Favorite 'Shoot' Promo?

[Wrestling101]

There's been lots of great ones, but for me, my favorite is still Joey Styles' promo. I believe that was the first time we as fans were let in on Vince's hatred for 'Wrestling' and 'wrestlers' and wanting it to be 'Sports Entertainment' and 'Entertainers'.....It's too bad too, I would love it if Styles had his rightful spot as JR's heir on MNR, leaving Cole to do Smackdown with JBL, since they have great chemistry together.

 

[BaconBits]

I'm not into shoot promos as a whole. Professional wrestling is all about suspending reality. When the suspension is broken, the product as a whole suffers. Wrestling's decline can be attributed mostly due to people breaking down what makes wrestling unique. Especially as mixed martial arts is on the rise, because the show itself has become similar to professional wrestling, but the action is real.

 

[dudedudedude]

I'm not into shoot promos as a whole. Professional wrestling is all about suspending reality. When the suspension is broken, the product as a whole suffers. Wrestling's decline can be attributed mostly due to people breaking down what makes wrestling unique. Especially as mixed martial arts is on the rise, because the show itself has become similar to professional wrestling, but the action is real.

Wait what? You say wrestlings delcine has happened because it seems too real life, and not 'suspension of reality', but then say UFC is also causing the decline, cause it is real?

I will say again, what?

I'm not being a jerk either, I am just curious as to what you mean.

 

[BaconBits]

Wait what? You say wrestlings delcine has happened because it seems too real life, and not 'suspension of reality', but then say UFC is also causing the decline, cause it is real?

I will say again, what?

I'm not being a jerk either, I am just curious as to what you mean.

Because given basically the same production, only one with fake fighting and the other with real fighting, the real fighting is going win most of the time. I agree I should have clarified that better.

 

[HBsam31]

I loved Austin's shoot in ECW where he told the story of being fired over the phone by Bischoff, and also when he was dressed like Hulk Hogan, and cut him and WCW down. Austin doing the Dusty Rhodes lisp saying we don't have anything for you right now was classic. I am not sure if all of that was in the same promo or if it was broken up over 2 or 3 weeks. I liked this one because I was still young, and wrestlers hadn't really been doing a lot of this. It was definitely a holy shit moment for me to see a wrestler cut down his former promotion. Pillman had a great one in I believe ECW too, but Austin's always stood out to me because it was pretty much the first one I ever heard.

 

[boozinjedi]

One that needs to be mentioned...

Russo's shoot on Hogan at Bash at the Beach in 2000

ONE THAT DESPERATELY NEEDED TO BE DONE!!

 

[starkmoto]

Hogan's first nWo promo was kinda shootish. That was great!

 

[Slash-LN]

Brian Pillman "I respect you booker man."

Really anytime during Brian's loose cannon time when you didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I just watched this one yesterday actually and that was the Hulk Hogan/Vince McMahon promo on the first Smackdown after No Way Out 2003. This promo was so intense and heated that Hogan nearly lost his voice and botched a few times calling himself a "gay guy" and saying he faced "a Rock" at No Way Out, also Vince was so caught up in his argument with Hogan that he forgot he was on live TV and let the word "Bullshit" fly out of his mouth. This was something that people had been waiting on for years after all the shit they had put each other through, the day Vince and Hogan would finally confront each other and bring up all their issues and debate over who made the WWE and Hulkamania, with both men making really good arguments. Really intriguing shoot this was.

And another favourite of mine is Bret Hart snapping on Vince, shoving him to the mat and ripping on him & the WWF after getting screwed in his Steel Cage WWF Championship match with Sid on RAW. Some people credit this as the beginning of the Attitude Era as I believe it's the first time someone uses profanity in the WWE and Vince is also acknowledged as the owner of the company for the first time too. This promo was as unprecedented as it was ground breaking. This would lead into Bret & Austin's double turn at WM 13 and Austin going on to becoming a mega-star.

 

[Bookerkingston]

I don't really rate them, but there's one from my childhood that I remember that I always loved: When Bret Hart came out in a wheelchair and sat in the ring rambling about Shawn Michaels for like over 10 minutes or whatever. Then Shawn came out and stood there while Bret kept rambling until Raw went off the air.

Then I think the next week they showed what happened after they went off the air. Bret kept fussing and he finally stood up and Shawn super kicked him.

 

[theHeadliner]

My favorite shoot was Shawn Michaels from April 1997, when Bret Hart was overseas. Shawn really crossed lines, and it was the first shoot of its kind when he talked about real life backstage issues in a wrestling angle context.

He tallked about how Bret went behind the WWF's back to get the offer from WCW, to put Vince's back up against the wall. He said Bret exploited his family on TV for financial reasons. He pointed out that Bret didn't respect or support Shawn in the lockerroom and as champion, but when Shawn was first IC champ and Bret was the champ, he supported and respected Bret, including telling Bret's family and Bret himself that he supported him. Michaels said he ran second fiddle to Bret with a smile on his face for years in the WWF, but when it was Shawn's time, Bret didn't like doing the job for him at WM12 and did it "kicking and screaming."

This was around the time Michaels found out about and was upset about Bret's contract. He was also pissed at Bret for doubting Shawn's knee injury in public and denouncing him for it.

 

[Just Do It]

Heyman destroying Vince prior to Survivor Series 2001 will always go down as BOSS 1. It was brilliant. There is an unedited version online which never aired, also.

 

[Moneyinc]

There is nothing better than a good promo.

I think the number 1 best in the industry all the way until the Attitude Era was Macho Man Randy Savage. Basically you can pick any of his promos from about 1988 to 1992 and they are all great. Also loved the old school style of Mean Gene Oakerland doing the promo in that little behind the scenes room.

Flair's promo on WCW Nitro after he lost to Bishoff is freaking incredible.

Stone Cold after the King of the Ring might be just the best promo ever. "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass." Haha he was so pissed off after beating the shit out of Jake the Snake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgcdyGB7hpg

I think this might be my favorite of all time ^

"The beat goes on."

The Macho man promo's before Wrestlemania 5 were great. 3 minute long promo's of Macho Man basically getting himself so mad and boiled up that his face almost explodes.

 

[Wrestling101]

I just watched this one yesterday actually and that was the Hulk Hogan/Vince McMahon promo on the first Smackdown after No Way Out 2003. This promo was so intense and heated that Hogan nearly lost his voice and botched a few times calling himself a "gay guy" and saying he faced "a Rock" at No Way Out, also Vince was so caught up in his argument with Hogan that he forgot he was on live TV and let the word "Bullshit" fly out of his mouth. This was something that people had been waiting on for years after all the shit they had put each other through, the day Vince and Hogan would finally confront each other and bring up all their issues and debate over who made the WWE and Hulkamania, with both men making really good arguments. Really intriguing shoot this was.

And another favourite of mine is Bret Hart snapping on Vince, shoving him to the mat and ripping on him & the WWF after getting screwed in his Steel Cage WWF Championship match with Sid on RAW. Some people credit this as the beginning of the Attitude Era as I believe it's the first time someone uses profanity in the WWE and Vince is also acknowledged as the owner of the company for the first time too. This promo was as unprecedented as it was ground breaking. This would lead into Bret & Austin's double turn at WM 13 and Austin going on to becoming a mega-star.

Somehow, these two have escaped me. I can probably find the first one, but can anyone leave a link to the Hart one described here? Thanks.

I don't really rate them, but there's one from my childhood that I remember that I always loved: When Bret Hart came out in a wheelchair and sat in the ring rambling about Shawn Michaels for like over 10 minutes or whatever. Then Shawn came out and stood there while Bret kept rambling until Raw went off the air.

Then I think the next week they showed what happened after they went off the air. Bret kept fussing and he finally stood up and Shawn super kicked him.

This one I don't remember, but I've heard it described before and I remember seeing that superkick. I'm having trouble finding it....can someone link me to it? Thanks.

My favorite shoot was Shawn Michaels from April 1997, when Bret Hart was overseas. Shawn really crossed lines, and it was the first shoot of its kind when he talked about real life backstage issues in a wrestling angle context.

He tallked about how Bret went behind the WWF's back to get the offer from WCW, to put Vince's back up against the wall. He said Bret exploited his family on TV for financial reasons. He pointed out that Bret didn't respect or support Shawn in the lockerroom and as champion, but when Shawn was first IC champ and Bret was the champ, he supported and respected Bret, including telling Bret's family and Bret himself that he supported him. Michaels said he ran second fiddle to Bret with a smile on his face for years in the WWF, but when it was Shawn's time, Bret didn't like doing the job for him at WM12 and did it "kicking and screaming."

This was around the time Michaels found out about and was upset about Bret's contract. He was also pissed at Bret for doubting Shawn's knee injury in public and denouncing him for it.

Another one I don't remember, but that's what happens when you go through spells where you don't watch wrestling, in this case, because I was living out of the country. Can someone link me to this? Thanks.

Heyman destroying Vince prior to Survivor Series 2001 will always go down as BOSS 1. It was brilliant. There is an unedited version online which never aired, also.

This is the one where Tazz comes from behind on Heyman and chokes him out, right? This one I remember and it's a good one.

There is nothing better than a good promo.

I think the number 1 best in the industry all the way until the Attitude Era was Macho Man Randy Savage. Basically you can pick any of his promos from about 1988 to 1992 and they are all great. Also loved the old school style of Mean Gene Oakerland doing the promo in that little behind the scenes room.

Flair's promo on WCW Nitro after he lost to Bishoff is freaking incredible.

Stone Cold after the King of the Ring might be just the best promo ever. "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass." Haha he was so pissed off after beating the shit out of Jake the Snake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgcdyGB7hpg

I think this might be my favorite of all time ^

"The beat goes on."

The Macho man promo's before Wrestlemania 5 were great. 3 minute long promo's of Macho Man basically getting himself so mad and boiled up that his face almost explodes.

I don't think I've ever watched Flair's one you're talking about.

Austin's.......for some reason, I don't even think it was that great, it was just the start of one of his catchphrases and it is memorable, but I don't see the greatness of it....to each his own though.

 

[theHeadliner]

Another one I don't remember, but that's what happens when you go through spells where you don't watch wrestling, in this case, because I was living out of the country. Can someone link me to this? Thanks.

It really was the first time a wrestler in WWF did that. Its funny because it shows Owen and Davey throughout the interview backstage as part of the storyline, but by the end they are so upset in real life they stopped playing the part and Jim Ross said it.

Its on youtube. "Shawn Michaels promo from 1997."

 

[Moneyinc]

I don't think I've ever watched Flair's one you're talking about.

Austin's.......for some reason, I don't even think it was that great, it was just the start of one of his catchphrases and it is memorable, but I don't see the greatness of it....to each his own though.

Austin's delivery and everything he says in that dang speech is so great. How pissed off he was gets me and my friends fired up every time we watch it. He is sitting on the throne literally snapping as hard as anyone had really gone on the Mic at that time, delivering lines that were fresher than any other promo's at the time by far. Also there is a little something added to a real live promo in front of the whole crowd, compared to doing one in the back and being able to do numerous takes.


Here is Flair's promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_3jW_0jnzc

 

[Waylon Mercy]

I don't really rate them, but there's one from my childhood that I remember that I always loved: When Bret Hart came out in a wheelchair and sat in the ring rambling about Shawn Michaels for like over 10 minutes or whatever. Then Shawn came out and stood there while Bret kept rambling until Raw went off the air.

Then I think the next week they showed what happened after they went off the air. Bret kept fussing and he finally stood up and Shawn super kicked him.

This one I remember really well. This added even more fuel to the fire, as the whole thing was planned out meticulously by Shawn and Bret beforehand. The superkick, of course, was supposed to be seen on tv, but due to Bret taking up too much time, it got cut. Shawn only found out about it as he went backstage, and he was really pissed. He was already paranoid that Bret was out to destroy his career, so this was probably the moment where he decided the gloves were off. Keep in mind that Shawn was probably at his worst in terms of substance abuse at this time, so his paranoia was running rampant. It was not a deliberate thing that Bret did, but there were too many incidents and things said between the two to salvage any kind of friendship they used to have.

 

[dukes07]

Once again, everyone is doing a great job, so I have to repeat quite a few: Hart in 97, especially the one where he went off on Vince and the WWF (I will say that Nash had a solid one after Survivor 95 but it went nowhere).

Russo at Bash 2000.

Dusty's speech in the 80s.

Heyman on Vince during the InVasion.

Hogan at Bash 96.

Summer of Punk 11.

I have yet to see the Austin promo or Shane Douglas' as I am WAY behind when it comes to ECW. I just need to watch it.