One of a wrestler’s greatest assets is his or her ability to connect with the audience. Some have that knack, some don’t. This is our list of those who have that charismatic appeal.
Honorable mentions: Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes, HHH, CM Punk, Undertaker, William Regal, Jerry Lawler
10: John Cena is both venerated and vilified, depending upon who you’re asking. However, something virtually nobody can disagree on is that the man can talk. He is the face as well as the mouth of the WWE. Harkening back to his early days of 2003 and 2004, he is well known for bringing laughter. Although he has been greatly toned down in the past few years, he can still captivate an audience, boos or no.
9: Kevin Nash is an oddity on this list. He seems to prefer to use as few words as possible to get his point across. At the same time, Nash is about to “stir it up” whenever he has to. A master of body language and of using his naturally intimidating size, he says no more than what is necessary, most of the time.
8: “Stone Cold†Steve Austin. One of the baddest men to work in the squared circle. A catchphrase machine without even trying, he was one of the front-runners of the famed Attitude Era. Now an ambassador for the WWE, he remains one of the biggest connections to mainstream pop culture that WWE has to offer. His mere presence in the arena is guaranteed to rile the audience up.
7: The owner of the greatest mustache to ever compete, Rick Rude was a king talker. He was the epitome of the cocky, arrogant heel that the fans loved to hate. A tribute to the glory that was the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, his raspy, testosterone-fueled voice turned heads everywhere.
6: The counterpart to Austin during the Attitude Era, The Rock’s moniker of “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment†is well earned. Capable of churning out multiple catchphrases in a single breath, he paved the way for men like Cena.
5: “Rowdy†Roddy Piper is legendary for his ability to literally incite riots when he speaks. Not a single person on this list is as controversial for his rhetoric as “The Hot-rod.” He could make you laugh. He could make you cry. He could make steam shoot out of your ears. And the fans ate it up. Every single word of it.
4: The man with enough personalities to make his own stable, Mick Foley is a brutal brawler. But what he excels at even more than swinging a barbed-wire baseball bat is hypnotizing a crowd with his words. He is one of the most eloquent and verbally versatile men ever.
3: The dark cloud of wrestling, Raven. The man with a genius level intellect. Wherever he goes, trouble brews, and blood is spilled. Whether it’s ECW, WCW, or various incarnations in TNA, he develops a cult-like following rivaling that of Jim Jones, a legacy that CM Punk now seems to aspire to.
2: “The Nature Boy†Ric Flair. If somebody wanted to make easy money at a wrestling event, all they’d have to do is grab some plain white t-shirts, write “WOOOOOO!†on them, and price them at 10$. They’d sell out, guaranteed. He truly lives up to his original namesake, the original “Nature Boy†Buddy Rogers. Any promo of his has the potential to be an instant classic.
1: Jake “The Snake†Roberts was a linguistic pioneer. He was the originator of the dark and brooding promo. Always keeping his voice low, he drew the audience in and forced them to listen and pay attention. Did he try to be catchy? No. Was he loud and bombast? Certainly not. He was above such techniques. He would slowly articulate his point, and then walk away.
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