Benoit sabotages his own push with a horrid promo

[Guest rawmvp]

Seriously, how bad was that promo? Benoit should've been livid after 18 years in the business; instead, his promo sounded like he was reading off cue cards. He seemed too comfortable and wasn't intense enough. The crowd saw this too; their appreciation for Benoit quickly died off.

 

This is exactly why John Cena should've won the Rumble. Sure, he isn't the greatest wrestler in the world, but he can get a crowd going like Rock and Austin before him. Imagine if "word life" blared over the loud speakers and John Cena came out and delivered a killer promo to HBK and HHH! It would sure beat Benoit's vapid, uninspired promo.

 

Benoit is the next Billy Gunn, trust me.

[Guest BDC]

Disagree. Benoit's not a screaming out loud type. The promo was a "what I'm here to do" piece and he'll just murder whoever it is with the belt to prove his point. At least for me it was.

[Guest Deebo]

Yeah, they need to take the title off Brock Lesnar too, right? Since he can't cut promos.

 

Dumbass.

[Guest JMA]

I couldn't disagree more. The promo was intense and got right to the point. I liked it.

[cbacon 0]

.......wow.

 

*scratches head, pats belly ala kamala and leaves*

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Promo skills are overrated. Always have been and always will be.

 

I understood every word he said...that's good enough for me. Deliver your message, then go wrestle.

 

I'm sick of this era of wrestling, where you need a 20 minute promo to tell a story. Stories are told in the fucking ring. If you need to talk for 20 minutes to get people to care about you...you aren't a very good wrestler.

[razazteca 0]

Bring back Shane as his manager.

[Just call me Dan 0]

Very to the point. There isn't a clear cut opponent for him at the moment, since it seems like HBK/HHH will have round 6 soon. He went on about his 18 years and basically said he'll be waiting on the winner. We can judge his promos when they are tied in to a feud.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

This guy needs banned from the WWE folder.

 

rawmvp, do you prefer a great promo or a great match?

[Guest rawmvp]

This guy needs banned from the WWE folder.

 

rawmvp, do you prefer a great promo or a great match?

 

I like both, but as Shawn Michaels once said in the documentary, Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling, "mic skills are 70 percent and wrestling is 30 percent."

 

In the past few years, we were lucky to have three guys -- Foley, Rock, Austin -- who could do both with equal aptitude, and as a result became wrestling icons. But if Benoit doesn't improve his mic skills, he won't be able to connect with the audience, in spite of his technical wrestling expertise. This was evident when he received no reaction from the crowd upon saying, "I will realize my destiny." Not only did those lame words do him a disservice, but the manner in which he conveyed them was unconvincing, as well.

[Mole 0]

Promo skills are overrated. Always have been and always will be.

 

I understood every word he said...that's good enough for me. Deliver your message, then go wrestle.

 

I'm sick of this era of wrestling, where you need a 20 minute promo to tell a story. Stories are told in the fucking ring. If you need to talk for 20 minutes to get people to care about you...you aren't a very good wrestler.

bps, you said everything that I was going to say.

 

I'd much rather see a good wrestler with the title then a bad wrestler with the title.

 

Plus, it is WAY too soon for Cena to get the belt. He needs time with the US belt first.

[Just call me Dan 0]

Benoit would profit greatly from the wrestling announcers putting him over and giving a damn and not a guy too busy creaming over Austin being in the ring and the other shilling for a "Playboy shocker" that most of us already know the end result of.

 

These are the guys we hear for the 2 hours of Raw and they should do thier damndest to make it seem important or at least put what is happening for Benoit all into perspective.

 

The crowd sees his effort and his skill that has been displayed for 18 years. The story writes itself.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

This was evident when he received no reaction from the crowd upon saying, "I will realize my destiny." Not only did those lame words do him a disservice, but the manner in which he conveyed them was unconvincing, as well. 

 

Ok, that is gold right there.

 

But if Benoit doesn't improve his mic skills, he won't be able to connect with the audience, in spite of his technical wrestling expertise.

 

No, he can connect with the audience BECAUSE of his wrestling expertise.

 

Maybe the small crowd was generally disinterested tonight?

[Guest JMA]

Benoit's promo tonight kind of reminded me of one of Steamboat's. Intense and emotional.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

If the story of him outlasting 29 other people for over an hour, including eliminating the Big Show which no one else could do (even with 5 people trying) isn't enough to get accross his characters desire to win...

 

then I fail to see how a string of words delivered by the greatest speaker who ever lived is going to change that.

 

Take the baseless hatred elsewhere. We're all stocked up here.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Going up to this guy's comment on how Austin, Foley, and Rock got over with mic skills AND ring skills...

 

When's the last time one of them got a standing ovation?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The crowd was one of the lamest crowds I've ever seen for a RAW.

 

When Foley has a hard time getting a decent cheap pop out of the crowd, the crowd sucks. I don't know why you would go to a live televised wrestling event and sit on your hands for 2 hours and not do anything other than the occasional clap or cheer. If you wanna do that, save your money and watch it on TV.

 

You could argue that a certain number of people were counting on Benoit showing up, but he got almost no pop and a small Benoit chant. Had it been anywhere else, I would assume the crowd would have gone nuts and Benoit would have had to say something like "Thank you.." about 10 times to get them to shut up long enough for him to do his bit.

[razazteca 0]

Benoit would profit greatly from the wrestling announcers putting him over and giving a damn and not a guy too busy creaming over Austin being in the ring and the other shilling for a "Playboy shocker" that most of us already know the end result of.

 

These are the guys we hear for the 2 hours of Raw and they should do thier damndest to make it seem important or at least put what is happening for Benoit all into perspective.

 

The crowd sees his effort and his skill that has been displayed for 18 years. The story writes itself.

The Confidential segment of Benoit talking about the Crossface helped his image more than the Raw announcers. JR and King are not doing their jobs.

[Downhome 0]

It was my favorite promo that I've heard in months, I miss the basics like what we saw tonight.

[Guest rawmvp]

No, I was ECSTATIC when Benoit won the Rumble. After years of being subjected to Katie Vick, Kiss my ass Club, and other McMahon nonsense, justice finally prevailed at the Royal Rumble.

 

But...I'd hate to see Benoit not realize his full potential because of his inferior mic skills. That's all...

 

Speaking of promos, did you see Foley's promo tonight? That was a MONEY PROMO. You don't need to be the most charismatic person in the world to deliver an enraged promo. In addition, intense promos would defintely coincide with Benoit's INTENSE in ring style; otherwise, stolid promos will belie his in-ring demeanor, prompting the casual fan to say, "Benoit is a weird-looking doofus with a big, bulging upper body and chicken legs..."

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

No, I was ECSTATIC when Benoit won the Rumble. After years of being subjected to Katie Vick, Kiss my ass Club, and other McMahon nonsense, justice finally prevailed at the Royal Rumble.

 

But...I'd hate to see Benoit not realize his full potential because of his inferior mic skills. That's all...

 

Speaking of promos, did you see Foley's promo tonight? That was a MONEY PROMO. You don't need to be the most charismatic person in the world to deliver an enraged promo. In addition, intense promos would defintely coincide with Benoit's INTENSE in ring style; otherwise, stolid promos will belie his in-ring demeanor, prompting the casual fan to say, "Benoit is a weird-looking doofus with a big, bulging upper body and chicken legs..."

See...Foley's promo I only understood part of. I'd rather someone just tell me what they're thinking and move the fuck on.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Benoit made it short and got to the point, what more do you fucking want?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Catchphrases and cheap pops... what else?

 

Fine line between the crowd being disinterested and the crowd listening. Given the circumstances, I wouldn't count out "crowd listening".

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

JR and King are not doing their jobs.

They didnt help him much during the Rumble either. They seemed to forget about him until he actually won.

[Downhome 0]

I thought it was the "crowd listening", as they did respond at certan times when he said certain things, and then the very end. I love when someone cuts a promo and the crowd is silent for much of it, in a good way.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

JR and the King putting over Goldberg and Kanes respective "screw-job eliminations" didn't help Benoit's case either.

[Highland 0]

Benoit made it short and got to the point, what more do you fucking want?

HHH in the crossface, desperately tapping out while a bloody Orton, Flair, Batista and HBK (you all know this swerve is comiing) all lay helpless and unable to do anything about it.

Even better is this happening at WM.

[Guest rawmvp]

Well, at least he should bring back the "PROVE ME WRONG" or "I'll PROVE YOU WRONG" catchphrases to compensate for his lackluster mic skills. Those were gold. And you know what? Benoit has proven his detractors wrong each and every time...

 

"Hey Triple H...I'm Chris Benoit, the best damn technical wrestler in the world today (lunges forward and squeezes HHH's cheeks), and no matter how many times you call yourself "the game" everyone knows that you'll be my bitch at WM XX just like the 29 wrestlers whom I destroyed at the Rumble...I will MAKE YOU TAP at the Garden, I will carve my own destiny in the annals of time, and I will hold the World Heavyweight Title high above my head... Prove ME wrong, HHH! PROVE ME WRONG!!!"

 

That's how the promo should've gone.

[Michrome 0]

These days, you can tell if a crowd is interested in a long promo if they don't do "WHAT" inbetween. After seeing the segment, I don't think it did anything for anybody, and it wasn't Benoit's fault. Lesnar's belt was buried as inferior, and we don't know why Benoit wants this one. There better be a good explanation forthcoming.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Maybe the crowd is busy listening to Randy Orton's enterance and matches as well.