A man of few words!There are a lot of misconceptions about a professional wrestling promo. Some feel that a wrestler needs to shout, beat his chest and spew a whirlwind of spit into the camera to pull off an effective promo.However, at the end of the day, it is about how the message is conveyed. So, if you had the misconception that wrestling promos are all about shouting at the camera, then this list is here to show you that necessarily isn’t the case. The list takes a look at those promos, which proved that a wrestler could go down into the history books with his promo without doing all those characteristic things that we see in professional wrestling promos.
#6 Honorable Mention: John Cena sends a message to The Rock
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If John Cena hadn’t raised his voice at certain points, this one would have been further up in the list. Despite the higher pitch, Cena proved that there is no need to yell and scream to pull off an emotional promo that puts over a rivalry. The ‘Once in a lifetime’ feud went to a different level after this promo and Cena deserves a truckload of credit for this.
#5 Brock Lesnar oozes class
Brock Lesnar is not known for his microphone work. But, when he sat down in front of the microphone to speak about his next big match, Lesnar stepped up his game. It is easy to ask whether this was an interview or a promo, but since it did the job of promoting a match, it could be categorized as a promo.
Lesnar did no shouting here and he did no chest beating. All he did was simply talk. Seeing such intensity ooze out of a superstar who had the help of a manager throughout his career was something new to the fans. Also, this promo once again underlines the fact that you just need to convey the message to grab the attention.
#4 AJ Lee drops a pipe bomb
During her stay in the WWE, AJ Lee managed to create a standout impression. It was her ability to handle the microphone that set her apart from the rest. Including screams in her promo was one of AJ Lee’s trademarks, but she did not rely on this trick every time. For instance, when she pulled off a pipe bomb against the Total Divas cast, AJ kept her voice in perfect control.
Losing AJ is a big blow for WWE as they don’t have any other diva in the current division who could pull off such a brilliant promo. The best part is, everything she said was spot on.
#3 Chris Jericho\'s heel promo
Chris Jericho is one of the best talkers in the wrestling business, period. The ‘Larger than Life’ Superstar had many memorable promos throughout his career. Most of them were entertaining while others were hilarious. And on rare occasions, Jericho came up with his intense promos. These were usually pulled off during his heel runs.
This one, where Jericho sits on top of a ladder in suits and talks about Shawn Michaels is one of his best work as a heel. He was not goofy like most of his past runs and went right to the point with his words. It is promos like this which makes us realize how good Jericho was in building up feuds.
#2 Jake Roberts
If it wasn’t for his personal demons, Jake Roberts would have gone on to become one of the biggest names in the wrestling business. He was a genius when it came to in-ring psychology and was unmatched on the microphone due to the sheer emotions he brought into his promos. And the best part, Jake did not have to shout to make a point.
He just talked normally and the fans would soak up the entire story from those words. But then again, unfortunately, Jake’s career was derailed due to his substance addictions. Then again, the recent Hall of Fame speech he gave showed that he still got it in him. He could easily be a successful Authority figure in the company if WWE gives him a chance.
#1 CM Punk\'s Pipe Bomb
A guy comes out through the curtain, sits down in the ramp, and starts talking about everything that the fans wanted to talk about. It is not the typical definition of a wrestling promo, but this is why CM Punk tops the list. There were no instances of CM Punk screaming or yelling during the pipe bomb promo. Nor did he stand up and jump around to assert his point. Even without all these, his promo became the turning point of the PG era.
Punk touched everything from Colt Cabana to John Cena and once the microphone was cut-off, the fans saw Punk differently. The fans saw him as a cult hero who had the guts to speak out against WWE’s corporate machine. This shows the power of promos...pull them off perfectly, you are a winner, mess them up and you look bad, simple as that.
