Best Talkers In Wrestling

I’ve always said that if you’re going to succeed in pro wrestling it has to be 50% in-ring ability and 50% microphone skils.

Throughout the years we’ve come to know some of the best shit-talkers in WWE. These are the one who have been able to get a reaction out of us and even more their opponents. Often of times they do push the envelope a bit too much to the point that it gets way too personal for the audience in attendance. But, that’s the beauty of it.

Here is my list of some of the best shit-talkers in wrestling, stretching from the past to the modern age.

KEVIN OWENS

It’s incredible how good Kevin Owen has gotten on the mic over the past years. Being that English is his second language. His first being French.

He seamlessly mastered his promo style. His aggression during his promos are heartfelt. You really would feel the emotions he’s feeling. He stares straight to the camera as if he’s talking to the most hated man in in the world.

When he speaks it’s so lucid and easy. He speaks just like a person would. It really does feel like he isn’t just trying to memorize his script. Like in todays age where the product is heavily scripted.

Not to mention, the man can be quite hilarious without even trying. He has said somethings that made me chuckle. Just watch some of his promos!

JOHN CENA

John Cena has been a mixed bag for me ever since he debuted back in 2002. His start in WWE was real bad I think. Every time he spoke it just sounded like he was thinking about his script.

He soon got way better once he changed his gimmick to the doctor of thug-a-nomics. He started to do raps before his matches. He started to do better promos. He looked way more confident. His raps were the best tho. He would roast the hell out of people.

John was also the product of a corporate company. He was everything they asked for. A corporate babyface is what I called him. In reality, it did wonders for him. He became JOHN CENA and he dominated the sport for decades.

I will never deny the fact when it was time for him to deliver his promo he was on fire. He REALLY delivered on his promos that made my eyes go wide, laugh, made my jaw drop. The passion he would speak with on the mic is something only a few have.

Watch the Roman Reigns and John Cena contract signing. That’s classic John Cena!

CHRIS JERICHO

Chris Jericho can do it all. He can be silently intense. He can be a comedic act. He can be annoying. He can vicious. He can be in your face. He can be a badass rocker.

Chris has somehow stayed fresh in all our minds. He has found new ways to keep himself relevant when you would think he’s past his prime. Somehow he’s always coming up with new catchphrases and character turns.

One minute he would talk and make you cry of laughter, and the next he would grimace and point the finger at you and blame you for everything.

He has some of the most famous catchphrases I think.

“You just made the list!”. “Le Champion”. “A little bit of the bubbly”. “Would you please…SHUT THE HELL UP”. “Raw is Jericho”.

VINCE MCMAHON

Believe it or not the owner of the WWE probably has had some of the best promos in wrestling history. Vince truly loved playing the bad guy. He embraced all the boo’s and all the hatred that came his way. He wanted to put frowns on our faces. I’m pretty sue he got off on that.

When it was time for him to get on the mic. Man, he would hit you in the gut with his words. There were no boundaries for him. If he needed to he will make you cry and suffer.

Over the years he has said MANY demented things. But, you couldn’t help but enjoy his presence. He cussed out Stone Cold Steve Austin. He went on live TV and said Bret Hart screwed himself. He berated his own daughter in 2003. They had a pretty intense match at No Mercy 2003. Where Vince choked his daughter with a lead pipe.

Vince has told his son that he will never forgive his mother for giving birth to him. That one was felt all around the world.

Vince is past his prime. He isn’t the old Vince anymore, nor does he have to be.

EDDIE KINGSTON

Eddie Kingston is defiantly one of the best on the mic today.

Just like Kevin Owens, Eddie delivers his promos so naturally. I believe every word that he says. I believe him when he says that he’s hurting. I believe him when he says he’s going to kill that person. There’s no gimmick here…or is there?

It takea a special talent to get every person in the arena to speak to you. He has been able to get the crowd to react to him with loud cheers.

Not to mention when he does his promos he’s always in some sort of back lot, whether it would be like train tracks or backstage area, it just adds more substance to what he’s feeling.

Overall, Eddie Kingston is just a badass.

CM PUNK

Of course CM Punk made this list. No one can argue the fact that he called himself the best in the world. He always put 100% into everything he did.

His mic work is the stuff of legends at this point.

His promos have sparked the interest of everyone in the wrestling circle. Even so, some of the top media companies have played his promos.

CM Punk has always put some sort of truth behind the shit-talking he did. Did he follow scripts? Sure he did. But he tended to swerve away from it. He used his own “version” of the script. Which usually upset a lot of people backstage.

Wo can ever forget the pipe bomb promo he sis. Where he said that Vince McMahon should die. That the WWE is a joke. That he’s better than this crap. The people backstage have been treating him like garbage. During this promo, his microphone got cut. They really had to…god knows how further he would’ve gone.

Also, it’s insane how he ended up doing a promo with The Rock and somehow he got on the same level as The Rock. Now that’s an accomplishment. Who can say that they were on the same level as The Rock?

RIC FLAIR

You cannot talk about shit-talkers without mentioning the name Ric Flair. This man was born to talk shit. He was a complete bomb on the microphone. As much trash talking he did, he seriously backed it up in the ring.

His charisma is just too much to handle. He screams like his life depended on it. His facial expressions when he did his promos were funny and dramatic. Sometimes I even thought he was going to have a stroke because his face would get so red from screaming.

When he spoke to you, he meant every words. I couldn’t help but get excited when I watched him in the ring and start talking.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

RODDY PIPER

The myth, the legend, the end all to be all.

Roddy Pipper seriously knew how to push peoples buttons. That’s what his career strived on. He wanted to get you so mad that you would jump the barricade and attach him. The irony of it was that he did make many people angry and there’s been stories that fans themselves have confronted Roddy about his actions.

He blurred the lines between reality and fiction.

His unpredictability is hat made him have fantastic promos. He said things that shouldn’t have been said. He’s made fun of peoples race and real life problems.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN

What?

Low-key Stone Cold has always been so freaking funny when he delivered his promos. Like when he pointed a toy gun to Vince McMahon’s head and a little flag popped out when he pulled the trigger with the words “bang bang” on it. The man had good comedic timing.

He was the toughest son-of-a-bitch we all knew and loved. He commanded the room when he was in the ring. He made people listen to him, because if you didn’t he would give you a stunner or flick the middle finger at you.

Stone Cold is a great example of how to work the crowd. When you get the crowd involved and they shout out your catchphrases every second, you know you’ve arrived.

Best catchphrase I love to hear was when Stone Cold would say “You have 16,000 calling you an asshole”.

THE ROCK

No surprise here of couse. We all know that he IS the best on the mic forever and for always.

The Rock was so good at trash talking that he has even made himself crack up on live TV.

Many times before wrestlers go out for their match they do a promo before their entrance. The Rock was the best at these. He would be full of energy. He would make fun of his opponent nonstop. He made fun of Undertaker by rolling his eyes and lowering voice and said “die die die”.

the Rock made fun of Triple H, Kurt Angle, Rikishi, and Stone Cold in just one promo. Mimicking the things they do.

The Rock called Goldberg a “biscuit headed bitch”. The man has some balls for doing that.

Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?

BONUS — PAUL HEYMAN

A good promo is designed to sell you something. It’s suppose to sell you a story, a match, a place where you need to be,

Paul Heyman has been over the top in delivering his promos. His shouting only added to his persona. He always sold everything he said. whether selling Brock Lesnar or now Roman Reignd. This man has been able to talk so much trash that sometimes you wonder if he will ever stop (joke).

Paul Heyman even made a comment to Vince McMahon in the middle of the ring that made everyone go “wow…that’s harsh”. He told Vince that his father’s rolling in his grave with how his running things.

Even when Paul was on commentary he knew how to sell a match. Whether the spot of the match was crazy or not, he would sell it like if it was a airplane crashing down in front of us. That’s real talent right there.

His introduction to Brock Lesnar will forever be glued to my mind. “The reigning…defending…conquerer of the Undertaker’s streak. BROCK LESNARRRR”.