Is WWE Moving Away From Scripted Promos?

[OYDK]

Just a random thought that crossed my mind while I've been watching Raw over the past month. To me, it seems lately as if WWE is letting the majority of their talent sink or swim on their own in regards to promos, as opposed to their previous strategy of forcing them to memorize a two-page monologue. Of course there are still a few guys, Roman Reigns most notably, where it's obvious that they're being told what to say, but when it comes to people like AJ Styles, Rusev, Cesaro, Charlotte etc., guys that have previously seemed robotic and stiff on the mic, their promos have come off as a lot more natural over the past few weeks.

Sometimes it can get a bit awkward or a wrestler will flub, but even that seems a lot more natural than when they would flub on the scripts. I don't think it's some sort of miracle that somebody like Cesaro can all of the sudden cut a decent promo or breeze through a backstage interview when just 3 months ago, he could barely speak straight for a minute. I've also noticed a lot more of the personality of the wrestlers coming out in their promos, especially Rusev. Now Rusev isn't a great speaker by any stretch of the imagination, but by letting him go out there and be himself, even his nonsense can come off as funny or endearing at times. This is one of the reasons I think Raw has been so much better lately than it's been in a while. The wrestlers are finally getting to do their own thing.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I was just wondering if anybody else has noticed a difference since Mania. Do you think the wrestlers are being given more freedom heading into the Brand Split?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's possible. I haven't noticed any off the wall changes, but some do seem more comfortable on the mic. AJ Styles seems more comfortable, to me at least, and there was actually some life in Roman Reigns this past Monday. His closing comments to Rollins had some emotion behind them, some intensity and that's not something we see often from Roman Reigns. Charlotte is also far, far better than she used to be, so maybe the reins have been loosened up a bit.

I believe that scripted promos will be a thing of the past in WWE someday, but I don't see that coming down until Vince is out of the picture. Vince is too controlling, too unwilling to trust that talent aren't going to go off the reservation, too full of his own ego to even consider that there are other ways of keeping employees in line without keeping them on edge 24/7. Vince feels that HIS way is best when it comes to creative and there are very few people he'll listen to when it comes to changing; even then and even with those few people, it's really hit and miss when it comes to convincing him to alter his ideas.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

No. There may a little more side humor than in the past but it is still very much scripted. Maybe even more so.

I think, or at least I'd like to think that what appears to be freedom is more about practice and preparation. I think wrestlers have seen what guys like New Day can do and realize that it is because they spend a lot of time together meshing their personalities and working on their lines.

Wrestlers are not natural actors. Some guys have it like Woods and Cena but even they have had to work really hard on it. I think/hope that hard work is rubbing off on others.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

I think wwe is moving away from scripted promos.. The way Kevin Owens and Ambrose is speaking make me believe that..Also last night Roman did pretty good in mic..The intensity and emotion was there and not at all looked scripted..

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Kevin Owens interrupts Shane McMahon and Corperate Kane and goes on about Del Rio being late and it's not professional. Del Rio shows up late to the segment and is mad at Kevin Owens for calling the airport and making them delay Del Rio. Kane makes a match with them vs The Lucha Dragons, the losing team is out of the MITB match and the winners are in. Shane is impressed at Kane's match making chops.

The whole thing was scripted as hell, yet well acted by all parties. I think the wrestlers in WWE are fully scripted, but just learning to put a little more emotion into their work, A.K.A improving their acting skills.

Dean, Seth and Roman's segment was also fully scripted IMO but all three did some decent acting with what they had to work with.

John Cena is one of the best actors in the WWE, I have no doubt he's scripted word for word, as was A.J Styles.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I think WWE just has a lot of really good mic workers on the roster. Mainly New Day, Enzo/Cass, Owens, Ambrose, and Cena. Shane is also a thousand times better than Stephanie on the mic. Styles is a lot better than I thought he would be, and wrestlers like Del Rio, Reigns, and Cesaro are improving.

Maybe WWE is leaning towards non-scripted promos, but I think wrestlers are just getting better on the mic.

 

[vampxx24]

to the guys saying no, you guys are aware this is an ongoing hhh vs vince issue correct? and is a major thing with reigns. HHH wants the guys to use bullet points and its clear certain guys have the liberty , mostly the guys hhh brought in (owens,aj ect ect). They have points they have to hit in their promo but its not full scripted. HHH became a HUGE fan of this when punk basically made nash look like a fool when punk was using bullet points and nash was fully scripted in their promo.

its been reported a few times they have had a few battles over roman. HHH wants to let roman use the bullet point type style promo to make his mic work flow better but vince wont allow it.

if anything it seems like above, certain guys are allowed more freedom to stray away from a 100 pct script and others are not. As said above, aj seems to have been given that liberty,

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

When a scripted promo fits a guy's character and he is able to deliver it as if it is his own words, then it sounds unscripted, therefore its good. There are very few guys who sound unscripted. Kevin Owens, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho come to mind. Whether something is scripted or not makes no difference to me. It's whether or not it comes across as genuine TALKING, and not regurgitating dialogue that was fed to you.

 

[Navi]

I believe they are all scripted to a certain degree, some more so than others. When you have wrestlers like Owens who smash talk as their going like he did on commentary Monday night, it's obvious that he is at home with the mic in his hands, and is probably given bullet points. That would also apply to Wyatt, Jericho, Ambrose, Rollins, Cena and the others who are naturals. Wrestlers like Styles, Reigns and Cesaro are probably given scripts and read off more or less what's on them.

That's most likely why they come of looking stiff are they are reciting a script and the other person is making it up as they go. Any way you shape it, they are getting better on the mic all of them.