the original that yielded so many classic moments.
He delivered so many classic promos during his feud with Hogan in the build-up to the inaugural WrestleMania, but it was a WCW promo that will go down as one of Piper’s greatest.
A contender for the best promo ever, Piper would debut in WCW by interrupting Hollywood Hulk Hogan after a pay-per-view victory with the NWO.
Piper said that the only reason the fans loved the Hulkster so much was because they hated him so much!
Delivered in his familiar rasping tones, it epitomised the reasons that the Hot Rod will go down as one of the all-time greats!
2. The Rock
The most electrifying man in sports entertainment…the People’s Champion…the Great One!
Probably the most charismatic wrestler in the history of the business, the Rock has been able to fashion himself a hugely successful Hollywood career off the back of his time in the ring.
The reason being that whenever the Rock got hold of a microphone, everyone knew something special was about to happen.
There has never been a more natural promo man than the Rock, and he would have surpassed Ric Flair if he had continued his career as a wrestler.
But the fact remains that the Rock achieved more in four full-time years with the WWE than most wrestlers achieve in their whole careers.
Rock was talented in the ring, but it was his natural charisma and ability to run his mouth in whichever scenario he was presented with that made him stand out.
Who can forget the great back and forths with Austin or the comedy segments with Mankind?
Whether as a heel or a face, the Rock always brought it on the mic!
1. Ric Flair
Ric Flair revolutionized the wrestling business in so many ways. He formed the first-ever wrestling stable in the legendary Four Horsemen, and he was the first wrestler to strut his stuff so effectively on the microphone.
In the NWA, Flair would give so many iconic interviews, coining so many timeless catchphrases and paving the way for the future stars such as The Rock to follow in his footsteps.
This was Flair in his prime feuding against such legends as Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Sting. These rivalries were well-constructed, and Flair’s interviews added so much.
Well-known Flair trademarks such as “To be the man, you gotta beat the man” and “Shut up, fat boy!” came about at this time, and this was also when the Nature Boy cemented his legacy with numerous World Title reigns.
Flair would go on to deliver various memorable promos in WCW, WWE and even TNA. My personal favorites from each company would be the worked shoot promo on Eric Bischoff, the tirade at Carlito and the spat with Jay Lethal on iMPACT.
In the words of Triple H at the 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony, “before there was a “trailblazing, eyebrow-raising People’s Champion, there was a “wheeler-dealing, kiss-stealing, jet-flying, limousine-riding son of a gun!”
The post The 10 Greatest Wrestlers On The Mic Of All Time appeared first on Caveman Circus.
