The only reason I hesitate on Austin 3:16 being this massive far-and-away #1 is that in terms of objective promo quality it gets beaten out a lot of promos (though by all rights I loved it as I watched it live).
But it does crush really really hard in terms of historical significance, so I can't disagree that it should have gone #1.
A promo delivered by the likely best of all time on the microphone, capping off one of the consensus all-time events in WWF history, with three Hall-of-Fame caliber guys as bit players, and it drops to me at #5? Yes, please.
Incidentally Burdz, if you're going to do a troll draft, I'm just going to put you on a 15-minute window if it's all the same to you. You're never going to get sniped and are never going to snipe someone else, so you can just pick at your convenience anytime after your spot comes up. Seems reasonable anyway, keeps the draft moving for everyone else. But I won't do that until you've confirmed that you're not drafting for real, so your normal 4-hour window is running right now until 6:05.
This might be a reach, but it's one of my favorite promos of all-time and doesn't get enough love for sure because of how botched the angle was, so #6...
Spoiler:
Paul Heyman's Death To WWF shoot
Tell me a better Smackdown promo than this for one thing. The heat Heyman got for this is incredible, and I definitely agreed with a lot of it as well. My show is going to be full of impactful promos that make things fun again.
Heyman's shoot was definitely superior mic work, but also has almost no historical value since it's just a relic from an angle that didn't really work out. It was a good pick here, but I can't possibly put it over Punk's shoot when taking all factors into account.
Heyman's shoot was definitely superior mic work, but also has almost no historical value since it's just a relic from an angle that didn't really work out. It was a good pick here, but I can't possibly put it over Punk's shoot when taking all factors into account.
Idk, you could argue that without Heyman's shoot there would be no Punk shoot. I can certainly make an argument that Punk stole a lot of his material from Heyman's shoot.
Sorry for the delay, I'm here and will be posting my pick momentarily. I had to read through the thread like ten times as I couldn't believe it hadn't gone yet.
What makes a great promo? Most of the time, a promo is judged by the quality of the mic work of the individual(s) involved and the content of the writing. Sometimes, however, a promo is great because of what it represents. The promo I am selecting fits into the latter category as it perfectly captures one of the most important moments in wrestling history.
Spoiler:
"Mean Gene the first thing you gotta do is to tell these people to shut up if they want to hear what I’ve gotta say."
"Well the first thing you’ve gotta realize brother is that this right here is the future of wrestling. You can call this the New World Order of wrestling brother. These two men came from a great big organization up north and everybody was wondering about who the third man was. Well who knows more about that organization than me brother?"
"Well let me tell you something, I made that organization brother! I made the people rich up there. I made the people that ran that organization rich up there. And when it all came to pass, the name Hulk Hogan, the man Hulk Hogan got bigger than the entire organization brother! And then Billionaire Ted amigo, he wanted to talk turkey with Hulk Hogan. Well Billionaire Ted promised me movies brother. Billionaire Ted promised me millions of dollars. And Billionaire Ted promised me world caliber matches. And as far as Billionaire Ted, Eric Bischoff and entire WCW goes, I’m bored brother. That’s why I want these two guys here, these so called Outsiders, these are the men I want as my friends. They are the new blood of professional wrestling and not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business, with Hulk Hogan, the new blood and the monsters with me. We will destroy everything in our path Mean Gene."
As far as I’m concerned, all this crap in this ring represents these fans out here. For two years brother! For two years, I held my head high. I did everything for the charities. I did everything for the kids. And the reception I got when came out here, you fans can stick it brother. Because if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would still be selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis. And if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, all of these “Johnny come latelys” that you see out here wrestling wouldn’t be here. I was selling the world out brother while they were bumming gas to put in their car to get to high school. So the way it is now brother, with Hulk Hogan and the New World Organization of wrestling brother, me and the new blood by my side. Whatcha gonna do when the New World Order runs wild on you? Whatcha gonna do?"
"What are you gonna do?"
Spoiler:
The delivery may not have been as great as some of the other promos selected so far, and he may have got the name of the nWo wrong, but it was good enough. This is Hulk Hogan turning heel; it doesn't get much bigger than this. (I realise I only get from after the match so I don't actually get the heel turn moment, but still).