This Aint Sing A Long With The Rock!

[SSJPhenom]

We all remember back in '98 and '99 when the Rock was just starting to hit it real big don't we? How he won his first WWE Championship with Vince and Shane in his corner starting the Corporation? I do and it was magical back then!

His promos were also magical back then. He was the heel and as such he wanted heat from the fans but at time he just couldn't get it. So the Rock would spout out his catchphrases and much like today, the fans would sing a long with him. However; the Rock didn't want the fans to sing a long with him. So he would stop and tell the fans, "This aint sing a long with the Rock, the Rock says it by himself". Good times, good times.

I consider these promos to be some of the best heel promos ever cut in wrestling period. They're amazing and if you don't believe me, go to youtube and type in "sing a long with the rock" and see what you get.

How do you guys feel about these promos? Were they the best heel promos ever? I'd like to know.

 

[AwesomeRko]

They were absolutely amazing. I am a massive Rock fan and this was when I believe he ws at his best. In trms of pure entertainment I don't believe any promo-guy has ever matched corporate Rock, his stuff was just so well-delivered, funny and refreshing, with of course other great characters like Foley and Austin to draw from.

I think the only issue with saying they are the greatest heel promos of all time is likee you mentioned the fact that they were so entertaining people wound up cheering rather than booing him.

 

[dtroppe]

If the Rock doesnt cut the best promo in the game then he is only a pinpoint away from the best-Stone Cold. But as strictly a heel, it would be worth arguing that Vince McMahon did some of the best mic work in the history of the biz and really sold the stone cold gimmick .His promos may not have been as electrifying but lets be honest we all ate them up and despised VKM. Some other great heel promo cutters, were Bret Hart when he turned heel and Shawn Michaels when he was in the original DX and trying to be the heel against stone cold. Those two guys deserve honorable mention. Rick Rude, IMO, was also one of the better promo guys of all time- i think his promos-while short, were excellent- he spoke well and and was very charismatic.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

I loved these promos, as you see I am clearly a Rock mark, so I had to comment! Sometimes I even find myself quoting his promos. One of my all time favorite lines from The Rock was "Mary had a little lamb. Well I tell ya what, piss on Mary, piss on the lamb, and piss on you!" Funny stuff!

He has a list of stuff he used to say: monkey piss, The Rock whipes his ass with what you think, it doesn't matter, know your role, pie, monkey ass, stick it straight up your candy ass, layin' the smackdown.

But he was his absolute best at promos in 1999. He made fun of EVERYBODY! On his second DVD, it shows clips of him insulting Taker, Mr. Ass, HHH, etc.

So when I think of The Rock, I don't think of the bald guy who "brings it" via satellite. I'm talking about the guy who had the $500 suits, the high top haircut, the thick sunglasses, and that shoe that he shined up real nice to stick up your candy ass!



rep!

 

[Pedigree1]

OMG the rock was hilarious wasnt he? I loved the bit on mr ass when he made fun of NWO and who cant forget the Hermie segment!! Made Coach look like a jackass it doesnt matter what you think i wipe my ass with what you think!! Classic Rock stuff

 

[HBsam31]

I agree that the Rock gave some of the greatest heel promos ever, but I also agree with an above poster who says it's hard to define them as heel promos when the fans ate them up and cheered for them so much. This is my favorite heel promo given by the Rock. It is also one of his first. I remember laughing so hard at this because at the time we hadn't seen anything like this from him.. Check it out and let me know what you guys think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2QUZ9T_KhI

 

[anthonymclaughlin]

best promo worker ever? I'd be hard pushed to disagree with you, but best heel promo worker? Not on your life. IMO the Rock is both the best crowd worker of all time, and at the same time the worst ever. As a face he couldn't get cheered and as a heel he couldn't get booed, sure he was amazing on the mic but no matter what he tried he couldn't make the crowd do what he wanted. That being said, I don't think the Rock from those days exists anymore, Dwanye Johnson is more concerned with dropping as many dates as possible into his promos, serious go have a look i'll wait......... see what i mean, we get it Rock you've done your research, now hurry up and call someone a jabroni. But i digress, who do i think is the best heel mike worker of all time? Edge, alotta people are gonna disagree with this and I can understand why, but honest to god that man made the hair on the back of my neck stand up when he was cutting his promos, that thing with mick roley where he snapped? or when he knocked vicki out of her wheelchair? shudders*

 

[OJsOtherGlove]

best promo worker ever? I'd be hard pushed to disagree with you, but best heel promo worker? Not on your life. IMO the Rock is both the best crowd worker of all time, and at the same time the worst ever. As a face he couldn't get cheered and as a heel he couldn't get booed, sure he was amazing on the mic but no matter what he tried he couldn't make the crowd do what he wanted.

I'm sorry, what? He could get the crowd to chant his name just by uttering a few words. He had the at his finger tips, especially after he left The Corporation. The only person who got more cheers than The Rock was Austin. Rocky damn near always got a huge pop and cheer. Your statement has no basis or merrit. Even Hollywood Rock could get them to start booing very easily (followed by a laugh)

 

[RJJ]

1999 was his best year in terms of mic skills. The deep voice, the slow talking, the versace shirts, the sideburns, and above all that, that Rock respects absolutley nobody, from the top to the bottom. All those things made the Rock who he is. Unfortunitly, He last his swagger over the years, and I have to agree with some of the people here, he's becoming more of a dwayne johnson, with his all smiling kiss ass attitude towards the audience.

 

[Psyclone]

I'm sorry, what? He could get the crowd to chant his name just by uttering a few words. He had the at his finger tips, especially after he left The Corporation. The only person who got more cheers than The Rock was Austin. Rocky damn near always got a huge pop and cheer. Your statement has no basis or merrit. Even Hollywood Rock could get them to start booing very easily (followed by a laugh)

well that last statement "followed by a laugh" goes to the OP point... these were not the best heel promo's ever... Look Rock was a charismatic son of a gun... I'd almost go so far as to say he was one of the most charismatic people in the wrestling business EVER... To this day he can get the crowd to do what he wants them to do, and he can play them like a fiddle... However as a heel, his promo's ran into problems because they were so damn entertaining that he'd end up getting the crowd to chant them, or they would cheer afterwards... So no he was not the best Heel promo ever... He was just an entertaining extremely charismatic guy who was heel only until his next face turn 90% of the time.

 

[ilapierre]

I'm a huge Rock fan and the guy might just be the best on the stick ever. He definitely was the best wrestler in WWE on the mic in the Attitude Era. Vince McMahon was one of the best heels of all time and therefore, in my opinion, would be a better heel personality on the mic. Every era or generation has that heel though who can work the crowd into a crazed frenzy. Rock was a likable heel and a hated face. To be a heel, you are supposed to be hated right? I believe Rock delivered some of the best promos ever but I've been around a lot longer than the late 90s till now. I've watched more than just WWE. Rock seemingly blows the old guys of before and the new guys of today out of the water. But Rock's promos are over the top, hilarious, and face-like. Heel promos are suppose to spark fear, like Undertaker and Paul Bearer in 1991. Or hatred, like Randy Savage in 1986 when he was the IC champ. Or make the crowd want to kill you, like Vince and Shawn did after the Montreal Screwjob or Sgt. Slaughter did during the Gulf War. Their 'heel' promos during that time were amazing. They weren't so 'over the top' like The Rock or a guy like Roddy Piper who got cheered the funnier the heel character.

I wasn't around in the 1930s to 1981, so I can't speak of all the great heels before my time that probably worked the crowd similarly to The Rock a decade ago. But I can speak of the best promos I've ever witnessed by a heel or a face. Those promos were in WCW, not in WWE, by Hollywood Hulk Hogan. It might be cliche or boring to say the same old thing, but just go back to Bash at the Beach 96 and you'll see the greatest promo in the history of wrestling. Every time Hogan came out on Nitro or Thunder, it would be just one amazing promo after another. Hogan never cut amazing stuff like that in WWE. When the NWO began, people hated Hogan more than they hated Vince and Shawn for screwing Bret. The NWO was not something people liked in the beginning and Hogan was unbeatable. Today, Hogan the human being is hated more than any other wrestler. He is a true villain. Marks and smarks these days seem to forget that to be a great heel you need to be truly hated by the fans, not simply enjoyed by your quick wit and comedic talents. As much as I love The Rock and think he is just naturally the best ever wrestler on the mic, Hogan cut the best heel promos I've ever seen. Look at all the garbage that was thrown at him between 96-99. Go on youtube and look up how many times fans attempted to get in the ring to get their hands on him. Also check out the time a really old woman in the front row threatened Hogan. It wasn't just obnoxious young fans throwing stuff at Hogan, if you check the early NWO days there were a lot of really old people in attendance throwing shit into the ring. At Hogan. Research how many former wrestlers hate Hogan the human being. This guy lived and breathed the heel character and that is when Hogan was money. Now, he's just washed up and wants to come across as a good guy elevating younger talent. We all know he only gives a shit about himself and that's why a lot of us hate him and don't give a shit about TNA. He's not being used properly. He's a larger than life asshole and, if he wasn't so old and washed up, I'd recommend he go back to being that as a character. Thing is it's way too late for that now unless he wants to be a McMahon-type and that evil boss route has really been worn out.

 

[willross]

Vince McMahon is the best heel promo in history. People completely disregard how great Vince is and how much impact he had on making Austin who he is from a storyline stand point. He would constantly show his ass and then come out the next week like nothing happened, which is Heel 101.

The only person who came close to matching Vince McMAhons ability is Roddy Piper. Piper was a natural. Vince took all his years of developing characters and took the most effective aspects of all of them to create his heel persona.

But I would say Vince is 1 and Piper is 2 just because Vince McMahon's character is what made Austin the big deal he was and Austin was bigger than Hogan.

 

[TLK]

Shawn's heel promo in Montreal during his feud with Hogan has got to be one of the best heat-drawing promos ever.

If we're strictly talking about the Rock, I thought his heel work in 2003 (namely the Toronto) promo was pure gold. I mean, the crowd is super fired up to see him, only to get "Finally, the Rock IS BACK to TORON- ... TORON-... TO RUN HIS MOUTH ON ALL YOUR CANDY ASSES!" This sent the crowd into full hate mode, as The Rock explained that he hasn't forgotten how they had turned his back on him against Hogan @ Mania 18. Great stuff.

 

[asiatic7]

"Kane, Big Red ******, put his brain in a canarie's head....ZING! fly backwards!"

"Ken Shamrock, The Rock has been whoopin' your candy ass from January to January!"

"....and The Rock says, when you're music hits, 'Well It's The Big Show!', people stand on their feet and say....'Oh, this guy sucks! I'm gonna take a piss!"

The Rock is just priceless on the mike, especially in 98' and 99'! one of the best ever! But the best heel promo goes to the jet flyin', limosuine ridin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin' Whoo! son of a gun! But on thing the two have in common, is that they were "cool heels". You could'nt help but love what the Rock was doing. Nowadays, I hate to say it because I love the guy, He's a parody of his old self. He's still has what it takes to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand, but the old catchphrases seem dated.

 

[Chicago1989]

The Rock was always excellent as a heel, whether we're talking about The Nation Of Domination Rock, The Corporate Rock, or Hollywood Rock.

He knows how to tick the fans off with his arrogance and the disrespect he shows towards his opponents. His battles with Mankind and Stone Cold were his best times as a heel. He was just so cocky and an asshole as a heel. He was one of those legitimate heels who you really wanted to see get his ass kicked.

 

[justtxyank]

I think the Rock was great, but it's hard for me to call him the best HEEL promo guy ever because I think it was hard for him to stay heel with his promos. Heels are suppose to make the crowd hate them and the only time The Rock wasn't great at doing that except when he was feuding with Austin. He was just too entertaining, too funny. Crowds wanted to like him.

I think the most underrated heel promo worker now is Bischoff. He's become so stale over the years that people forget how amazing he was as the mic worker of the nWo. When the Outsiders got too popular to generate heel heat and fans didn't want to hate Savage, it was Bischoff who could get on the stick and instantly turn a crowd that was cheering for Scott Hall into one that wanted to throw beer cans into the ring. He helped keep the Hollywood Hogan character relevant through the Sting match. Fans HATED Bischoff. It's also worth noting that Vince McMahon took a lot of his schtick from Bischoff who was doing the heel boss before he was.

Anyway, for my money the two best heel mic workers are Flair and DiBiase (sr, obv).

 

[CMPlank]

I'm a big Rock fan too, but I think it's hard to convincingly say that The Rock was the best at heel promos. I'd say he has a shot at being the most entertaining heel, but that isn't necessarily a good trait of a heel, cause he's supposed to be hated (as people have said above). I'm sadly not old enough to have witnessed anything before 98-99 time, but I think that the best heel from 98-2012 was definitely Vince. Similar to Paul Heyman, he was a guy that just knows how to operate on the microphone, and no one got more heat than Vince, maybe Triple H, but I personally think he was bad to average at best on the microphone, carried by his opponent's face power.

Worth adding that I think that Triple H did get good on the microphone, but at first he was just plain dreadful. If you watch his older stuff on Youtube, you can not tell me he was good on the microphone.