Sometimes in WWE, a superstar can have everything it takes to make it to the top, apart from one thing..mic skills!
In modern WWE programming, mic skills are essential to get yourself over to the crowd, to showcase your character and express your emotions.
There sure are some talented mic workers in WWE, but who are the best? Let’s take a look.
Bray Wyatt
I’ll be honest, half of the time I have no idea what Bray is going on about, but it’s not always about what you say it’s about how you put it across. The delivery of his promos are hauntingly thrilling, which again is all credit to Wyatt’s personal character development and the ability to completely transform into this persona.
Not many people have the confidence he does on a microphone, and looking back, I can’t recall a time he’s ever made a mistake whilst in front of a live crowd. When Bray talks, there’s something about it that draws you in, something that makes you intrigued and interested in what the message is he’s putting across, and once he has you, he’s won.
Paul Heyman
This man has the ability to do things with a microphone that nobody else can, and I don’t think he’d be omitted from anyones greatest talkers list.
He can turn even the dullest match, and make people excited to see it, you could give him any superstar in the entirety of WWE and he would make that superstar relevant.
Do you remember the Payback 2013 match between Chris Jericho and CM Punk? Well, Punk wasn’t even around for the build up, and only appeared at the pay per view itself, so how did the match have so much excitement and anticipation? Paul Heyman. The excellence of Heyman managed to hype up a pay per view match on behalf of a superstar not even present for any of the promos, and also lets not forget matching and excelling the brilliant Chris Jericho on the mic in the process.
The Brock Lesnar/Undertaker match (yes THAT one) had such an intriguing hype surrounding it because of Heyman, and the match outcome itself created what turned out to be the catchphrase of the year.
Nobody will ever forget that his client, Brock Lensar…1 in 21 and 1 etc.
Chris Jericho
Is ‘Y2J’ the best current superstar on the microphone? Quite possibly. Back in the early 2000’s, he was largely overshadowed by The Rock, Stone Cold and Triple H on the mic, but these days he’s untouchable. He’s one of the only superstars that can completely turn a crowd with one sentence. He states himself that when he’s a heel he goes all out, he doesn’t want anybody to cheer him, so he won’t give them a reason to. He can put over an opponent on the mic like nobody else in the business, he can switch the crowd reaction multiple times in one promo if he wants to.
Pure genius (but don’t tell him I said that).
The Miz
The most underrated superstar on the whole WWE roster, or possible the entire pro wrestling business. The amount of work The Miz puts into putting over opponents goes largely unnoticed, but if you look back, it’s excellent.
He’s fantastic at taking a superstar that could be unknown to a portion of the audience (Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles), tell their entire back story, get the crowd to chant for them and completely on their side with just one promo.
Go back and watch the episode of ‘Miz TV’ with AJ Styles, his work selling Styles to the crowd was excellent.
His self promo work is a class above the rest also, he has a story to tell, based on genuine feelings of inadequacy, lack of respect and a big middle finger to those who doubted him.
He’s one of few WWE superstars that can really rile a crowd up and get them to really loathe him and anticipate his opponent giving him a beating. I think Miz could even get fans on Roman Reigns’ side against him.
Enzo Amore
What an enthusiastic character he is. Bursting on the main roster just a few weeks ago alongside ‘Big Cass’, he’s certainly made their presence known.
His mic skills in NXT were partly the reason the duo were such a hit with fans, and so hotly tipped to be the future of tag team wrestling.
You get the feeling with Enzo he could go toe to toe with almost anyone in the WWE on the mic, and it would produce gold. Every promo he cuts, the Enzo & Cass stock rises. The feud with the Dudley Boys was the perfect start, and he certainly rose to the occasion on their big debut.
I can’t help but look towards the future and the possibility of a heel turn, and how good an in your face character such as Enzo’s promos would be.
Such confidence and natural ability for someone so new to the large crowds of a WWE arena.
John Cena
You can’t forget Cena on a list of WWE’s top talkers. Although I’m not a fan of his ‘comedy’ promos, as I feel they’re very dumbed down, when he’s on form, there’s no stopping him.
Intense Cena promos are some of the best in WWE, and it took his rivalry with The Rock in 2012, and then again in 2013 to get some of his best mic work in recent years.
My favourite Cena promos have been against Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and The Rock, which have all been intense and against fellow faces, where sometimes you get a glimmer of what a heel Cena promo would be like. It’s very good!
It’s a shame John Cena will probably never be a heel, because I feel he can really drive home a promo against his opponents and add anticipation and passion.
Cena has gone through a cycle of being the rookie everyone spoke down to, to the top guy all the rookies want to disrespect, and he handles it brilliantly.
He manages to make the opponent look like a genuine threat, whilst all the while keeping himself looking the dominant one.
Stephanie McMahon
It amazes me that she’s forgotten about when it comes to greatest talkers, but when it comes down to it, there’s nobody that can go face to face with her on the mic and make her look weak.
Think about her career, she’s cut promos against the very best including The Rock, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, and she’s always managed to remain on the same level, which is remarkable.
Possibly the best thing about Steph, is she’s very quick witted, and isn’t afraid to fire back at anybody. The live audience have felt her wrath many times, and my favourite Steph moment was when she had the audacity in Chicago to shut down the hostile crowds ‘CM Punk’ chants with the remark of “you’re probably all quitters, just like CM Punk”. If the crowd weren’t riled up enough already, Steph knows exactly how to get under their skin.
Then again, it’s hardly surprising how natural McMahon is on the microphone having spent most of her career alongside the likes of Triple H, Stone Cold, The Rock and of course her father, Vince McMahon.
Dean Ambrose
Often critical of Ambrose in the past, his current mic work is lightyears ahead of that during his Shield days. The ability to mix fury with comedy is an exceptional talent, and whilst his promos might not have the vocabulary range as others, he manages to make his point crystal clear.
His facial expressions and comedy timing is very pinpoint, which steers him clear of being a ‘goofy’ character, and keeps him entertaining. His chemistry with talents such as Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho and Triple H grip viewers and enhance the overall segment. It’s hard to see Ambrose lose any momentum with his character any time soon.
And some that just don’t quite cut it..
Kevin Owens
I really don’t understand the hype surrounding Owens’, especially his mic work. To me, his promos are very repetitive, and his voice sounds like a whiny child pleading with his parents to let him have an ice cream.
He definitely needs a lot of work on his character, because at the moment I couldn’t see him legitimately going face to face with any of the top talkers in WWE, and come out looking good.
Any name on the list above (bar Cena who did any excellent job of putting him over), would verbally destroy him.
Dolph Ziggler
It amazes me how sharp tongued, witted and charismatic Dolph Ziggler is in his interviews, yet when it comes to a WWE ring, his promos lack all of the previously mentioned.
Ziggler has himself hinted that he is too scripted in what he’s allowed to say on WWE television, and maybe that’s partly the reason, but surely a guy of such talent could make anything work?
He certainly needs work on his ability to cut a promo in front of a live crowd, or at least given more of a chance to express himself.
Have I missed anyone from the list? Who do YOU think is the best talker in WWE right now?
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