What Makes Someone "Good" On The Mic?

[The Doctor]

OK, we all know that in order to succeed in this business, you need the look, the skills, and the charisma. Mic skills are also good to have.
It's easy to tell if someone has the look or the skills, and if you can draw heat, that's charisma.

But what makes good mic skills?
I bring this up because I have heard people calling Batista or Benjamin's promo skills "shit". And yet, Batista's promo on RAW was highly entertaining to me. Same with Benjamin's promo last Smackdown and yesterday's ECW.
So, who are we to judge on mic skills?
If those promos were "terrible", I can't wait to hear some good ones!
Another example: Abraham Washington. In the ECW LD, I heard people saying he couldn't talk, while others said he was nervous but had potential, while still others loved it.

I've always thought that a good mic worker should be able to:
A. Get his point across
B. Sound good doing it
But is this still applicable in the age of the scripted promo?

So, tell me, what makes a good mic worker in this day and age?

 

[Loveless]

1. Be distinctive
2. Be entertaining
3. Get your point, yourself and your opponent over
4. Keep in character doing all of the above

I think Batista fails on all counts. There's no difference between his heel or face and he's not funny. A typical promo goes

* Smile *
* Quietly explain what's happened *
* Menacingly say "I'm going to kick your arse" or some variant. *
* Shake ropes and leave *

My favourite promo guy was always Savage. Funny guy, unhinged and unique. Try and compare the two and you'll see how poor Batista (and most others are).

 

[Joker ' Ferreira]

Today? Well, no one is. Just because WWE's crowds are plain and simple: stupid.

Well, not as stupid as TNA's crowd, I will explain that later.

Any superstar of today could be huge in Attitude Era, fans were into Wrestling, now they dont care, or they want to see girls shaking their asses or leprechauns.

If The Rock or Stone Cold returned today, they would get a pop, but as huge as John Cena gets, they dont care anymore about the Mic.

When someone debuted in the Attitude Era he could get a good/bad reaction depending on his face/heel persona, now they simply don't care.

But TNA are far worse, they get Sting, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett every single week and they don't cheer any of them properly, when Main Event Mafia formed they didn't react at all, damn it, it is the most star studded stable ever, and they didn't care for it.

So I do think that today mic skills don't mean a thing anymore, fans don't react at all.

 

[SuperKick36]

To anybody who says that fans are "stupid" just because they don't react, then obviously you have an issue with understanding what an OPINION is.

Today ISN'T the attitude era, it's different.

Since the superstars can't cuss, do crude gestures, and diva's can't have wardrobe malfunctions, its DIFFERENT.

Effective mic skills today are different than they were ten years ago.

Loveless' layout was pretty much exactly what I feel a good promo cutter can do.

BUT I also think that it depends on the little things: the crowd's energy that night, the popularity of the superstar in that city/state/country, and what points the superstar really tries to get across.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I think to be good on the mic you have to be able to do many things (alot have been said already)
1. Get your point across - no one remembers a promo if it makes no sense (Unless your Macho Man or the Ultimate Warrior) and whats the point of the promo if it makes no sense, to talk for no reason thats what.
2. Grab the audiences attention - you don't have to be entertaining, but you have to do/say something to make the audience care for what your saying. (I wouldn't necessarily call Jericho promos entertaining right now, but easily the best mic man in the WWE today, but then again Jericho is the best everything the WWE has right now).
3. Get over your yourself, opponent, and situation. - the audience doesn't care about 1 awesome wrestler against 1 mediocre wrestler, it is just as important to put over your opponent as it is to put over yourself (who cares if you beat a hasbeen). Its also just as important to put over the match/feud in question, this gives the audience a reason to come back in the upcoming weeks and months (Jericho vs. Michaels is a perfect example of this).

There are a few more things to consider, but thats a good basic guideline i think.

 

[Milkyway!]

I remember when I still watched WWE 24/7 they had an actual program on how wrestlers did their mic skills. Mean Gene, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Foley, and Pat Paterson sat in a crecent shaped table for those of you who have never watched. Each told their perspective on what makes a promo, a good promo, bad promo, and just plain sucky promo. The explained in full detail what was going on during "Have a Nice Day" and why it was going like that. Ric Flair summed it best when it really came down to it on what makes a good promo.

He said "A wrestler has to be short, and sweet, loud, flamboyant, and straight to the point. When a wrestler can get what he needs to have said across to the viewers, in as quick as time possible then the croud will eat into what he has to say" Now we've all seen a Ric Flair promo, this is exactly what he did each and everytime he stepped on the Mic. Well, during the 80's-early 90's when he was still good anyways.

From my personal outlook upon things when it comes to the stick is a lot like Flairs. A wrestler should only get about 2 minutes to talk really, wrestlers today aren't as good as The Rock, Stone Cold, and Foley were. They can't properly cut these 10-15 minute promos we see week in and week out. They always end the same. Limiting a wrestler to about 2 minutes of mic time allows more entertainment on the Wrestling side of things, and obviously this wrestler would have to be quick, and to the point, without losing much of the audiances attention, and the overall wrestling on the show will stay warmed up and hot.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

What makes someone good on the mic is the ability to not only put yourself over, but to put your opponent over as well. Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes did this better than anyone in my opinion. Flair was a master on the mic and none of his stuff was scripted. He just ranted on until he got the wrap up sign from the floor director. Very few wrestlers could do that today.

But another thing is telling a story. Chris Jericho is the best on the stick today because he talks and people listen. They listen for him to say that one thing that will make them boo the hell out of him. Few people do that these days. Orton attempts to do it, but still gets some face pops now and again. HHH at his heel peak could make you want to kill him. It's things like this that make someone good on the mic. Originality, creativity, and the ability to think on your feet make a good mic worker. It's why most of the NWA's wrestlers could cut a better promo than nearly ALL of today's WWE wrestlers.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's difficult to compare mic skills of different periods as different things were required...

In the 70's and early 80's, in the time of Flair, Rhodes et al air time was precious... Promo's were short and the earlier rules given were indeed paramount. This carried on into the WWF era... notice how in those days promos were still in 2-4 minute blocks, with an interviewer a wrestler.

The Interviewers job was to keep the wrestler on topic, the wrestler's job was to look menacing into the camera while feeding off the interviewer and whatever cards were behind the viewer... Mean Gene has mic skills in the traditional sense, as he could pull things together for others...

Best example of this in the olden days was the old Royal Rumble PPV's, where they had 20 second vignettes of each participant, telling the same thing they did last year...

a) 29 Other Men that I have to Beat
b) Catchphrase, personality that tiny unique trait... Jake would follow up with a stare, Savage would always say "Don't bet against me", Demoliton would always refer to beating each other up in a Rumble...

Each individual did not have mic skills as we would class them today, but they followed the formula to a tee... those who didn't would always struggle in the match... Hercules calling it a Rumble Royal for example...

As we moved into the 1990's and into the RAW format... those flubs became lethal...

The skill that had to evolve was "live TV" mic work, which is simply the ability to react in the moment and STILL follow the above rules...

Some guys have it innately, some guys can just...talk... Jerry Lawler, Pillman, The Rock, Austin... more recently Jericho... They all would zing stuff off the top of their heads, often with no knowledge of Vince... Often getting WWE in trouble... but in the moment capturing the crowd's imagination... at the same time humor developed a role, jokes were more overt so those with comedic timing had the edge over those with a more traditional delivery... Road Dog over Steve Blackman for example...

Even later on came the Tripathons... Where a whole interview could go on for 20 minutes... That is a different skill... Triple H has it, Jericho has it... HBK has it... Taker has it... they can draw out those moments with looks, gestures, movements.... Think back to JBL v Shawn... How much airtime was swallowed up with Shawn's hangdog eye routine or JBL's smug grin...

So in reality for todays product, there is NO One set of mic skills you can say a wrestler does or doesn't have... and more importantly... no system in which they can develop them because...

WWE is now a two tier system... Raw is live, so those with greater live mic skills thrive there, it's why Jericho was so huge last year and why he has made such an impact on SD but for newer talents, you HAVE to be on RAW to get that experience... otherwise you can only gain it on PPV...

Those with more experience in delivering scripted lines effectively are often said to have poor mic skills on RAW cos they come across wooden live... where as in an ECW/SD recorded environ, they can redo a segment till its right...

In a PG 13 environment, a Steve Austin, DX or Rock would be nullified, as their humor would be against the rating... Cena at times struggles with this, as has Edge as they thrive on innuendo... so there is no real way to evolve those who have natural comedic talent unless its through goofy gimmicks like Santino...

Having mic skills is a stick the IWC smacks people over the head with but they are missing the point...

What is required is A STRONG SET of mic skills, not a complete set...

Of the above groups, the only few guys who I think can really do it all are Jericho and Shawn... so by that reasoning... they would be the only 2 with a complete set of mic skills...

 

[mattmcgee85]

I don't think will ever see guys like Rock/Austin/or Foley on the mic again. Those three had something very special and were at there height during a special time in the buisness(no offense to any other era, it was just my favorite). I think Flair was right with being short, to the point but loud. If you were to ask me the best mic man to come around in a long time is the miz.

 

[Nev]

This is way to complicated to go into detail and have one overall answer. Everyone else already touched on the main points on mic skills.


As for what makes a person good in this day and age, is not really different from the 90s. Most of segments in the 80s were unscripted though. WWE audiences boo whenever they want and cheer whenever they want.

These days, it's slowly becoming like Vince has managed to pretty much dictate almost perfectly who the kids and 21/- fans want to cheer for. That way, if a guy like Mark Henry comes in and panders to the crowd, he's instantly a heel. However, he has no mic skills whatsoever. That's a good example there.

 

[WOLFPACK0524]

My favorite on the mic will always be Diesel/Kevin Nash. Here is why:

He didnt yell at you.

He was interviewed and he didn't immediately begin yelling "You know what Mean Gene..." type responses. He calmly talked to you and to his opponent. He did his damage in the ring and did not need to yell. It has been towards the end where he shouted in his promos in WCW and I don't watch TNA so I am not sure how he is on the mic now but in the beginning in WWF, he was great.

Now if we go with flash/catch phrase guy, hands down the Rock. Cocky, funny and his promos flowed and he didn't mess up like I hear a lot of current guys struggling on the mic.

Mic work depends on the gimmick/character.

So to review: Diesel/Nash & The Rock

 

[whojgov32]

I think the most important thing is you have to be believable. I love Edge because I bet you that is about 85% of himself out there. Edge is witty and actually funny. I bet he just wings it out there sometimes and it comes out golden. Yet Cena has the ability to be good on the mic, but his "tough guy Marine" speeches sound SO SCRIPTED! Why does that asshole still salute during his entrance? He made a movie and he played a Marine... and now like 2 years later he still does that irritating salute!? You have to sound natural. Even Santino is so good at his act, if you had a real conversation with him it would blow you away because he is so good at his goofy accent it's like we all believe it now ya know? Anyway hard to sum up in a paragraph and there are more examples but it is what it is.

 

[Super Crazy]

Well to me to have great mic skills in this business takes quite a bit of different things. In my opinion to be great on the mic you have be able to connect with the fans. That is the first major thing you need. The next is charisma. If you have no charisma you will not succeed. Whether it be energetic charisma or charisma like Randy Orton has right now it doesn't matter any charisma is good. You also have to be able to be funny and think of a good line on the spot if you should forget a line. Sometimes having a great catchphrase can do it too.

In my opinion some of the greatest on the mic include Kevin Nash and the Rock and also Macho Man Randy Savage. Their promos/ interviews were always great and all three really know how to get the crowd going.

 

[Razor]

I knew that I loved the Lariat. I just didn't quite remember why. Now I do.

To me, being "good on the mic" is about doing exactly what Lariat said...putting yourself and your opponent over. Getting the crowd into it is a subset of that all important charisma. You just need to be able to communicate the story at large and get the fans to understand exactly what is going on. That mic is there to help give you one last build to the match, you have to be able to knock it out of the park.

To me, John Cena always managed to do this. He always takes it soo importantly, so vehemently, that if you weren't too busy whining that he'd Superman up like HBK or Edge or Orton or any other main eventer, you'd know that this next match was important. No matter what the story was, his mic skills always perfectly portrayed it. Especially his Miz feud, when it was supposed to be "Oh, who does this fucker think he is?" Cena communicated that perfectly until Miz got that almost win, then Cena went hardcore "You're not doing that to me again" mode. Cena showed that he knew Miz to be a legit opponent now, and therefore gave Miz a push even though the Miz lost. ...Though that is starting to get into ring charisma. My bad.

Basically, if you want my point super condensed and with a extra bit of Old School love, look at Lariat's post.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

You have to be able to hold the fan's attention. If they get up to go buy a beer, take a piss or stretch when you start talking, you're shit.
If you can't get yourself over on the mic, make yourself believable or make it sound like you know what you are talking about, you're shit.
If you can't get your opponent over, simply you're shit.

If you make your opponent look like shit, like they are a joke and crap, and nothing, then if you win, oh well, you beat a poor opponent who anyone should be able to beat, if you lose to said opponent, then it's even worse because you couldn't beat the guy you said was crap. However if you build them up, make then seem legitimate, then if you win, wow you beat a great opponent, if you lose, well it was a tough opponent. So you have to make your opponent look good. You also have to make yourself look good as well. If you come across as shit, the fans will treat you like shit.

And to bring it all together, you have to make the fans want to listen. If they don't care about what you are saying, then it does't matter how good you are with words and catchphrases, if they don't pay attention to you, your mic time will be yanked. Batista is shit on the mic, his promo last monday was ok at best, the biggest reasons fans stayed in their seats, because he was back. Any other regular Raw and it would have been a piss break.

 

[Southwind]

I look for the guy to be straightforward concise and clear all while staying within the realms of his character. I'm generally ok with Cena promos but when he does his "firebreathing" stuff it turns me off and that's a textbook example of making a mistake in my eyes.

 

[Blue Chipper]

Good mic skills is having the audience hooked into what you're saying, to further your character, storyline, feud, etc. If you have good mic skills you should be able to display your emotions and points effectively, whilst having a presence in the ring. Having charisma is also essentail. You need to be good in communicating. Also includes being relevent to what your persona is.

Thus, good mic skills is being able to captivate an audience, further their hate or love for you, getting them hooked into what you're saying, and having it all believable to your character.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

You need to get your point accross without any irrelevant information and you need to get yourself, your opponent and the match/feud over. That's basicly it. You can't go too long and make the promo boring so the fans won't care.

You need to sound natural as well, guys like Cena, Punk, Jericho and Christian are probably the best right now on the mic because they sound like they are really in their character. Guys like Batista and even Orton to a certain extent sound too scripted/put on. I mean, they need to be able to make you believe what they are saying. Batista to me just doesn't get the point accross properly, he always sounds so scripted but his promos on Raw and Smackdown were better than I remember him being so at least that's a start.

Pretty much, you want to be quick to the point, get yourself, the match and your opponent over while sounding natural. That's my opinion on what makes a good mic speaker.

 

[angry_panda]

I'd say the one thing that hasn’t directly been said before, and as basic as it is, I still see a few people in WWE that actually don’t do this.

Sound Natural......so many times promos sound scripted, and I don’t mean scripted as in what they are saying, but scripted as in how they are saying it. That slow stuttering talk, like "I'm more thinking about my next line, than actually saying this line".

If a wrestler sounds natural, sounds like what he/she is saying is at least coming too them there and then, I'll at least give them my attention for a few minutes. They then have the platform to showcase their charisma....etc etc.

It's simple, but surprising how many wrestlers don’t do this. John Morrison is the worst for it at the moment (even if I did love his Mr Ziggles promo the other week )