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Promos are paramount to a wrestler’s career in the WWE. The words they speak and the manner in which they speak play a huge part in getting them over with the crowd and with the higher ups backstage.
So, it’s a huge setback when despite being good at wrestling, the promos are nowhere near being remarkable. Some performers do get over despite the weakness. They either have managers or they are just too plain good in the ring or have a great background real story.
Anyway, since the mic work is one of the most important aspects of sports entertainment, here are ten current superstars who are weak on the mic:
Note: This slideshow reflects the opinions of the author and not of the website.
10.Brock Lesnar
No character has been built up and played to perfection like the Beast Incarnate. He’s a Pop Culture phenomenon for the WWE. Business, most definitely picks up when he makes his way down the ramp. But Lesnar’s one Achilles’ heel in his overall character is his mic work. That one weakness is camouflaged masterfully by the presence of one of the greatest managers of all time- Paul Heyman.
When Lesnar came back to a mammoth reaction in Miami on the Raw after Wrestlemania in 2012, his appearances to the build up to Extreme Rules saw that weakness get exposed. he was good but not breathtaking. He fell victim to the one criticism reserved for promos in the main event- ‘too dragged on’.
You realized how much he needs Paul Heyman. And then like clockwork, he arrived, one of the greatest alliances was re-formed and the rest is history.
9.Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan, by all means, will go down in WWE’s history as one of the best in-ring workers of this era. He’s one of those rare superstars who succeeded despite being limited when it comes to exuding charisma on the microphone. He’s exhilarating to watch when wrestling and his background story is something that makes you support him. Fans and legends alike respect his grappling skills.
The past year has been topsy-turvy for the 33-year-old. His solo promos had substance, but there was still something missing in his delivery. It was only when he went up against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, that things got interesting.
He’s the classic case of being a great wrestler but average on the mic but one of those rare case where despite the limitation he’s in the ‘greatest of all time’ books.
8.Finn Balor
Ever since he signed with WWE, his stint with NXT has been nothing short of spectacular.In just six months, he became a marquee guy for the developmental brand. His spectacular entrance and wrestling skills make him one of the most exciting superstars in the current roster.
But Finn Balor has one glaring missing part when it comes to the puzzle that is the marquee guy on the main roster- his mic skills.
His accent is cute and all but he’s not really someone you’re mesmerized by when he starts to talk. Maybe the writing material needs to improve. So, instead of thinking of a main roster promotion, the higher ups should actually have him in ‘developmental’ to ‘develop’ his mic skills.
7.Rusev
Rusev and Lana could have gone down in history as one of the greatest wrestler- manager alliance. Part of why the storyline of the impending Rusev- Lana break up is dismal is because that potential was never achieved by Creative. Rusev and Lana were those rare foreign heels who got over despite the hackneyed gimmick.
With Lana gone, will Rusev get the Alberto Del Rio treatment from the crowd? Will he be given the ‘What’ treatment as well? Of course.
Rusev has some tremendous in-ring psychology and he’s not terrible on the mic, but Lana was definitely better and with her gone, there will be a huge void to be filled.
6.Jack Swagger
Arguably, a gifted wrestler, the higher ups did believe in his potential and gave him a run with the World heavyweight title early into his career, but realized what the audience realized at the same- he wasn’t compelling enough on the mic.
He was the unoriginal arrogant heel. He was just annoying. What WWE did work well on was getting Zeb Colter as his manager. The Real American Gimmick, again like Rusev’s Russian Hero gimmick, despite it being unoriginal got over with the crowd.
Yet, it is still a bit awkward to watch Swagger churn out anything except screaming ‘We.The.People.”
5.Sheamus
Sheamus’ new gimmick is a revelation and this may just be the turning point in his career. His aggression has a villainous purpose and all of that looks spectacular but despite everything, Sheamus does need a little development when it comes to his mic skills.
Maybe all of us are just conditioned to listen to American accents or maybe Sheamus just doesn’t yet have the right pauses and shrieking points or maybe Creative doesn’t really have great lines for him to speak. Anyway, his mic time leaves a lot to be desired.
4.Big Show
Big Show is a legend in the business. He’s one of the rare breed of Giants in the company. He’s larger than life, but part of the reason behind him being considered obsolete by many fans is the constant repetition of unoriginal content.
Add to that his limited mic skills and you have the recipe for an epic fail. He surely has his moments. But his weeping shtick on the mic or explaining his reasons for a heel turn or him getting angry, just does not work at raising expectations. Just does not.
3.Kane
He’s the most dependable wrestler around for many. He’s the easiest wrestler to work a match with. Chances are, you won’t at all get hurt and get out with working a decent match.
But there is always something missing when it comes to the former Devil’s favorite talking on the mic. Paul Bearer and him were much more of an eerily perfect alliance. Ever since he started speaking those lengthy monologues, his aura was gone or fading away.
Add this to him getting the same, often repeated content and there you have another superstar, whom fans don’t want to see get pushed.
2.Curtis Axel
If you don’t remember Mr. Perfect’s son botching one of his promos, we won’t blame you. It’s partly Creative’s fault also because Axel was formerly known as Michael McGillicutty. How is one supposed to cheer for him if he was ever to become a babyface?
Then he became Curtis Axel. Anticipation was everywhere as he became the newest ‘Paul Heyman Guy’. But Heyman wasn’t Midas and Axel was not wrestling gold.
Axel still continues to be weak on the mic but he now has a comic gimmick and he’s slightly gotten over with the Axelmania gimmick.
1.Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns may not be the worst talker on the mic. And he’s not the worst on this list. But as he moved closer to the tag of the face of the company, the creative material he got to work with was a major disaster. And the aftermath of it is something that Reigns is still recovering from. It’s not about how bad he was but how bad he was at that big a stage.
He’s good at being a silent badass, though. Surely, he’ll be good if the writing is good but when the writing is so bad, he doesn’t have the skills to turn it into something average.
