WWE's 50 Greatest Talkers

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE.com has an article up in which the site staff lists the 50 best mic workers in the business.

#50-40

50. Scott Steiner
49. Joel Gertner
48. Jimmy Valiant
47. Zeb Colter
46. New Jack
45. The Grand Wizard
44. Brian Pillman
43. JBL
42. Thunderbolt Patterson
41. The Miz
40. Kevin Sullivan

#39-30

39. William Regal
38. Tazz
37. Stephanie McMahon
36. Ernie Ladd
35. Kurt Angle
34. Bray Wyatt
33. Ravishing Rick Rude
32. Gary Hart
31. The Ultimate Warrior
30. Michael P.S. Hayes

#29-20

29. Nick Bockwinkel
28. Raven
27. Jesse The Body Ventura
26. Jerry The King Lawler
25. Ted DiBiase, Sr.
24. Terry Funk
23. Shawn Michaels
22. Harley Race
21. Edge
20. Captain Lou Albano

#19-11

19. Triple H
18. Macho Man Randy Savage
17. Jim Cornette
16. CM Punk
15. Arn Anderson
14. Superstar Billy Graham
13. Mr. McMahon
12. John Cena
11. Jake The Snake Roberts

The Top 10

10. Chris Jericho
9. Hulk Hogan
8. Bobby The Brain Heenan
7. Mick Foley
6. Paul Heyman
5. Dusty Rhodes
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin
3. Rowdy Roddy Piper
2. The Rock
1. Ric Flair

 

[OutsiderDX]

Paul Heyman should be 1 through 5 himself.

This is a man who has done it for 20 years.

He is one of the few people that can create that impossible "suspension of disbelief"

When he speaks I personally forget wrestling is scripted and believe his words.

He stirs emotion.
He controls the crowd like a puppet-master.
His speaking voice is clear and concise and very intelligent.
He speaks fast when needed, slow. Loud, soft. His variety is unmatched.

He doesn't it do it with cheap heat tricks. He doesn't rely on poking fun at sports teams, or crude sex jokes, or berate the people. He makes masterful arguments which can not be disputed and draws heat from them.

His name is Paul Heyman and he is The Greatest Talker in wrestling history.

 

[Hakushi]

Gotta say, Arn Anderson is one of my favorites of all time. BUT he is rated way to high as a "talker". Probably more 36-40ish? Cornette should be top 10. Otherwise hard to argue with much on this list.

 

[jeffrey9800]

Wow, Here are a few comments :

- I think Zeb Colter is way too low on the list, he's one of the only one that can go toe to toe with Heyman.
- Regal better than JBL? Not sure about that, I remember a time where a JBL promo was a must see segment.
- Kurt Angle is way too low!!!! My god I would put him in the top 15 easily, his promos between 2001 and 2003 were always funny/entertaining/intense/intelligent/inte... bah you get it!!!
- Edge and Shawn Michaels don't belong next to eachother, Edge is way better than HBK, I think that's a no brainer.
- CM Punk, to anyone who watched his DVD must admit he deserves at least a top 10 position.
- The first position to me is between Heyman and The Rock, SCSA number 3 and Flair number 4, SCSA was good at promos no matter his character or if he was a heel or a face. Flair deserves a number 4. Hogan number 5.

One last thing, shouldn't Scott Hall be on that list?

 

[LBGetBack]

A few thoughts:

Jake Roberts should be higher. 11 is up there, but he's easily top 5 to me. He's definitely better than Piper who was basically incoherent from 1986-onward.

Randy Savage should also be higher and belongs way up near the top along with Jake, Flair, Rock, Austin......that might be my top 5 right there.

Bret Hart belongs on the list. I know he's often regarded as a great wrestler who "couldn't talk"(dead wrong) or was just "ok" on the mic. Maybe for awhile. But he was GOLD during the entire US-Canada feud. He developed into a damn good mic worker by the last few years of his career. He was actually underrated before that too. Just because he wasn't a comedian or have some kind of odd gimmick......he got across the serious, intense, earnest character quite well. RIP and all, but Bret was miles ahead of the Ultimate Warrior on the mic.

I know they don't really acknowledge that he existed anymore, but Muhammad Hassan should crack the list. He was KILLING it in 2005. Short run, but very impactful.

I'd actually put Stephanie quite a bit higher. She's fantastic on the mic. Top 25ish.

While on the divas, I think Trish Stratus belongs on the list. She was outstanding, particularly in her heel run of 2004-05.

Cena is way too high, but that's to be expected. He might have the mic skills, but he's been producing WAY more bad, cringe-inducing promos than good ones for close to a decade now. His early 00's run can only carry him for so long.

Rick Rude and Kurt Angle should both be top 20.

 

[mesl]

From what I can see the list is for the best "talker", not the best promo, or best on the mic... To me there is a huge difference between talking and cutting a promo.

Cena is an incredible talker. The guy could spend all day in the ring with a mic and not miss a single step. His promos are B & C grade (due to his character), but "talking" skills are top notch

Punk, Heyman, Piper, Jericho etc. have characters which allows them to "talk" so that naturally gives them the edge over most.

Mr. McMahon, Hogan, Savage were better promo guys. If you put them in the ring without a purpose they would struggle within minutes. If you took away their standard "brothers" and "oooh yeahs", they'd find it tough to just "talk".

The list should have stopped at top 20... 21-50 were selected at random

 

[Slash-LN]

I feel like Brian Pillman should be higher on the list. He was a very good talker and was very believable. Certainly was better than Kevin Sullivan. I'm not saying top 10 or anything.

Scott Steiner makes the list over Stevie Richards? Stevie is pretty underrated. I think he could have been on this list somewhere.

Kurt Angle should have been much higher on the list. He can be serious or he can joke around but he's always entertaining.

Obviously this all comes down to personal taste but Bobby Heenan could have been higher.

Stephanie McMahon shouldn't even be on the list. Let alone be ahead of Pillman, JBL, Tazz and Regal.

I'm not sure how I'd order everyone but those are some changes I'd make.

I'm glad Raven made the list because he was really good.
I'm also glad they added people from different generations even dating back to the really old guys.

 

[LifeSucksAndThenYouDie]

I honestly believe Raven should have been higher on the list. The man is a GENIUS on the mic and just a smart individual in general. I also agree that Angle should be higher on the list, Angle made me laugh a lot when he was in the WWE and can also be a very serious, great talker. Also..where the hell is Taker on the list? Or even Paul Bearer

 

[IT Factor]

As much as I liked some of Flair's promos through the years, how in the HELL is he number one? Guys like Rock, Jericho, Austin, Angle, and Taker were all better in their primes than Flair ever was. I honestly do not take these top WWE lists seriously! Seriously, Nick Bockwinkel ahead of JBL? Sometimes WWE goes too far with the comedy.....

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

How in the hell does The Ultimate Warrior land on a list of the greatest mic workers of all time? I mean, what the actual fuck?

He never made an ounce of sense...ever. People would listen to him and wonder what the fuck he was talking about. You just didn't give a shit about his promos because it was irrelevant - people just wanted to see him run to the ring, and shake the ring ropes.

And while we're at it...Stephanie McMahon. Come on.

 

[ilapierre]

Ultimate Warrior had FANTASTIC promos. They were absurd and seemed to make no sense. Looking back after years of researching the 'gods' of the universe I find a new appreciation for Warrior's work. I also read a point that talkers are different than promo guys. I see the difference but I don't see how a Hogan or a Savage would be lost without a promo. A lot of posters here seem either too young to remember or too old that they forget..but Hogan in his NWO days was doing the best talking of anyone. Ever. Period. Even better than Heyman. Heyman's in a league of his own in 2014 and that's why he appeals to the modern fan who believes he is 1-5 in history. Heyman would fit in perfect in 80s 90s WWE or WCW. Other observations. A poster made a great point about Hitman needing to be included. Raven I was surprised to see but he deserves to be there. Eric Bischoff definitely deserves a spot over Zeb. Savage should be higher. Triple h is way too high as is Arn Anderson. Where in the world is Scott Hall. Leaving him off would be like leaving off Heyman. The Miz? Yikes. This would be my 20.

20 three way tie between Miz mark Madden and Chris Benoit (lol)
20 (for real) Jesse Ventura
19 Ultimate Warrior
18 Bray Wyatt
17 Dusty Rhodes
16 Eric Bischoff
15 CM Punk
14 Jake Roberts
13 Scott Hall
12 John Cena
11 Mick Foley
10 Vince McMahon
9 Chris Jericho
8 Randy Savage
7 Bobby Heenan
6 Steve Austin
5 Paul Heyman
4 Roddy Piper
3 Ric Flair
2 The Rock
1 Hulk Hogan

 

[roguesquadron1981]

to me without a doubt the rock is the greatest mic worker in the history of the wwe or in the history of pro wrestling period,no one can out talk the rock,hell if wwe was to do a raw that consisted only of the rock talking the entire 3 hours it would be a highly rated show because everyone would tune in just to see what the rock would say..to me no one in the history of the wwe can hold an audience in the palms of thier hand like the rock can

 

[MisterRob]

Shawn Michaels is completely overrated on the mic, this list really shows that. It also shows that Bret Hart is incredibly underrated, because he was NOT bad on the mic and during different periods of his career he was highly more memorable on the mic then 75 percent of this list.

Jake Roberts and Mick Foley should both be in the top five. The fact neither is shows how off this list is. Jake Roberts was one of the most natural and best talkers in the business, period. Mick foley is incredible in the mic, and he alone has cut some of the best promos in the history of the wrestling business.

Hulk hogan should not even be on this list, he was terrible anytime someone have him the chance to talk. Okay, I'm biased in THAT one.

I also think Arn Anderson doesn't get enough credit for his ability to talk, because every single time he was on the mic he was great. He just had a natural ability, and I think he should be higher on the list. People over look him because he wasn't the star some others were.

Ted Dibiase should be higher on the list then he is, too. The most blatant person who deserves to be higher on the list, though, is Brian Pillman. I call bullshit on that one!

 

[Wald]

Insane that they have Hogan so low on that list. That guy could sell a match like no-one else and hold the crowd in the palm of his hand the whole time. What's often overlooked with Hogan, and what sets him apart from Cena, is that he could sell you on the idea that his opponent was a serious threat to him. Whether it was Earthquake, Macho Man, Zeus or Andre he could get you to buy in to the story that he was in danger. That's why he sold so many PPVs and that's why he's miles ahead of Cena, who I often see him compared to.

Also, Flair being number one must be a joke. I know Triple H is a fanboy of the Four Horsemen but Flair really lost it from the time he went back to WCW in 1993. After that he pretty much just shouted a lot and made a few references to his dated material

 

[OYDK]

Definitely agree with Flair as number one. That guy was incredible on the mic and when he went OFF, the entire crowd went off with him. Every time he came out to cut a promo you could feel the "electricity" in the air.

The rest is all right... definitely would have put Sullivan a little higher on the list and I'm sorry to say it but my man Dusty Rhodes should not be near the top 10. Dude pretty much created his own language! I could barely understand what Big Dust was saying except "HES CLUBBERIN EM!"

 

[Meth Head]

Never developed a true appreciation for Heyman's mic work until quite recently. That "Brock is the 1 in 21-1" promo he cut a couple of weeks back? Gold. Absolute gold.

Like most people though, whenever the phrase "greatest talker in the WWE" is brought up, my immediate thought is The Rock. YouTube clips of his old promos have millions *cough* and millions *cough* more views than his actual matches and there is a reason for that. As far as working a crowd goes, the man was untouchable.

Some will throw out the old "Oh, but he's just a catchphrase machine!" card, but that is bullcrap; one look at his mic work as Hollywood Heel Rock will prove how his talent is undeniable - catchphrases or not.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Flair had so many great promos its hard to count, the night before Starrcade 93 when he talked about his career, his family, and the plane crash that nearly killed him, the "training bra" promo with Ricky Morton was a great, arrogaunt-cocky heel rant that immediately established Morton as a huge face with the audience, The "She Was Mine Before She Was Yours/Damaged Goods" promos were a perfect mix of understated mega villainry with cocky heel persona, The "Mannequin Assault" promo during the Jimmy Garvin feud was not only hillarious and outrageous but way ahead of time in terms of content for 1987, looking like something out of the Attitude Era, the intensity was off the chart both with his initial confrontation with Hulk Hogan in WWE in 1991 as well as the contract signing in 1994, The sit down interview Flair did before the 96 Aug PPV about the formation of the NwO, the coming together of rivals in WCW, and the rivalry between him and Hogan was a terrific conversation style promo, several entertaining moments during the "Ringside Catered Buffets" on Nitro, more great Nitro promos when he returned from injury in Oct 97 & his legendary post law suit return Sept 98, two terrific promos in the ring with Brett Hart in Jan 98, wether comedy or serious, loud or quiet, heel or face, alone or confronting a rival, few people ever worked a crowd, promoted an event, or got another guy over with the audience as well as Flair, his best attribute was his ability to get off the charts over as a dastardly bad guy or heroic good guy with only the most subtle of change in style and presentation. Some guys like Lex Luger, Hogan, HBK, could get way over as both but with major style & presentation changes. Some guys simply are not as good and do as well on one side as the other. Only a tiny select few could excell as both and do it with the most minute changes in their presentation but Flair did.

 

[MCMG]

In general, Triple H too low. Edge way to high. Angle, Bray and HBK possibly too high as well.

I'd personally swap Flair and The Rock. Flair in his prime was awesome with a mic in his hand but The Rock's charisma will never ever be duplicated. His ability in promos are unparalleled. I know he used a lot of catchphrases but they worked and The Rock electrified millions around the world.

 

[wrestlingwrobert]

Lex Luger was the best by far. If he was pushed right, he could have been better than Hogan.