Lacking Mic Skills Is Not So Bad

[It's...Baylariat!]

You can get away with having a mediocre mic skill set as long as you have something that can compensate for that lack of skill. That something is either a great look, a great in-ring work ethic, and a great manager.

Andre the Giant got over because he was a true giant. He was larger than life and was someone who didn't have to speak. He said everything he had to just by his reactions. It's amazing how great he was as body language and working in the ring. For his size, he was extremely agile - more agile than The Big Show.

Chris Benoit and Ricky Steamboat weren't the best talkers, but those guys may have been some of the best hands to have on your roster if you needed a great match. Sure Benoit's legacy is shot to pieces because of his transgressions, but he was great inside the ring and didn't have to speak very much at all to let anyone know that.

Brock Lesnar has both. He's both great with his look and not bad in the ring. But he has one of the best talkers in the world in Paul Heyman in his corner, and when that's the case, you don't need to do much talking.

Ryback is better on the mic than Benoit, Andre, Steamboat, or Lesnar. Our standards are too high when it come to mic skills. His delivery needs some work, but he can talk in complete sentences and not sound like Sylvester the Cat. On top of that, he's smooth with his in-ring work and he looks like a million bucks. If he doesn't get over, then it's his own fault. Ryback has all the tools to be a big time star - it's just a matter of him using those tools correctly.

 

[CrazyMatt88]

Mic skills aren't overly important to me, if a guy can wow me in the ring with crazy moves and good sells, then he wins me over, I don't really care if a guy can tell me what he's going to do to someone, I'd rather him show me.

 

[H33LTurn]

It all depends on the circumstance. Rock and Mick Foley were the faces of the company at a time when verbal communication was highly valued in all avenues of entertainment. Ryback, on the other hand, plays the dominant monster role, similar to what The Undertaker played back in the day. Their actions speak for them, but at the same time someone else is speaking in order to carry their rivalry. Cena is, regardless of how you feel about his in ring skill, an incredible mouthpiece whom WWE has never shied away from utilizing to his full capacity. Ryback has an incredible intimidation factor and similar to Taker's "Rest in Piece", his feed me more line has substantial value among the WWE Universe, and therefore he does not need to give a long monologue at the start or close of RAW. The level of on mic activity a superstar engages in varies greatly with what role they play on the roster. However, I dont see WWE ever having a face of the company who doesnt posses either mic skills or a Heyman-level mouthpiece to back him up.

 

[IT Factor]

Mic skills are an essential part of connecting with the fans. If someone cannot sell what they are doing in the ring via speaking, how do we know what their motives are for doing it? I have found the most interesting guys in wrestling and entertainment have not necessarily been the best in-ring workers, but have been great showmen who can talk their way out of any situation. Especially a great heel who can verbally shred his opponents. Roddy Piper was a great example of that because he lacked being a technician in the ring but his mic work was excellent and he was polarizing because of it. His Piper's Pit segments alone proved that theory. Another great example of this is Hulk Hogan. He is the biggest name in pro wrestling and entertainment history yet he cannot wrestle. His talking was larger than life and made people notice him because he was a big man who really got into his role. You could see his passion in what he did and technical mat skills had nothing to do with it because he was just passible enough to get over.

You rarely get the Ric Flairs, Austins, Rocks, Jerichos, Punks, etc who can both talk and wrestle. I find that one reason "WWE Superstars" don't connect is that they simple aren't given the proper amount of time to talk. I liked the old school WWF style pre-taped segments that aired as a guy made his entrance where he talked about the upcoming match and his opponent. Then, depending on whether the guy was heel or face you might even get mic work after the match which was great too. WWE needs more of that today to help sell these characters and give them a new depth to connect with the audience.

I paraphrase what Stone Cold Steve Austin said in his book; mechanics are a dime a dozen in this business but you have to be able to talk. Which is true. Selling a story is what draws audiences and makes people want to see you. You have to stand out from the crowd in order to be noticed and talking is the only way to do that. Unless you are a technical marvel like Chris Benoit/Bret Hart or a physical beast like Brock Lesnar. In that case, your actions do the talking. Those types are rare though so most have to talk to get their point across.