WWE's scripted promos are stale, boring, repetitive, and need a change

[Suneeboy]

I know segments have always been scripted or choreographed, but looking back on old WWE video, it flowed naturally and the wrestlers and performers ad libbed A LOT.

I watched Friday Night Smackdown! last night, and in the opening segment, all of the originals of Team Smackdown! came out after Jericho began and stated a few words. All of them, came out and said their name and they did it in succession from one another. Kane closed the segment with a cheap laugh after talking about how the match with the new Team Smackdown! would start. It seemed very rehearsed and very uncharismatic. I watched it and said these guys can't think of anything original to say? Or is it that creative just doesn't have the faith in them to say something on their own. (I have the same feeling about the RAW opening segment)

The more I watch WWE programming the more I see that they dictate specifically what the wrestlers should say. Only Jericho, HHH, HBK, Punk, The Undertaker, Orton, Cena, The Miz and maybe a few others sporadically don't follow a script or don't sound like they are reading off of cue cards to me.

One of the things we complain about in the PG Era is the lack of awesome promos. Do you think this is because wrestlers are now following a script word for word? The opening segment, and the divas segment where Mae Young slapped Michelle McCool seemed really rehearsed, rushed and very unnatural. Even the announcers sound scripted at times. Should Vince and creative loosen up a little?

 

[crimsonmask49]

I would love to see less scripted promos but that's not gonna happen. I'd rather them have "bullet points" that they need to touch on but have the rest come from the heart. It makes them think and let's them bring their character out more. A Hollywood writer can't write a promo for CM Punk and have it be better than if Punk went out and there and did it himself. The writer doesn't really know the character,but the wrestlers do.

 

[SimplyJay]

i often think abt it. BUt actually i have grown used to it now. some ppl watch wwe not for promos but for ring work. kids just watch it n they dont take the promos that seriously until its catchy(like I M THE MIZ N I M AWESOME). ever since the ROcK left the promo thing has well gotten worse. They just seem to well memorize it rather than trying to deliver a natural promo. well the commentary has gotten boring so it seems scripted.

Talking abt what should Vince do, well it wont matter what we comment abt this noones gonna listen.

 

[The Brain]

I would love to see less scripted promos but that's not gonna happen. I'd rather them have "bullet points" that they need to touch on but have the rest come from the heart. It makes them think and let's them bring their character out more. A Hollywood writer can't write a promo for CM Punk and have it be better than if Punk went out and there and did it himself. The writer doesn't really know the character,but the wrestlers do.

I am in complete agreement with this. In order for the new guys to connect with the crowd they need to put their own work into their character. When something seems so obvioulsly scripted the fans will not buy it. I wonder how it really works backstage. Does some writer just hand Dolph Ziggler a script and tell him to memorize it, or does he actually get to sit with a writer and exchange ideas? I'm guessing it's the former. These guys would have a much easier time getting over if they could put themselves into the character. That way they would be more personally invested into their character and would care more about it. They would become more comfortable and not come off so rehearsed. Not everyone is going to connect on their own, but they should at least be given a chance. Can you imagine some 30 year old hollywood writer giving Rowdy Roddy Piper a script? You know he would blow his nose in it and throw it right back. The writers should loosen the strings and see what their guys can do.

 

[SavageTaker]

Some of the best promos I've ever seen in the time I have been a pro-wrestling fan have not been scripted by Vince or creative. Honestly, Vince should revert back to the times when the wrestlers came up with their own material and he would let them do their own thing. Now, this doesn't mean I hate scripted promos. I am sure there have been some pretty good scripted promos. But at the same time there have also been some terrible scripted and unscripted promos.

The main problem I have with scripted promos is that they sound way too choreographed like it was said earlier and generic. Not every wrestler can make it look like they are coming up with what they are saying as they speak. And as a result if affect the quality of promos/segments. Also, when they are scripted it feels as though everyone is cutting the same promo with different words. Like the OP mentioned, the Smackdown promos that opened up the show. I thought that all of the guys were basically saying the same exact thing just wording it differently. And that’s not the first time I’ve noticed that. In the past there have been times I’ve noticed that and it just bothers me.

Anyways, I think Vince should have some more confidence in his guys. Yeah, they'll occasionally mess up if they are not being told what to say, but that's how they improve and become better at cutting promos. He has to take a chances with them, something we all know he can do. Hell, maybe he could have them come up with their own material but still script some of it and have them say some key things.

I just really wish more unscripted promos were done by guys other than the veterans so that they could develop better. I have found to like more scripted promos than unscripted and I don’t see why he doesn’t do them more often with the younger wrestlers. I know there are time constraints and he doesn’t want them to mess up, but if they are taught by the veterans then I don’t think there’s anything for him to be worried about. By the way, everything I’ve said in this post would apply to announcers too. It feels like everything they are saying is what someone wants them to say, and that too bring the quality of the show down for me because Vince doesn’t want them to be excited about anything like you would see them be a few years ago. So yes, Vince and creative need to loosen up some more.

 

[BladeRunner]

Yep I agree with the first poster. And like the other guy said, give the wrestlers bullet points. Give them general ideas on which to go on and let their personality fill in the rest. Very few people can do completely scripted stuff well, because some things don't come naturally out of some people's mouths.

All the earlier wrestlers got on without scripts, heck they may not have even had bullet points and it all worked out well.

Think of ultimate warrior. You can't script that! The guy was batshit crazy, and his promos made very little sense, but I find them hilarious and I definitely will never forget them. And that's what we want, unforgetable moments to really push the wrestler's talent and lets them get that extra momentum going into the match.

 

[Christian Battlez]

Scripted Promos are a lack of confidence in the wrestler speaking IMO. On the shows like Smackdown,ECW,or Superstars there is really no reason to edit what they say because those shows are pre-taped and can be edited so that the messy or non kid friendly lines aren't shown on tv. With Raw the show is live and thus I can see why there is some scripting on speaking. But with guys who have been working for WWE or in wrestling in general for years(Taker,HHH,HBK,etc.) they have an idea of what works and what they can say on tv whereas a newcomer like Sheamus or Escobar may not. Really WWE needs to let these guys sink or swim on the mic. How can the crowd connect with a wrestler from what he says if what they're saying isn't really how they feel because they don't look that into what they're saying.

 

[dagoldstandard]

oh mos def!!! go on youtube and look at the rock's promo before his match with mankind at RR 1999. He let's everybody in the world know that he is "without a shadow of doubt, the best damn wwf champ there ever was"!!! creative team has completely ran out of ideas for these guys. you are so right, because kane was talking "normally", like he didn't say anything about inflicting pain or other painful things!!!

 

[The Roid Rage]

Can anyone here remember waaaay back when WWF Superstars was the only real wrestling program on TV? Well before Monday Night Raw ever existed? On WWF Superstars before almost every match the wrestlers would cut a promo about the guy they are about to face. It was pretty cool, every character had their own back drop so it didn't look like they were just cutting a promo in the same room the guy before him did, it looked like the wrestlers very own sanctum where they would give their thoughts. For those of you who can not remember that, that is how promos used to be done in the WWF. Just about every guy got to do them, and some were better than others. I guarantee if any of you have Hogan, Mach, Warrior, Bret, or some other old school wrestlers DVD there are probably spots where you see a promo of this style. At pay per views, they would do the same thing before a match and some times afterward. The point is that just about everyone was getting their shot to do them, and odds are no one was telling Hogan what exactly to say during his promos or any of the other legends of the promo.

I think a great example of what can be done by letting the wrestlers handle it themselves would be The Dirt Sheet segment that Miz and Morrison had last week. There's no way that could have been completely scripted. I'd bet they did exactly what most of you were talking about, giving them points to hit on and letting them run with it. I thought Morrison was great and Miz played off of him perfectly. It was a great segment, basically a long promo, that they both handled very well.

Here's the problem with letting everyone do that thought. Not everyone is as good on the mic as some of the vets and guys like Miz, Morrison, Punk, Cena, Jericho and so on. Really, perfect example: Jack Swagger. Now while he may be improving with a mile to go, not too long ago he had a match against god knows who and after the match he was supposed to cut some kind of promo. He gets the mic, and stands there for a second, obviously clueless as to what he should say, so he starts to talk and since he can't think of anything clever to say on the fly he just stumbles over his own catch phrase "The 2 time 2 time All-American American, Jack Swagger" You could tell he was about to say something more but couldn't come up with anything. So he throws down the mic before he gets himself fired as everyone realizes what idiot he just looked like. That is why you have scripted segments. Some guys just don't know what to say, and some of them freeze when they realize "Holy Shit!!! There's like 20,000 plus watching me, I already wrestled now what am I supposed to say???!!!" something along those lines at least.

The place we are really at is figuring out who to let talk and who to give the dummy cards to. Let's face it, some of them need it. Goldberg never cut a decent promo, but he never wrestled a decent match either so that might be a bad one to reference.....Bret Hart!!!! Perfect!!!. Bret wasn't exactly a great when it came to cutting promos, watch his dvd he says it himself. He didn't have a clue what to say. They just told him say this this and this, and act like you mean it, and he did. Eventually he got it on his own but he is a good example of guys who need some coaching and so on. While I am not a big proponent of scripting dialog, it has it's place and it's purpose.

WWE just needs to do like they did back in the beginning as it was a tool. Let everyone cut the promos on their own for a minute, and you'll find out who is better or worse, who needs some help on the stick and who doesn't. From there you work on an as needed basis with each individual. Let the better guys do their thing, and work with the shabby ones so that they will be able to do it on their own eventually because the point is after all that someone cutting a promo without parameters per-say, is much better and more authentic than a scripted, manufactured speech delivered by someone who is unsure about their ability to deliver period.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Scripted promos are the reason the quality of wrestling isn't where it was 10 years ago. It's one of the reasons, along with the lack of development of new stars and main eventers who should not be main eventers.

The two best promo men in the business did not use a script to do their promos. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. Hogan used cocaine and steroids to cut his promos about eating vitamins, saying prayers, and beating someone up. Ric Flair used cocaine and alcohol to fuel his legendary promos. All you had to do is hold the mic, give Flair a topic, and 15 minutes later, you had a golden promo and a match that you could not wait to see.

Believe it or not, John Cena has this ability. He can wing it and do a great job at it. He did before with his battle raps. But with canned lines from TV writers being put into their mouths, it makes the product look weak. If I were to ever have a wrestling school, my class would not graduate unless they could wrestle properly and cut a promo without a script.

 

[SK]

I dislike scripted promo's and segments, they feel so cheesy and unnatural. I understand that they are necessary sometimes with some of the less charismatic/ intelligent wrestlers, but these promos are so unimaginative it makes me mute the TV sometimes.

Not many wrestlers go unscripted anymore, and it's killing the quality of promo's, look at the past, Flair, Hogan, Austin, Rock etc. all of these guys were, for the most part, unscripted and it came off terrificly, the fans loved it, the promo's were inspired and charismatic allowing the wrestlers to ad-lib and make the ic their own.

However, nowadays, the promo quality has dipped horribly, Punk and Jericho, who others consider to be brilliant just come out and say the same thing every week. John Cena seems horribly forced and scripted, same goes for Orton and well most others.

I think that Vince is so scared that someone will slip up, that he moderates and tries to control everything that is said and it's leading to boring, forced unimaginative promo's that seriously affect the show, for me anyway. If the WWE wants people to be more interested, they should allow wrestlers more freedom which woulld certainly interest and excite the fans more.

 

[ThePeoplesChampion]

Yea i do see this....but i see that changing soon....with stars like the miz, mvp, and john morrison there interview was generally funny and seemed not memorized.....and i think Jericho, HHH, HBK, and Edge are the main people who ad lib....especially DX....i guess throw in Taker too...but his stuff getting to be the same...im going to take your soul rest in peace...i think they should loosen the reigns on some stars...but there are some like Big Show who just seem boring in promos...they need to be selective

 

[Suneeboy]

I think we all can agree that the quality of the product is suffering greatly because of the heavy scripting, and the tight controls that they have put on the wrestlers and announcers. It feels very generic, and very unnatural, and the shows don't seem to flow the way they used to. I do not connect to the characters like I did when I was growing or during the Attitude era.

What do you think the sentiment is behind the scenes on the promos and the current controls placed on the presentation of the product? The product is PG, but does that mean Parental Guidance is suggested or does that mean Pretty Generic. Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Escobar, Jack Swagger, Kofi, the Divas, don't have the connection with the crowd that I think they could if they were given a little more freedom and room to develop.

What about the backstage segment on Smackdown! when Jericho and Kane came and talked to the new team as they were celebrating? It was felt like they had cue cards behind the camera and they read it word for word. Are the fans losing out here?

 

[Slam Master]

They sound way too robotic, choreographed, etc. like everyone else has mentioned. Its like they try to remember and memorize their lines so much it comes out monotone. Promos used to be an intricate part of the show. Today I don't look forward to half of them. The young guys don't put any emotion or feeling into their promos, but I think its because they are afraid to screw up the scripts and face heat from the suits in creative. Let them rip! Give them stuff to cover and just go! Part of the problem is the newer guys don't have character personalities and come off as generic. I don't think they know the image they want to go for half the time.

 

[deadman403]

Gone are the days of off-the-cuff remarks and witty comebacks. Enter boring promos with barely any heart in them. It is ok for some of the athletes to need some help in making a promo interesting, but why make it that way for everybody?

 

[Suneeboy]

This is why all of the younger guys are all the same. Ziggler, Morrison, McIntyre, Escobar, Swagger, Bourne, Sheamus, Ryder, Knox, and the list goes on. I don't have any connection to any of these characters. They are all dry and boring. When they come out for matches I do not give a damn about who wins or loses because the character will show no growth afterward. Plus the match is going to be like 15 minutes. It may look good, but after a while I want a good promo so I can know what the character is about. Then they waste all of these matches before the PPV because they can't interact through a promo. Now w ehave to watch Ziggler vs. Morrison again for what?

Not to go off topic but these are the reasons why I watch TNA now.

 

[NSL]

With Vince not having any competition, there's no need for attention grabbing, 5-minute solo, off-the-cuff promos...The days of Mick Foley owning a segment are dead and gone. As a fan of ECW, I've always felt the best promos were ones where the guy was given "talking points", and was free to say what he wanted, as long as it fit the mold.

Today, things are far too obvious, and you can see everything that's coming a mile away...It's sad

 

[pyrusane]

I recently reread Chris Jericho's book, and in it he discusses one of his earliest promos. He had no clue what he was doing, so he ripped off a line from a David Lee Roth interview he had heard on the radio earlier that day. Then, when he realized how stupid he sounded, he followed it up with "Next week we have midgets!" Now, this isn't exactly what you want out of a promo, but the point is, look where he is today. He developed the art of cutting a great promo in WCW. Apparently, they had a video box you could go into and cut a promo, and if they liked it, it aired. This meant you could try different ideas, work on your style, and develop a solid presence on the mic without worrying about screwing up on live tv. By the time Jericho started cutting live promos, he had been given ample time to get used to the mic.

It's the wrestler's responsibility to create a character that the fans can connect with, that can draw an emotional reaction from the audience, whether it be positive or negative. A large portion of that can be done in the ring, but the character doesn't truly take on a life of its own until they can also establish a verbal presence. And sometimes, its as much about what they don't say as about what they do. During the Monday Night Wars, Sting had some of the most memorable promos I can remember ever seeing, and he did it without saying a single word for over a year. He would pop up in the rafters point the bat, and play his creepy music, and you knew exactly what his intentions were. This style wouldn't work for everybody, but it could be put to very effective use by others.

Shaemus, for example. He destroys Jamie Noble, destroys random jobber, destroys some other guy, and the whole time doesn't say a single word. He just comes out to the ring, dominates someone, and then leaves. It would create an air of mystery around him; what is his goal, what is he after, what are his motivations? At the very least, it would make him different from everyone else.

That's just my take though.

 

[Belladonna29]

I think it's all relative.

If the writers are clever enough to write promos that are actually good and compliment someone's character without being corny, and the wrestler can deliver it WITHOUT sounded scripted, then its' acceptable.
However, some of the stuff they write for people can really suck, and making them read it off of teleprompter is even worse.

The problem is that it can stifle the wrestler's persona to have to read from a script because they're not coming up with the material themselves and no matter how much control the writers or Vince have over them, the wrestlers' are the ones who have to deliver the lines.

And it's been noted that many of the best promo cutters are guys who can improvise and have had plenty of opportunity for trial-and-error until they hit their stride ( like Jericho or The Rock ).

I wish the WWE had more faith in the younger stars to let them improv more, but there's no signs that their going to let anyone use their own material beyond veterans, and that's a shame.

 

[Nature Boy]

I really dislike scripted promos.

To me it's systematic of the whole creative direction the WWE has taken and I don't like 90% of it.

Yes, we know that all promos with a few exceptions are scripted, but you don't need to be a 'Smark' to work it out, it's patently obvious.

You can tell when some of the Wrestler's veer off the script because they look so scared and unsure of what to do next, and probably of what whoever mans the Gorilla Position will say to them.

The great talkers through time, Buddy Rogers, Grand Wizard, Billy Graham, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Terry Funk, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts, Mick Foley, The Rock, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, have all been able to create a fantastic promo out of the most basic of scenarios.

They knew how to feed off of and react to a crowd, off of a situation and off of each other.

This is sorely sorely lacking in the WWE today.

Having a PG rating doesn't help as there is only so far that the Talent can go.

Also, McMahon's desire to have the WWE seen as a legitimate mainstream entertainment outlet and not merely a Wrestling company and hiring Sitcom/Sci-Fi/Action writers who know next to nothing about Wrestling and the Wrestling audience will only make the situation worse.

Some guys just can't cut a promo and need a script.

British Bulldog was awful, Chris Beniot was awful, Brock Lesner was awful and Chris Masters is awful.

But, for the most part, McMahon should just give two wrestlers a story line, key points of the scenario and just let them get on with it and create their own promos.

This will help the young guys so much in terms of character development and reading a crowd.

They will make mistakes for sure, but that is how they will learn, develop and improve.

 

[Tastycles]

I love the way that everyone appears to know what is scripted and what isn't, when its actually just listing what's good and what isn't. The Rock was good, so he wasn't scripted, but Beaver Cleavage probably was, right?

There isn't a catastrophic problem with scripting per se, if you have wreslters that can act. However, there is definitely something lost if you don't let wrestlers have the oppurtunity to show what they can do. I don't know how hard it would be to get the wreslters into a sound booth and tell them to make something up, but it can't be that hard. If they are good, give them a trial to let loose on Smackdown/ECW, and if they succeed there let them do it on live TV. Some wrestlers won't be good enough to do it, and that is a fact of life and also why we had managers in the 1980s. Give them scripts, but the Jerichos, Cenas, Edges etc. of this world should be at least given the oppurtunity to try ad libbing on recorded TV.

 

[RIPMOOSE316]

So, I'm on college break, I'm bored late at night so im looking at old youtue videos, i come across a bunch of Roddy Piper videos, mostly interviews. What i saw in Piper, is something that has become extinct, a lost art, no one in this generation has come close to what he brought to the table. What I'm speaking of is his complete insanity on the mic, his energy was felt by everyone in the arena and watching at home, it radiated from the man. The only person that one could say that has some close to his passion on the mic and just plain entertaining skills is the Rock. Now I'm not posting this thread to compare to two, because they were both top notch on the mic. My purpose with this is simple....

Can we please give the wrestlers their balls back before we put them on the mic for an interview or promo? Its simply boring,stale. Piper would go out there everynight and just talk, now imagine they gave him a guideline on what to say and he got their, but it in good god damn time. He got you fired up, made u laugh, and didnt make u want to change the channel to see how monday night football was going. John Cena used to be so entertaining, but now hes a robot, when he tried to get all fired up he reminds me of the jock at high school I wanted to punch in the face(this is not a cena bashing thread).

So what I'm saying is that the imagination of a promo is gone and left to writers, there is no feeling and no emotion, everyone sounds the same and says the same thing. We need people like the Hot Rod, The Rock, Jericho and the old Cena to come out and make us want to see the match to make us want keep watching to what they will say next.

Now there will never be another Piper, but can we get some of these guys to come close? I believe that a big problem with the business is boring promos, i may be the only one thinking this but, I'm curious as to who else feels the same or differently, please speak up and lets get this bitch rolling.

**Reminder: no Cena bashing(I'm not much of a fan anymore either but lets stay on topic)

 

[DexVendetta88]

I am against the use of scripted promos overall because they all follow a pattern which becomes predictable, dry, and eventually boring. Back then, the WWE (then-WWF) had writers who knew what made good promos, they knew how the wrestling business really worked, they knew what the fans wanted to see and hear rather than forcing it down our throats, and they gave more control to the wrestlers themselves on what they wanted to do. Ever since they hired former showbiz writers however, the promos just don't enhance the wrestler's character and charisma at all like they used to, and to make it worse the wrestlers have far less control on what they want to do with the promos prompting them to faithfully abide to the script.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

My thoughts exactly.

And not just the promos. Their gimmicks as well. Have you noticed a little pattern for both heels and faces? It's like what they HAVE to do.

Faces- EACH and every face HAS to smile, to wave at the fans, to come down and either headbutt kids, slap hands, kiss babies etc. There's not ONE face that has this tic-tac sized thing called PERSONALITY! They have to have a motive to be faces. They don't even have gimmicks. They're all the same.

Heels - Each heel must sound stale, must be super-evil and talk in a monotonous way. The only heels with personality right now are William Regal and Chris Jericho. I'm not putting Orton there simply because he's overusing what made him great. We get that he's "The Viper". Yes he's evil but hello? Development anyone?

As far as promos go I agree. Very stale. If all the guys in the back had a set of nuts between their legs they wouldn't stand there and let their "characters" be butt fucked by Vince's creative team which

A) Is not creative

B) I believe it consists of five monkeys in red jerseys

They're TOLD what to do and what to say. WWE has to remember, these guys are WRESTLERS, not actors. It's very hard to get into character especially if you have no idea how. You can just see that they're not feeling fine with their current position, gimmick etc.

It kills me to see these smiley faces and all the positive energy. Wrestling used to reflect the real world at SOME point as far as characters and behaviour goes. WHO THE HELL walks down the street and smiles like a freak all the time?

 

[Hundred Dollar Man]

Those days are a bit of a lost art, those old shows with Piper, Hogan etc. are a product of a different era. They often had more than one shot at getting their promos right as the shows were taped. Today the shows are either live or taped live. Simply put the companies (TNA included) have to control what is being said out in the ring to keep the story lines (such as they are) going and within the parameters creative staff have laid out.

The other trade off is that todays wrestler is a better athlete and a more limited improv artist. Years ago wrestlers tended to be more limited in the ring and more active vocally so you should ask yourself if you want better promos and worse in ring work or the current product when you see a match? There are only so many hours in the week for these guys to work on their art and the market has deemed the current arrangement to be the formula.

The happy medium may be to work dedicated managers who can act as mouthpieces again.