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Toxxic

OK, who's the best on the mic of all time

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Right here and now from the start, I'm putting my backing behind Jericho. The guy is awesome, not only in promo work where he's directly trying to get a response from the crowd, but also in the backstage acting segments, and even as a bystander. For example, during the Highlight Reel segments he usually manages to find a way of getting the crowd involved... SUBTLY. He fills in the pauses, carefully makes the crowd's thinking fall into what it's "supposed" to be whilst actually stating the opposite viewpoint, etc. And all of this without an endless stream of sing-a-long catchphrases like Rock or Austin. Or turning bright red, bursting a blood vessel and repeating himself five times like Flair.

 

Any takers?

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bob_barron

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You gamble with the devil...

 

 

Group: Members

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This belongs in Wrestling Polls & Lists.

 

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Davey Boy Smith- Rest In Peace.

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Hey Stan Hooper- can I have a minute with you?

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bob_barron

regal1.jpg

You gamble with the devil...

 

 

Group: Members

Posts: 12379

Member No.: 39

Joined: 31-January 02

----

This belongs in Wrestling Polls & Lists.

 

----

Davey Boy Smith- Rest In Peace.

stan-hooper.jpg

Hey Stan Hooper- can I have a minute with you?

Sorry - do i start it again over there, or do one of the SUPER ADMINS~! wrench it loose and send it tumbling mercilessly end-over-end into the pit they call Wrestling Polls and Lists?

 

Come to think of it, Regal's pretty good on the mic...

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Guest TheZsaszHorsemen

Foley

Hogan

Rock

Austin

Flair

Roberts

 

 

Look at that list. It begins and ends there. Also, notice how most of the members on that list hit their peaks on the stick in the WWE.

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bob_barron

regal1.jpg

You gamble with the devil...

 

 

Group: Members

Posts: 12379

Member No.: 39

Joined: 31-January 02

----

This belongs in Wrestling Polls & Lists.

 

----

Davey Boy Smith- Rest In Peace.

stan-hooper.jpg

Hey Stan Hooper- can I have a minute with you?

Sorry - do i start it again over there, or do one of the SUPER ADMINS~! wrench it loose and send it tumbling mercilessly end-over-end into the pit they call Wrestling Polls and Lists?

 

Come to think of it, Regal's pretty good on the mic...

Don't ask me. I just like doing that bit whenever somebody posts something that's borderline like this. In fact Bob hasn't even done it himself lately so the jokes has lost its value.

 

And by the way it's Rock or Hogan

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Rock is very very good, it's true, but I think Jericho just caps him for greater emotional display. Rock only ever does superior mocking-type stuff. Jericho is capable of communicating anger, frustration, humour AND mocking. Plus a lot of Rock's verbal arsenal, impressive as his high-speed delivery is, consists of stringing a bunch of insults together as quickly as possible whilst heading for the nearest catchphrase. Face Jericho has one catchphrase, which only ever appears at the start of a verbal tirade. Heel Jericho has none, except for calling people "assclowns" and "jackasses" ("sanctinmonious son-of-a-bitch" is reserved solely for Austin, and therefore doesn't count), but still gets the job done whilst leaving a pleasant minty taste.

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Oh, and don't get me started on Hogan. He's not bad and he usually sounds genuinely emotional, but he overdoes it and the "brothers" make me want to throw a brick through my TV.

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Foley or Jericho

 

 

Foley cause I pick Foley for everything because I'm such a mark for him. I would call him Greatest Womens Wrestler if the discussion came up.

 

Jericho for all the previously mentioned reasons.

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Can he still? I missed most of Flair's best wrestling days, but his recent mic work doesn't seem to have it. Take his tirade against Austin last week, for example:

 

"You can't do that! You can't do that! What if he can never walk again!? What if he can never wrestle again!?"

 

He turned red, was ludicrously over the top and more or less repeated himself twice in four sentences. Not to mention presumably messing up the order, since if someone can't walk it's a fair bet they can't wrestle.

It just seems to me that Flair goes all-out on emotional overkill and forgets exactly what he wants to say and in what order.

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I'll say it once more, as I've said before...

 

...Ric Flair is one of the only Pro. Wrestlers which actually got me emotional by what he said. It's happened very few times, and there isn't a single guy out there that has made me feel that way more times than Flair.

 

Cactus Jack did it quite a few times, Owen Hart even did it a few times, but I can't think of too many other guys which have made me TRULY emotional by what they said in a promo/interview.

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I missed most of Flair's best wrestling days...

Then who are you to say without seeing Flair's work in his prime what he can and can not do?

What I mean is - if you think that Flair's mic work since 2000, and especially since he has been in Evolution is equal to or better than his mic work in his previous career, then i say Jericho tops him due to Flair's over-acting antics. If you reckon that Flair's promo skills have deteriorated and that he was better earlier in his career, then I'm going to have to reserve judgement.

 

What i can say is that at this time in the WWE (the only programming I have access to), I believe Jericho to be the best. I know I started this topic with the question "of all time" without having seen a fair bit of what people may refer to - but then again no-one can see EVERY promo.

 

So to reitorate (and spell it wrong) - since 2000 in the WWE I think Jericho is the best mic worker in all departments. Yes, even better than Flair, Foley or Rock.

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I missed most of Flair's best wrestling days...

Then who are you to say without seeing Flair's work in his prime what he can and can not do?

What I mean is...

If you are basing your opinon just on what you've seen of the man in WWE, then you are wrong to do that. For one Ric Flair hasn't been a part of hardly any GREAT angles (how about any) since he returned to WWE. He hasn't had much to work with, and considering that he's been fucking outstanding.

 

Just say that Jericho is the best that you've ever seen if you've never seen Flair. It isn't fair to the argument to say otherwise.

 

EDIT: I see that you said now that Jericho is simply your favorite since 2000 in WWE, and that's fair.

 

You owe it to yourself to check out the upcoming Flair DVD, trust me.

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Personally, I have Arn Anderson as one of the top guys on the mic of all time.

 

I'm also glad to see a Jake Roberts and Ted DiBiase mention in this thread.

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Guest Ray

Rock was great at telling jokes and insulting people. We wasn't a master of the serious money promo like Flair, Austin, or Foley.

 

I love Arn Anderson's promos because they're so honest. Simple and to the point, but still emotional and meaningful.

 

Best all time, consistantly great mic worker?

 

Flair, I'd say.

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Personally, I have Arn Anderson as one of the top guys on the mic of all time.

Well all of the 4 Horsemen should be considered:

 

Flair

the Andersons

Tully

Barry Windham

JJ Dillion

 

Ok maybe not all of the Horsemen as Sid, Mongo, Paul, Malenko were not that good on the mic.

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I can't stand Rocky's mic work, I just can't. I admit that he makes me smile, but his style just isn't something that I can slap a big "best of all time" label on.

 

His work comprised of the same phrases all of the time, cheap immature sexaul jokes, and cut downs of the such that I thought I'd only year in grade school. I never took him seriously on the mic, actually...

 

...his work was just about all a joke to me.

 

I laughed, but I never did much else.

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Personally, I have Arn Anderson as one of the top guys on the mic of all time.

Well all of the 4 Horsemen should be considered:

 

Flair

the Andersons

Tully

Barry Windham

JJ Dillion

 

Ok maybe not all of the Horsemen as Sid, Mongo, Paul, Malenko were not that good on the mic.

A damn good point right there, the entire 4 Hoursemen were masters of the mic.

 

With, obviously, the exceptions that you listed.

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I'd probably lean towards Foley. He could do comedy with the best of them, a serious emotional money promo, and everything in between, he has a range on the mic that few others possess. I haven't seen enough of Flair's great promos though, something i need to rectify.

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Guest TheZsaszHorsemen
Rock is very very good, it's true, but I think Jericho just caps him for greater emotional display. Rock only ever does superior mocking-type stuff. Jericho is capable of communicating anger, frustration, humour AND mocking. Plus a lot of Rock's verbal arsenal, impressive as his high-speed delivery is, consists of stringing a bunch of insults together as quickly as possible whilst heading for the nearest catchphrase. Face Jericho has one catchphrase, which only ever appears at the start of a verbal tirade. Heel Jericho has none, except for calling people "assclowns" and "jackasses" ("sanctinmonious son-of-a-bitch" is reserved solely for Austin, and therefore doesn't count), but still gets the job done whilst leaving a pleasant minty taste.

The Rock is Jericho's master on the mic my friend.

 

For an example, see the "I Am Not A Joke" promo. All of Jericho's ranting and raving means nothing when The Rock suddenly acknowledges him in a hushed solemn tone.

 

Hogan is the best ever, though.

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I'd also like to state that while I love Cactus/Mankind and feel that he is one of the best ever, I can't stand Mick Foley on the mic.

 

When he is in there just being himself, tossing around the jokes and looking for the cheap pop, I DESPISE the man.

 

I hated his run as commish, and all of that. When he's one of his characters however, I love the guy.

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The Rock is Jericho's master on the mic my friend.

 

For an example, see the "I Am Not A Joke" promo. All of Jericho's ranting and raving means nothing when The Rock suddenly acknowledges him in a hushed solemn tone.

I hated that time period for Jericho, I also disliked the Living Legend period also. Nobody looked good doing that ranting and raving gimmick.

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Foley's run as commish was to be a complete pop machine and to be a foil to whomever was the heel GM/Commish/Owner/Corporate Figure...

 

And he told us that...pretty much...

 

 

today I watched the Rock/ACDC SNL... and I don't know why...but i laughed my ass off for a good five minutes when Foley hit the People's Elbow during the Nicotrel sketch...

 

 

I miss Foley.

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