Posted February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727960 hello, figured i'd try my hand at a normal wrestling thread for once! this one occurred to me because of how often i see guys like steamboat get bashed for having "no charisma" by people raised on WWF/E. that sounds obviously silly to those who've seen his crowd reactions at his peak & heard how those within the business viewed him, but he really wasn't a good WWF-style promo and that's what most fans seem to think that term means anymore. so, PWO, who else would you point to as interesting examples? i think tito is similar to steamboat in this regard. he gave fine fired-up babyface promos earlier in the 80s, but hulkamania killed that entire style and he was a fish out of water when he had to do the more cartoony promos. jimmy snuka might be the all-time champ from available footage though. just a downright brutal talker, far worse than the others mentioned, but you can see how electric he was in an era when not every wrestler was expected to talk. i expect you guys will come up with better examples, though!
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727964 I think the Steiners had a boat load of natural charisma, but by god they were a promo train wreck.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727980 The Ultimate Warrior, although I guess his promos were effective in their way.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727986 Sting in his first baby face run. I heard he got better in TNA, and he was pretty good in WWE.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727987 I've talked a lot about how I think it's more important for a promo to across as sincere than as verbally coherent. The example I always cited was Owen Hart's "I kicked your leg out of your leg" heel turn promo - infamously malformed, but I stand by it to this day as a great promo because the emotion was so palpable. Kerry and Kevin are pretty good examples of this, too. They were usually too high to form complete sentences, but you generally got what they were trying to say, and usually believed what they were saying.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727991 The Rock's jokes are the shittiest juvenile shit that ever shat. He's really, really, really great at delivering them though. Maybe better than anyone ever.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727998 Benoit was the first person to come to mind. Just a wretched promo but his physical charisma was definitely there.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5727999 The Benoit example reminded me that a heel Orndorff could also qualify.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5728001 Sid, to me, had basically nothing going for him except charisma.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5728006 I may be in the minority, but I never thought Kevin Nash was a good promo. Probably the most overrated promo guy of all time. You can't deny his charisma though.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5728011 Id say Martel is a good canidate. The accent definitely hurt him but he had all time charisma as a babyface.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5728016 Sid, to me, had basically nothing going for him except charisma. I think that Sid's pure magnetism is unparalleled. He couldn't sustain it, though MAYBE he could have with a long-term face push, but whenever Sid has debuted, people just always turn their heads.
February 20, 20169 yr comment_5728022 Sid, to me, had basically nothing going for him except charisma. I actually quite enjoyed Sid's promos. They were often quite confused, but that along with his half whispering, half shouting delivery worked well with his deranged character.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728026 I think Sabu would be the perfect example of this. It's quite clear he's charismatic, but never talked. Tajiri, in the US, at least, would be another example.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728028 Sid, to me, had basically nothing going for him except charisma. I think that Sid's pure magnetism is unparalleled. He couldn't sustain it, though MAYBE he could have with a long-term face push, but whenever Sid has debuted, people just always turn their heads. I understand the general point but I think Sid had more going for himself than just charisma. He had size that ensured he'd be taken seriously and he had presence, although that might be tied to his charisma. But yeah Sid was the living embodiment of the best that the pro wrestler stereotype offered. Dumb as rocks but looked like million bucks.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728032 Lita had great charisma but I can't recall a decent promo in her. Rick Martel had good charisma but was a lousy promo, especially as a babyface.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728052 RVD in ECW and early WWF oozed charisma but was never a great promo.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728081 The Rock's jokes are the shittiest juvenile shit that ever shat. He's really, really, really great at delivering them though. Maybe better than anyone ever. Agreed. Rock came across as a juvenile bully. He portrays himself as "Mr. Nice Guy" on social media and his fans eat it up. Then he returns to WWE and it's right back in the role of high school QB dick. I never understood the appeal of the character.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728095 I never understood why the high school QB dick was popular either.
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728100 Jeff Hardy is the obvious example. Brock Lesnar most definitely. Styles can be good on the mic at times, but is generally far more charismatic than he is a great promo -- Chris Benoit is also a good example, I think.
February 21, 20169 yr Author comment_5728101 rock was popular because he was seen as "being real" in an era when that was highly valued. the guy who said all the stuff pro athletes would say if they didn't have to care about the media, basically. also i actually think brock is a really good interview, but not a good "promo".
February 21, 20169 yr comment_5728174 RVD first one that comes to mind. He just oozed that cool confidence. He might have been the only guy in ECW who wasn't a good promo. Also the Von Erichs. They were tall, hansom, hometown heros. Also stuttering train wrecks on promos.
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