"Do I have everybody's attention now?" -CM Punk
To be a trash talker, you have to say what everyone else is thinking, have a lot of self-confidence, and an all-important punchline that gets the crowd going. Who are the biggest trash talkers of all time? Click READ MORE to find out!
10. Randy Savage. Savage was a great trash talker because he was crazy and was all over the place. They show some clips of Savage in his prime. Funny moment is an 80's house show promo with Okerlund, and a telephone rings in the background. "I'll get that!".
9. Superstar Billy Graham. Paul Heyman says he is in the industry today because of Graham. Booker T calls him wrestling's Muhammad Ali. He borrowed a lot from Ali's style of braggadocio, but Heyman says Ali was out of Graham's league. Hulk Hogan looked up to him and was a big influence on his own career.
8. Chris Jericho. Jericho believes every word coming out of his mouth. Dolph Ziggler says he latched on to what Jericho did. They show the "1,004 holds" clip from Nitro, which will be forever hilarious. The bit where he purposely mispronounced people's names was gold. Only Jericho can make pronouncing Bobby Duncam, Jr an exhibition of hilarity.
7. Bobby Heenan. The Brain never seems to run out of material. His repartee with Gorilla Monsoon on Primetime and Wrestling Challenge is missed today. Heenan was the mouthpiece for some of the lesser talkers for a reason. "If you don't listen to me, you're never heard from again!".
6. Ric Flair. The basis of Flair's trash talk was that everything he said about himself was actually true. The suits, the watches, the limousines. Steamboat says that Flair opened the door to a lot of trash talking. He had a ton of energy during his promos, and was genuine every time.
5. Roddy Piper. Piper was known for his quick wit and spontaneity. Sheamus thinks Piper doesn't even know himself what he's going to say next. Piper's Pit was the template for all subsequent interview segments on wrestling television. Piper stood out because he wasn't the biggest guy, but had the loudest bark.
4. Jake Roberts. The Snake had the ability to cut an excellent promo. He didn't have to yell, or tell jokes. He was soft-spoken and cerebral, laying on the psychology without even hitting the ring. "Trust me" worked so well, because of the smirk on his face.
3. The Rock. The man drew people in with his promos. The Rock had the ability to create a promo on the fly. Billy Gunn recalls the "God, it's me Billy" promo. Rock's teasing of Lillian Garcia with his strudel is also recalled.
2. CM Punk. A live microphone for him is a pipe bomb. He was able to say things that others would not be able to get away with. He was able to see through people and hit them with some truth about themselves. The lead up to Money in the Bank 2011 was Punk at his promo peak.
1. Steve Austin. The talking heads call him the greatest trash talker of all time. The Miz gives Heyman and ECW credit for allowing Austin to straight talk after getting fired from WCW. That brought Austin to Vince's attention and he snatched him up. Here we go with "Austin 3:16" as the kickstart for Austin's rocket push. CM Punk says that Austin wasn't the most creative talker, but he was the most honest.
Not a bad list at all. A little better than your usual Countdown show, that's for sure. The inclusion of Superstar Billy Graham was a surprise to me, but a welcome one. Old school fans could use more inclusions like that, because it lends more credibility to these lists. A slight argument with #1, as I feel that Austin's promos were not as strong as The Rock's during their era.
Next week, top ten Divas. I'll be taking a nacho break for that show.
To be a trash talker, you have to say what everyone else is thinking, have a lot of self-confidence, and an all-important punchline that gets the crowd going. Who are the biggest trash talkers of all time? Click READ MORE to find out!
10. Randy Savage. Savage was a great trash talker because he was crazy and was all over the place. They show some clips of Savage in his prime. Funny moment is an 80's house show promo with Okerlund, and a telephone rings in the background. "I'll get that!".
9. Superstar Billy Graham. Paul Heyman says he is in the industry today because of Graham. Booker T calls him wrestling's Muhammad Ali. He borrowed a lot from Ali's style of braggadocio, but Heyman says Ali was out of Graham's league. Hulk Hogan looked up to him and was a big influence on his own career.
8. Chris Jericho. Jericho believes every word coming out of his mouth. Dolph Ziggler says he latched on to what Jericho did. They show the "1,004 holds" clip from Nitro, which will be forever hilarious. The bit where he purposely mispronounced people's names was gold. Only Jericho can make pronouncing Bobby Duncam, Jr an exhibition of hilarity.
7. Bobby Heenan. The Brain never seems to run out of material. His repartee with Gorilla Monsoon on Primetime and Wrestling Challenge is missed today. Heenan was the mouthpiece for some of the lesser talkers for a reason. "If you don't listen to me, you're never heard from again!".
6. Ric Flair. The basis of Flair's trash talk was that everything he said about himself was actually true. The suits, the watches, the limousines. Steamboat says that Flair opened the door to a lot of trash talking. He had a ton of energy during his promos, and was genuine every time.
5. Roddy Piper. Piper was known for his quick wit and spontaneity. Sheamus thinks Piper doesn't even know himself what he's going to say next. Piper's Pit was the template for all subsequent interview segments on wrestling television. Piper stood out because he wasn't the biggest guy, but had the loudest bark.
4. Jake Roberts. The Snake had the ability to cut an excellent promo. He didn't have to yell, or tell jokes. He was soft-spoken and cerebral, laying on the psychology without even hitting the ring. "Trust me" worked so well, because of the smirk on his face.
3. The Rock. The man drew people in with his promos. The Rock had the ability to create a promo on the fly. Billy Gunn recalls the "God, it's me Billy" promo. Rock's teasing of Lillian Garcia with his strudel is also recalled.
2. CM Punk. A live microphone for him is a pipe bomb. He was able to say things that others would not be able to get away with. He was able to see through people and hit them with some truth about themselves. The lead up to Money in the Bank 2011 was Punk at his promo peak.
1. Steve Austin. The talking heads call him the greatest trash talker of all time. The Miz gives Heyman and ECW credit for allowing Austin to straight talk after getting fired from WCW. That brought Austin to Vince's attention and he snatched him up. Here we go with "Austin 3:16" as the kickstart for Austin's rocket push. CM Punk says that Austin wasn't the most creative talker, but he was the most honest.
Not a bad list at all. A little better than your usual Countdown show, that's for sure. The inclusion of Superstar Billy Graham was a surprise to me, but a welcome one. Old school fans could use more inclusions like that, because it lends more credibility to these lists. A slight argument with #1, as I feel that Austin's promos were not as strong as The Rock's during their era.
Next week, top ten Divas. I'll be taking a nacho break for that show.
LOL at CM Punk over the Rock.
ReplyDeleteMostly because it's bullshit. Punk was great on the mic but a Rock was a friggin prodigy.
ReplyDeleteYeah the was an unnecessary boring chant.
ReplyDeleteRic Flair is the greatest trash-talker of all time. He would obliterate five people or more in a minute every week on Saturday Night.
ReplyDeletePlease. Everyone knows Duke "The Dumpster" Drosee was the best trash talker.
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched Main Event in awhile, but it seems even this show is producing a better product than Impact.
ReplyDeleteFlair is the only wrestler who could have a legitimate 3-disc DVD set dedicated solely to promos. I think that's merit enough for number one on this list.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite 'one-liner' from Savage was to Mean Gene in WCW: "Your mustache is crooked!" It just came outta nowhere.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know, what you did there, I saw it.
ReplyDeleteHA
ReplyDeleteOK Dusty not being here is kinda bullshit.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, I'd love to see a DVD set focusing solely on promos. They have so much content at this point they can easily do a couple of them.
ReplyDeletePunk as last entrant at Money in The Bank confirmed!
ReplyDeleteNo mention of John Cena and his battle raps/photoshops?????
ReplyDeletethis whole list is bullshit
Also Smackdown sounds like their best show in MONTHS.
ReplyDeleteWas Dusty a trash talker though?
ReplyDeleteJudging by other people they have on that list, yes.
ReplyDeleteRock.
ReplyDeleteHis heyday was really before my time and I grew up a WWF fan so I missed most of his best stuff. But most of the clips I've seen were very light on badmouthing his opponent and usually just selling how much of an everyman he was.
ReplyDeleteHonorable mentions: Pillman, Hayes, Cornette, Lawler, Gilbert and the godfather of the put-together, arrogant heel, the Bock.
ReplyDeleteGood review, lol at jobs to.
ReplyDeleteCornette is a huge omission.
ReplyDeleteIf your olllllllllllllllllllllllfactory sensor detects what the Bock is concocting!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. He had so many good ones. Some of them are on his various DVD sets, and they are hilarious.
ReplyDeleteYOUR THOUGHTS REGARDING THE SITUATION ARE IRRELEVANT!
ReplyDeleteYeah that's a good point.
ReplyDeleteDid the guy ever improve?
ReplyDelete"While you were out in Hollywood, 'Thunderlips,' I was winning world titles!"
ReplyDelete"(To Sting) When you get through talking to those 15-year-olds, ask a few of those 21-year-olds what my greatest feature is. That is: I'm a '60-minute man,' baby! WOOOOOO!"
Flair deserves the number one spot on those two alone.
To conclude, THIS IS NOT FAIR TO FLAIR!
Flashback to Ric giving Ricky Morton a training bra for his teeny bopper fans
ReplyDeleteIn all fairness, a couple of great Austin ones:
ReplyDelete"If you put the letter "S" in front of the name 'Hitman,' you get my exact opinion of Bret Hart."
and my favourite ever...
"You say I've got one foot already in the grave. Well tonight what I'm gonna do is take that one foot out of the grave and put it in your ASS!"
Didn't think this list was bad, though Punk being ranked #2 ahead of Flair/Piper/Roberts/Rock was a shock. I'd move him down to #6, but other than that, I think they got it mostly right. When Countdown has itself together, the episodes can be pretty good (really, the only BAD one was the villains episode, where Flair was left off the list entirely).
ReplyDeleteDid she really say "twat"?
ReplyDeleteRock was great on the mic, but by 2000 I was tired of his routine.
ReplyDeleteThat's what Droese was missing all along!
ReplyDeleteA bunch of guys standing around the ring while he did all the work!
Duke should have been around in 99 when they formed the UNION.
ReplyDeleteWho is this "CM Punk" they speak of?
ReplyDeleteAlso, in hindsight, I'm wondering why Kid wasn't rewarded with an IC title run or something. He was busting his ass out there on these shows.
ReplyDeleteRemember who votes on these categories; Jaded smart fans and people who want the Attitude Era to come back.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't horrible but the constant screaming wore me out at the end.
ReplyDeleteThey'll never do this but I'd say worst mic skills gotta be Brock.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe Rock was #1, just because they like kissing his ass so much. I would say him and Austin are both #1 and #1a for me.
ReplyDeleteRock as heel? Yes. Face Rock was the worst.
ReplyDeleteMost overrated talker ever? The Rock.
ReplyDeleteAt that time period he had zero credibility as a singles wrestler due to his size, but I do wish they gave him a lengthy tag title reign. Waltman could have made that work.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of trash talk, I just watched a crappy MSG '97 Old School show on the Network and Faarooq has some interesting words for Goldust:
ReplyDelete"I've faced Deadmen like the Undertaker, colored boys like Ahmed Johnson, white boys like Shawn Michaels but this is where I draw the line 'cause I'll be damned if I step in the ring with a damn fairy!"
I'd surprised they left that one in there.
Luger v Crush AND Diesel v Typhoon? Surprised we didn't get "smell the workrate" type comment.
ReplyDeleteAt this point moving forward, WWF and WCW was basically a war of "what kind of garbage are you more interested in putting up with"? WCW's "All about Hogan and whoever sucks up to him" crap, or WWF's "New Generation of STUPID GIMMICKS" crap.
ReplyDeleteAt least with WWF they were producing good matches around this period. The problem with Hogan and friends is that they can't work a *** match without a miracle.
ReplyDeleteWhich would make you think rock would be number one
ReplyDeleteAs I said lower, he's the most overrated talker ever. Post 2003 he was just painful.
ReplyDeleteThose fans don't like the Rock anymore.
ReplyDeleteNo disrespect to Punk, but he's not better than Rock.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I mentioned this in another topic a few days ago, but 1995 sucked, but Bret and Shawn were carrying everything and their mothers to good matches, and you still had Owen, the 1-2-3 Kid, Razor, Hakushi and a handful of others getting steady TV time and delivering the goods. WCW had talented workers, but were usually lost in the shuffle of a treadmill undercard. I find it laughable that Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman at Fall Brawl was meant to expose them for not being able to work 30-minutes, and they fucking rocked out a ****1/2 match instead.
ReplyDeleteWait, who is that?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hate when people start hating on WWF in 1995. During that period WWF had an extremely talented roster and the only thing that let them down was the awful booking.
ReplyDeleteThe Rock's number one by far. He could make a fool out of anybody, and nobody could retort with anything on par.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone's near him it's Piper for being the epitome of disrespectfulness and being offensive. That's trash talking.
Diesel's top of the card run really hurts the overall opinion, and rightfully so. His reign was doomed after Mania, and then he holds it another 7 months for lame-ass programs with Negative-Star Sid, King Mabel, and Davey Boy Smith (who is only a good singles wrestler when fighting a Hart or HBK)
ReplyDeleteWCW had a talented roster too and they were producing good matches too, but that was put to a stop when Hulk Hogan came in and no good matches were allowed.
ReplyDelete"Was there something on that Monday night? Tennis or something?"
ReplyDeleteNope, it was just a special, and the next night's Raw was just a re-packaged version with different commentary for the same matches.
I'll be the one to say it: I'd much rather watch today's Raw than the ones from 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI thought one hour of crap was better than 3 hours.
ReplyDeleteFlair should be much higher, probably in top 3. Punk over Rock makes little sense as well. And those calling Rock "Overrated" just blew the "Smark-o-meter" to bits.
ReplyDeleteTake Austin, Flair, Rock in that order.
WWE did that with March to WrestleMania, but skipped it in the 1994 playlist for whatever reasons. Ditto every other rehashed Primetime Special.
ReplyDeleteExcept Austin.
ReplyDeleteI come out here and I sit here and listen to you spin your little nursery rhymes about Jabroni Ave. and Know Your Role Blvd. Jesus Christ Son you better get your ass serious because Stone Cold Steve Austin is gonna take his ass to Philadelphia, he's gonna check right into the smackdown hotel, roll right up to room 316 and burn that son of a bitch to the ground!!
I'll take the option "read the results and watch only the good stuff." Either way, it cuts the show down to about 20-30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteHere's why I picked Rock, though: Rock's feuds were comprised of him trashing and humiliating the other, whereas Austin's feuds, once they got personal, necessitated violence and mind games.
ReplyDeleteBetter question: You have a jobber in the ring, that no one has ever seen, or heard of. You get to send one guy down there to send him to hell in a promo. Who you taking??
ReplyDeleteGimme Flair.
Look at it this way: today you can record it and cut out all the junk, back then you actually had to set aside time, wait for it, and then be disappointed afterwards.
ReplyDeleteBetter than the usual Countdown picks, hard to argue placements here, all great guys.
ReplyDeleteWhen WCW had good matches on their shows in 1995, it was usually few and far between. Superbrawl was all crap with maybe 2 "good" matches (as in **-ish). Uncensored? Awful. Slamboree? Awful. Bash at the Beach? A couple of ** matches. Fall Brawl? 2 really good matches, 1 that was intended to be a failure, and the other between Flair and Double A.
ReplyDeleteEh, it's about half and half today. The only thing worth watching on this show was Owen/Waltman.
ReplyDeleteWho's someone you wouldn't want to go near with a mic?
ReplyDelete1. Ken Patera
2. Billy Gunn
3. Paul Orndorff (I know he had some hot feuds, but he needed Heenan more than anyone else I know)
4. That whole slew of divas from 05-08--Candice, Ashley, Melina, etc (with special mention of Alicia Fox being "the undefined women's champion")
5. Marty Jannetty
Note: You can make fun out of Sid's botches or Warrior's nonsense, but they were effective
Lesnar
ReplyDelete"Ya know why Baby Doll left Tully Blanchard? LACK O' SAHZ, BA-BAY!"
ReplyDelete"Mama talks to Co'nett, Co'nett talks to Bubba, Bubba talks to Bobby Eaton, can't say much cuz Bobby Eaton cain't talk!"
"Arn Anderson ain't never been nothin' but a walk-behinder! And when you're a walk-behinder and you're not a leader, then the view nevuh changes, ba-bay. The view nevuh changes, ba-bay! THE VIEW NEVUH CHAAANGES."
Dusty certainly could get his zingers in.
I get why you would feel those feelings you feel.
ReplyDeleteI was mostly referring to your "nobody could retort on par" argument.
ReplyDeleteIf you have Rock 1, that's fine.
I take it you think the voting is rigged?
ReplyDeleteHBK gets top 5 just for the Hogan feud. Rest of his career pushes him into top 3, probably. Mayyyyyybe 2.
ReplyDeleteActually SummerSlam was on Monday nights for awhile (doubtless the US Open played a part in that), so this may have been a year where that was the case. I watched the show but I can't even remember.
ReplyDeleteThe Montreal Promo is A++.
ReplyDeleteOn the Bret Hart blu-ray set from last year, it has him vs. Yokozuna from Survivor Series Showdown 1993, but it's the Raw replay version with JR and Monsoon on commentary instead of Vince and Heenan. When the match aired on Sunday, the PPV was 3 nights away, then 2 when it aired on Monday. The commentary reflects that, yet it's still treated like a brand new match.
ReplyDeleteThe Best In The World
ReplyDeleteRocky is #1 for me- he basically buried Billy Gunn's career forever in one promo.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was a Monday. 10th birthday for me. I know everyone cares to see that tidbit.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised people think that when we're, what, 2 weeks removed from the Brood being named the #2 faction of all time? The fans picking that is bizarre, but WWE picking that is pretty much unthinkable. They'd have no reason to do it.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, he's lookin' pretty skinny-fat these days, man.
ReplyDeleteThis wouldn't be the exact order I'd pick, but I think it's a fine list. I might not have picked this exact 10, but none of them are undeserving in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWCW still had strong under- and mid-card action up until the fall or so. That's when Hogan's friends really started taking over. Hogan was tolerable for awhile because he was isolated from everyone else (am I repeating myself? Did I make this point a few days ago here or somewhere else?). Anyway, Hogan was off by himself, and we still got some awesomeness that wasn't soiled by him, like the Badd-Regal series (vastly underrated) and the Dustin-Stud Stable angle (which stands as the last truly great Southern Wrasslin' feud, from JCP/WCW as we once knew it).
ReplyDeleteEarly '94 WCW is fantastic. Best run of in-ring action for the company since the height of the Dangerous Alliance days.
Nobody has a reason to do that.
ReplyDeleteExpect maybe some loser goths kids. Probably their fault.
I'm pretty sure The Brood were the second-best trash talkers ever, you guys.
ReplyDeleteNick Bockwinkel.
ReplyDeleteJericho's run where he wore suits and used big words awkwardly was such a great homage.
Probably Gangrel sitting at home voting constantly.
ReplyDeleteBobby Eaton, Robert Gibson, Andre, Dr Death
ReplyDeleteDid I blink in '94 and miss a Roy Bros. jobber tag team? Or was this the Random Name Generator Beta 1.0 in effect?
ReplyDeleteLawler for me. He'd start out as the guy's buddy and then rip out his heart.
ReplyDeleteWe like Roy! We like Roy!
ReplyDelete"If he wins 12 more matches, he'll be upgraded to Golden King."
ReplyDeleteHeel Rock has to be the GOAT.
ReplyDeleteHaha. That's awesome.
ReplyDeleteSounded like she said it. But she made it sound like "flat"...or maybe I just misheard it altogether...
ReplyDeleteHey, Andre could cut awesome promos... as long as they were in French!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Roy was one of the prosecutors.
ReplyDeleteI hate those absurdly quick first falls in 2 out of 3 matches. The Bulldogs basically would have lost the Tag-Straps in 90 seconds if it was a regular match.
ReplyDeleteBut aside from that this sounds like a fun show. What happened to Terry Funk between his departure in 86 to his return in 89 in the NWA? He missed out on some mighty fine paydays in that span even if he was a mid-carder.
Ive always wondered too. I (and others Ive seen) just assume that Vince thought Dory was to gay a name for a badass.
ReplyDeleteThat's more like it.
ReplyDeletePerri Power!
I know he did acting in Hollywood during that timeframe
ReplyDeleteBecause of vince
ReplyDeleteHe did the movie with Syallone after this.
ReplyDeleteMeltzer also reported that Harley Race was originally going to wear the costume that Jimmy Jack Funk wore and go by "Hangman" Harley Race bit they decided against it at the last minute, thankfully
ReplyDeletehe got health insurance by getting his SAG card
ReplyDeleteOver The Top & Roadhouse, 2 of the absolute finest bad movies ever filmed!
ReplyDeleteTerry was great in em both too, surprised those never lead to anything else for him.
now we just need someone to draw a picture of him with a cape.
ReplyDelete