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The 411 Wrestling Top 5 05.26.10: Week 76 – Star Making Promos
Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. Most of our topics will be based on recent events in the Wrestling World, looking at those events that make us think of times past.
So, on to this week’s topic…
That one promo that turns you from just another upper mid-card act to the primo main eventer is the biggest promo of a person’s career. A few of our writers decided to join in and take a look back at some of these promos.
So what did our group of writers select? Let’s find out…
Aaron Hubbard
HONORABLE MENTION
“You Can Call This The New World Order of Wrestling, Brother!” – I’m leaving this in the honorable mentions since all three guys were stars of varying degrees, but it sure got the angle of the NWO over.
5. “I Am The F*****G Game!” – This was a sit-down interview between Jim Ross and Triple H where Hunter Hearst Helmsley came into his own. As he said, he didn’t need to be in the Kliq anymore, he didn’t need to be in DX anymore, this was about him accomplishing his goals. The line, “You talk about being students of the game? I am The Fucking Game, J.R!” still gives me goose bumps. This blurred the line between work and shoot and you could believe what Triple H was saying. A throwaway line got put on signs everywhere, and Triple H has dominated the WWF ever since.
4. “Did You Expect Somebody Else?” – CM Punk’s dead-on impersonation of Jeff Hardy one week after sending Jeff Hardy packing from Smackdown! was one of the highlights of the year for me. The reaction of the fans was one of utter disgust and contempt, and I almost died laughing from the sheer awesomeness. From this point on, Punk has been the most hated man in the WWE, with the most original gimmick in mainstream wrestling today.
3. “The Y2J Problem is Here!” – I’m referring to Chris Jericho’s awesome, memorable debut in the WWF. Jericho’s arrogant mocking of the WWF, saying the dumbest bull-faced lies just to draw heat to himself. It was hilarious, and it got Jericho over right away. Interrupting The Rock was also a huge step. This was a great debut and showed that Jericho was going to be used by the guys in WWF more than WCW ever did.
2. “It’s Mr. Socko!” – While most historians cite the “Cane Dewey” promo as the best mic work of Mick Foley (which is saying a lot), it was the introduction of Mr. Socko that transformed the demented, crazy Mankind into a superstar. He achieved his greatest success as the human muppet, the lovable loser, the guy who put a sweaty, stinky sock on his hand. Mr. Socko showed up as a one-off gag in a comedy skit with Vince McMahon and Yurple the Clown, got over in a week, and became synonymous with Mick Foley.
1. ‘Austin 3:16 Says I Just Whipped Your Ass!” – Didn’t even have to think twice about this one. I freaking love this promo, because it’s entirely spur of the moment and has nothing but greatness. He buried Jake “The Snake” Roberts and his gimmick, put himself over, put all of the WWF on notice, and started two of the biggest catchphrases in wrestling history. “And that’s the bottom line, ’cause Stone Cold said so!” is a line that wrestlers wish they could top, and “Austin 3:16” sold more T-Shirts than any other in wrestling. Heck, there’s plenty of “John 3:16” shirts with the same freaking design that have sold well. This is the beginning of, in my opinion, the biggest superstar in wrestling, so it is an easy #1.
LARRY CSONKA
HONORABLE MENTION
Brian Pillman Debuts In ECW – Brian Pillman found success as a lightweight and tag team star, but the “Loose Cannon” stuff is what was going to make him a star. While some like to discuss the simple “I respect you booker-man” deal, Pillman was never more raw, more real than his ECW debut promo…
5. Shane Douglas Throws Down The NWA Title – Shane Douglas was slowly building a career, but it wasn’t until he won the NWA title, talked to his father in the ring and threw down the mantle that was dead and proclaimed himself the ECW WORLD Champion that the FRANCHISE was truly born. I know many are not Shane Douglas fans, but his stuff in ECW was really great, and at times, he was easily the most over heel in wrestling…
4. Chris Jericho’s Raw Debut – While is WCW, Chris Jericho showed that he had the ability to be a star, but they just never gave him the chance to become one. Once it was determined that Jericho was leaving, they took him off of TV and tried to cool him down so that when he went to the then WWF, he wouldn’t mean anything. Vince knew that the countdown gimmick alone would not be enough to make Jericho seem important, so what did he do? Jericho went ONE on ONE…with the GREAT ONE!
3. Cane Dewey – In my opinion, when he was on, Mick Foley was one of the very best promo men that the wrestling business has ever seen. Foley was able to bring realism and emotion into the programs that he really had control over, and the one promo that gained him the most attention can be summed up in two words, “Cane Dewey…”
2. Austin 3:16 – Steve Austin is one of the biggest stars the wrestling business ever produced. From Stunning to the Ring Master and then Stone Cold, he seemed destined for greatness. Once he won the King of the Ring and mocked Jake Roberts for his religion, the next night, the signs were there, the crowd was there, and the biggest money making machine had just opened its doors…
1. Dusty Rhodes: Hard Times – Dusty was already a star at this point, but many consider this some of his best work, and not only is this an awesome promo, this is what we like to call a MONEY promo. Plus, I now that most will pick Austin, so I will be different…
Jeremy Thomas
5. Shane Douglas Tosses the NWA Heavyweight Title – Shane Douglas had runs with the WWF and WCW before 1993, most notably his run as a tag team with Ricky Steamboat where he was World Tag Team champion. But it wasn’t until he went to Eastern Championship Wrestling that he really came into his own. The star-making moment for him was also a turning point for ECW when he won a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Once Scorpio was pinned, Douglas was handed the title and seemed elated. He talked about standing up there with great champions of the past–even mentioned his real-life hated enemy Ric Flair–and then said they could kiss his ass. This firmly established Douglas in the character he would have for the rest of his career (minus that ill-fated Dean Douglas run). He will forever be the Franchise, and can always look back on that moment with pride.
4. The Ultimate Warrior’s Promos – I know this is about a star-making promo, and I would pick one if I could, but I can’t do so because frankly I can’t specifically remember the content of any of them. What I do know is that as much as his look and entrance enticed people to the Warrior, his promos were bizarre, brilliant pieces of “What the Hell” that you could never really understand but remained mesmerized by. Lest anyone think I’m using this as a backward insult, I’m not—I firmly believe that the Warrior knew this was what was happening and it was great that he went this route because it gave him mystique. Warrior gets crap for a lot of things—and nearly all of them deservedly so—but his promos were a thing of bizarre, twisted beauty.
3. “Cane Dewey” – Much like Shane Douglas, Mick Foley had already had his time in WCW before he came to ECW. During that time as Cactus Jack he had established somewhat of a reputation. He had held the World Tag Team Titles but had never really had the chance to break out the way he thought he could. So once he left WCW he found his way to ECW, where he had established a friendship with some of the talent there not to mention Paul Heyman. There he quickly found gold by winning the Tag Team belts with Mikey Whipwreck, and it seemed like Cactus had finally found a home. It was this promo, however, which put him over the top. He turned heel on Tommy Dreamer and gave a promo about how he had lost all his respect for the ECW fans because during his match at Hostile City Showdown, he had seen a fan holding a sign proclaiming “Cane Dewey,” Dewey of course being his (at the time) three-year-old son. This is a semi-shoot promo according to Foley, and that helped it become more than just a great promo. It became an unbelievable promo which showed the world just how great of a promo guy Foley could be. There are a lot of great moments for Foley, but this was the one that put him over the top in a lot of people’s eyes.
2. Monday Night Jericho – As much as wrestling fans loved his stuff in WCW, Chris Jericho was a mid-carder there who never above the Television Title level. He consistently delivered great matches and great promos, but none of them made him a star because WCW’s management wouldn’t allow him to be one. This promo is a testament to the fact that sometimes, it’s how a guy is booked that lets his promo make him famous. Jericho went from WCW to the WWF and damn if Vince McMahon didn’t do what he’s always done—taken a guy who was underused by the competition and made them look like a main eventer. Jericho got weeks of hinting at his arrival and a countdown clock, until finally it hit zero in the middle of a promo from the Rock. We got huge pyro and the debut of Jericho, which sent the crowd over the top. I’d be willing to bet a good portion of the crowd may not have known exactly who he was, but they knew he was someone big because he was presented as someone big. And then Jericho sealed the deal by delivering a fantastic promo that let the fans know that not only was he being presented as a superstar, he deserved the label. The rest is history.
1. Austin 3:16 Says I Just Whooped Your Ass – What else could it be, really? This is not only the greatest star-making promo of all-time, but it is one of the most significant promos of all-time, star-making or not. Steve Austin had been so underutilized by WCW and while ECW did way better by letting the leash off of him, even they hadn’t found his true potential. Not that Vince and company knew what to do with him either at first—the less said about “The Ringmaster,” the better. It was soon after Austin shed that label that the 1996 King of the Ring happened. The booking of the finals was brilliant—reformed born-again Christian Jake Roberts against the heel, brash Austin. And when Austin took the Snake down, he had his coronation where he told Jake, “You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn’t get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16… Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!” And thus one of the most famous catch-phrases in wrestling history was born, and Austin would find himself. It helped begin the Attitude Era and made Austin a star in every sense of the world. There’s no question that it’s #1 on this list.
