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.
