5 Biggest WWE promos that were actually unscripted

When one talks about the most crucial aspects of professional wrestling, in-ring and backstage promos are bound to be mentioned. WWE's rich history is chock-full of some of the greatest promos the pro-wrestling industry has ever seen.

Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Austin 3:16" promo after winning the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, CM Punk's 'Pipebomb' that kick-started the Reality Era in WWE, and The Miz's tirade on Talking Smack are just a few examples of some of the greatest promos the WWE Universe has ever witnessed.

On some occasions, a WWE Superstar is allowed to cut unscripted promos in front of a live audience. Other times, a Superstar ends up saying something in the heat of the moment that wasn't a part of the script. In the following slideshow, we will take a look at five WWE promos that were actually unscripted.

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#5 When Brock Lesnar left Hulk Hogan in a state of anger

Brock Lesnar

At WWE WrestleMania 30, Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in one of the most unexpected results in the history of WWE. At WWE SummerSlam 2014, Lesnar was given a WWE World title shot against John Cena. The buildup to the match saw Lesnar crashing WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan's birthday party on an episode of RAW.

Lesnar came out while Hogan was celebrating with his close friends, most of whom were former wrestlers. Lesnar approached Hogan and uttered those three words that left Hogan seething in anger: "Party's over, grandpa!"

In reality, Lesnar's script didn't have those words and he prepared the sentence himself a short while before coming out. Hogan was upset at what had happened and later stated that Lesnar can't say stuff like that in front of his wife and children. Lesnar, as was expected of him, didn't respond to Hogan's words. He went on to squash Cena at The Biggest Party of the Summer to win the top prize.

#4 Kevin Owens is permitted to cut unscripted promos

Kevin Owens

Last year, after a short-lived heel run on WWE SmackDown, Kevin Owens turned face and kicked off a feud with Shane McMahon. Owens' feud with McMahon saw him cut a bunch of promos on WWE TV, one of which was the infamous Pipebomb in which he reminded Shane of how the McMahon family had promised the WWE Universe that a change was coming.

Owens added that nothing happened and instead of deserving WWE Superstars, Shane McMahon was getting pushed.

It was later reported that WWE had allowed Owens to cut his promos without a script being handed to him.

Like Jericho, Owens is also working without a script, Sports Illustrated has learned. He is working off bullet points, but it is a move by WWE that shows tremendous faith in Owens.

It isn't a surprise that the Pipebomb came out so well on TV. Letting someone like Owens go at it without a script was bound to lead to great things. Owens took on Shane McMahon at SummerSlam 2019 and defeated him in the end. Soon after, Owens met Shane in a Ladder match on the Blue brand and the latter's loss led to his WWE exit, as per the stipulation of the match.

#3 Paul Heyman's reaction to a proposal on WWE RAW

Paul Heyman

At WWE Survivor Series 2017, Brock Lesnar was set to compete in a Champion vs Champion match against AJ Styles. Shortly before the event, Lesnar and Paul Heyman appeared on RAW to address the upcoming bout. The promo was Heyman hyping up the match and heaping praise on Brock Lesnar as usual, but Heyman's words weren't what made this promo memorable.

During Heyman's promo, a fan in the audience proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted the proposal. The fans in the arena went bananas and began chanting "She said yes," interrupting Heyman's promo in the process.

This is where Heyman steered away from the script and roasted the fan in a hilarious moment.

“Just so you know, she only said yes because she’s never been up close to a beast like Brock Lesnar.”

Heyman is one of the greatest mic-workers in the history of WWE. It didn't take him long to realize what was happening in the crowd, come up with a witty response immediately, and put over Lesnar at the same time.

#2 Goldberg cut an unscripted promo upon his return

Goldberg

Goldberg was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018, a year after he lost the Universal title to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. Many fans had assumed that this was it for Goldberg in terms of an in-ring career, but they were dead wrong. WWE brought Goldberg back a year later for a dream showdown against The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia.

Goldberg made an appearance on WWE SmackDown ahead of the show and cut a scathing promo, hyping up his upcoming match with The Undertaker. Soon after, it was reported that the promo Goldberg cut was completely unscripted. Everything Goldberg said in the promo came out of his own mind. What's more, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was very happy with Goldberg's promo on the Blue brand.

The eventual match was a major letdown though. Goldberg and The Undertaker both struggled throughout the match and it was incredibly scary to see them do major spots that could have resulted in major injuries. The match was slammed by the WWE Universe as well as the critics.

#1 Roman Reigns cut an unscripted promo targeting Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns

The Road to WrestleMania 34 in 2018 saw Roman Reigns targeting Brock Lesnar and his Universal title. WWE decided to bring a sense of reality in the storyline and Lesnar was seen showing complete disinterest in his job. In one segment, Lesnar was sitting in a room backstage, with Paul Heyman trying his best to convince his client to show up in front of the fans.

On one episode of the Red brand, Reigns was set to have a showdown with The Beast, but things changed in a hurry when Lesnar didn't appear on the show. Reigns went on to cut a promo on his opponent, slamming him for not caring about the business. The promo targeted Lesnar's lack of respect for the business and the fact that he wasn't interested in showing up on a weekly basis.

The promo, as reported later, was unscripted, as it wasn't originally planned for RAW. Lesnar's absence led to a change of plans and it only helped Reigns get some much-needed support from the fans. The WWE Universe lauded Reigns' promo, but The Big Dog failed to defeat Lesnar at WWE WrestleMania 34. Reigns would go on to beat Lesnar for the Universal title at WWE SummerSlam 2018.