Top 5 Wrestling Promos Of All Time

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we list our top 5 wrestling promos of all time.

Jack Goodwillie’s Top 5 Favorite Wrestling Promos

I’ll preface by saying it’s truly impossible to whittle down all the hundreds upon hundreds of pro wrestling interviews into five. Hell, even pulling out my top 5 wrestling promos was a big challenge, so before I get into the nitty gritty, I won’t be including retirement speeches, hall of fame speeches or comedy segments, and I won’t include any wrestler twice. I may, however, have talked about a couple of these at some point or another, so I’ll do my best not to repeat myself.

Eddie Guerrero: Addiction

Eddie Guerrero won the WWE Championship in February 2004. I wouldn’t start watching wrestling until about five months after this, and I didn’t even see Eddie’s promo ahead of the clash with Brock Lesnar until years after his death. When I finally did, it only validated what I already knew about Eddie as a performer and entertainer. He was one of the best, both in my mind and in the minds of many. The best promos have to have a kernel of truth to them, and Eddie’s promo on Lesnar did just that. It’s also a tremendous credit to Lesnar’s mic skills, for him to have set Eddie up the way he did, because just like a top (remember those?), Brock ripped the cord and watched Eddie spin. And boy, did he.

It didn’t take Eddie long to be overcome with emotion, facing down the weight of his personal troubles over the past three years and realizing what the WWE Championship symbolized to him. This was a man at the conclusion of an unlikely odyssey, and given the obstacles he already had to overcome, all of a sudden, Brock Lesnar didn’t seem like such an indomitable task. That is the essence of an A+ wrestling promo and while my list isn’t in any kind of order, I can honestly say this is the greatest wrestling promo of all time.

CM Punk: “Your arms are just too short to box with God.”

CM Punk can hold his own against the greatest talkers ever. When he encountered The Rock on Raw just 20 days before their Royal Rumble clash back in 2013, Punk made himself a credible threat to The Great One while shutting down a live crowd in a way we have seldom seen. Punk’s pipebomb against Vince McMahon or labeling of John Cena as the “New York Yankees of wrestling” are all excellent choices as well, but I chose to highlight this one for one line: “Your arms are just too short to box with God.”

To this day, this is one of the great quotable lines in a promo. Perhaps more notable is just how Punk dominated The Rock in this exchange. Sure, The Rock may have been a little rusty, but Punk revealed after the fact he had actually met with The Rock and Brian Gewirtz before the show to work out how the exchange would go down. This means Rock believed his lines would stand to those of Punk, but instead it was the 200-pound champion and not the 275-pound challenger who came away as the more credible performer. Don’t get me wrong, The Rock is unquestionably a consideration for any Promo Mount Rushmore, but on any given night as the expression goes…

Jake Roberts: “A victim of your own greed…”

This promo feels like a black sheep compared to some of the longer form choices which I seem to prefer, but Jake’s soliloquy on Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania VI was nothing short of brilliant. Jake spoke softly and efficiently, making a believer out of anybody who watches this one back. For years, “The Million Dollar Man” humiliated those less fortunate than him. Remember when he made Rob Van Dam kiss his feet in 1987? Now, Roberts would finally get DiBiase in the ring, and this time, he promised to humble and humiliate him to show “The Million Dollar Man” how it feels to have to grovel for money. “And how appropriate, that the money you grovel for is your very own. A victim of your own greed, wallowing in the muck of avarice.” This is what it’s all about. This promo doesn’t quite get its due, but it may low-key be one of the all-time great babyface promos.

Steve Austin: “What a true superstar is supposed to do…”

Let’s face it, without this promo, there is no Stone Cole Steve Austin. Sure, Stunning Steve or Superstar Steve could have gone on to be bankable stars in wrestling, but an indisputable top-3 draw ever? “NUH-UH.” The frustration in Austin had been palpable probably years before even getting fired by Eric Bischoff, and Paul Heyman would ultimately be the one to bring it out. Stripped of a filter, bad advice and bad booking, Austin showed he could succeed on his own merits in this legendary segment. His timing and dynamics were on another level here. This might even be the best promo he ever cut, which is high praise. Some of his more comedic promos have been getting a lot of love on social media over the years, but as far as serious Austin interviews go, it has to be between his legendary ECW promo and Austin 3:16. For that reason, it does make you wonder what an Austin year-long run in ECW might have looked like…

Cactus Jack: “Cane Dewey”

I went in pretty deep on Cactus Jack’s “Cane Dewey” promo in our Shoot Promos roundtable, but my opinion stands. What makes this “worked shoot” stand out from among the rest? A.) It gets personal, and B.) It had great follow-up. In this promo, Cactus Jack gives you a look into what life is like as “Mick Foley,” playing on real frustrations in his household over the crazy wrestling fans trying to rattle him. It’s here where you start to lose sight of where Mick Foley begins and Cactus Jack ends. And unlike Matt Hardy’s ill-fated babyface push in 2005, Paul Heyman thankfully had it in him to steer into Foley’s frustration with the ECW fans even more. He may have even started doing interviews in a leather suit and ponytail to show how “clean-cut” he could be. But if you think about every great promo there ever was, the accompanying match (if there is one) is also usually pretty great with an ideal finish to boot. I just wonder which of those entities greater influences the other.

Steven Jackson’s Top 5 Favorite Wrestling Promos

“The Conqueror of the Streak”

Raw after WrestleMania XXX brought us arguably the greatest promo of Paul Heyman’s career. Celebrating Brock Lesnar finally ending The Streak, this promo was/is 10 minutes of pure genius. Not to mention, when I recently tweeted my thoughts on this promo, Heyman retweeted me!

“Hard Times”

A rally to the people of the South, “Hard Times” is mythical in terms of its execution and elocution. It transcends wrestling.

“Cane Dewey”

Mick Foley’s ECW promos delved into character work rarely seen before or since in wrestling. His anger towards the ECW fans and their disregard for the safety of the wrestlers in the ring inspired a series of classic promos. None are more heartfelt and honest than “Cane Dewey”, which brings out the human side of Cactus Jack, while presenting all the traits which made him a madman.

“This is the New World Order of Wrestling, brother!”

When Hulk Hogan dropped the leg onto Randy Savage at Bash at the Beach 1996, the wrestling landscape changed overnight. The promo following the unbelievable heel turn featured a Hulk Hogan not many people had encountered. One which was verbally brutal and extremely authoritative. At the same time “Austin 3:16” was whooping your ass, Hulk Hogan was creating a “New World Order!”

“With a Tear in My Eye”

Ric Flair is often credited as the greatest talker in the history of professional wrestling. And his greatest moment came at the conclusion of the 1992 Royal Rumble when Flair was presented with the WWF Championship. What followed were two minutes of passionate delivery and memorable quotes from “The Nature Boy.” There were no wasted syllables – every letter had its place. Just like with Flair, a tear formed in my eye.

Chad Gelfand’s Top 5 Favorite Wrestling Promos

“My Addiction”

The raw emotion from Eddie Guerrero in this promo gives me chills every time. Everything that he had to fight through in his drug addiction came rushing back leading to his title match against Brock Lesnar. Winning the title wasn’t just a way for him to say sorry to his family – it was an apology to himself for not realizing his potential sooner.

Austin/Rock Sit Down

When Stone Cold and The Rock share a screen, it’s as compelling as wrestling can get. Add in Jim Ross, a sit down interview right before WrestleMania X-7 and both of them at the top of their game. Stone Cold’s paranoia over losing his top spot, The Rock’s confidence in being the champion and the feeling Stone Cold will do whatever it takes to reclaim his title creates the magic of their epic encounter.

Kofi Kingston & Vince McMahon

KofiMania is the best storyline of the past decade and what made it so great is the realism that was injected into it. Kofi Kingston looking Vince McMahon in the eyes and making his case for why he earned a shot at the WWE Championship was compelling on its own, but then Kofi dropped the line that he’s never been trick or treating with his kids because he’s always been working for Vince and you could hear the collective gasp of the crowd.

“Cane Dewey”

Mick Foley did some of his best promo work in ECW and “Cane Dewey” is at the top. The story of a wrestler who has given his body and health to the business, but bloodthirsty fans still want more to the point where they bring a sign advocating the caning of that wrestler’s child. Mick did a fantastic job of showing the emotion of a wrestler who’s been broken and pushed past their breaking point by an audience that will never fully be satisfied.

“Who’s Your Daddy, Montreal?”

Shawn Michaels’ heel run in the summer of 2005 was phenomenal. We finally had back the arrogant, cocky Heartbreak Kid of the late ‘90s. This run reached its apex on Raw in Montreal. As Shawn trolled the audience while being serenaded with “You Screwed Bret” chants, Bret Hart’s music hit, only to be revealed to be a brilliant, elaborate prank by HBK.

John Corrigan’s Top 5 Favorite Wrestling Promos

“You Took Hulk Hogan’s Blood and Built Titan Tower”

Here’s No. 1 on my top 5 wrestling promos of all time. Three days before Survivor Series 2001, Paul Heyman called out Vince McMahon, eulogizing him before the Alliance was sure to conquer WWE. For about 10 minutes, Heyman aired all his grievances, chastising McMahon for killing the territories and stealing the ECW owner’s ideas. “While Doink the Clown had green hair and a rubber nose, Stone Cold Steve Austin was drinking his first beer in ECW.” Perhaps Heyman’s finest hour on the mic, which as you know, covers a lot of ground.

“Old Yeller”

Ric Flair says he wanted Shawn Michaels as perhaps his last opponent because he wants to prove on the Grandest Stage that he’s still got it. If anyone can bring the best out of the “Nature Boy,” it’s Mr. WrestleMania. After being reverential to his childhood idol, Michaels then gets deadly serious and tells him he’ll have no choice but to give him the Show Stopper. Flair appreciates the respect given as a peer rather than a legend, and just when you think everything is set for WrestleMania XXIV…Michaels wants to remind Naitch of a story: Old Yeller. Such a brilliant analogy for where Flair was in his career at that point.

“My Spot”

Unfortunately, we’ve seen several retirement speeches from wrestlers far too young to be calling it quits, but their bodies could no longer take the abuse. No goodbye speech has been more poignant, more eloquent and more purposeful than Arn Anderson’s. It’s a shame that the NWO’s parody has overshadowed the original promo because “The Enforcer” weaves a moving tale of when he realized his career was over. While he has nothing left to give the fans, he does have one thing left to give his peers – his spot in the Four Horsemen.

“A Leopard Doesn’t Change Its Spots”

Two of the greatest storylines took place in 1980: Larry Zbyszko attacking his mentor Bruno Sammartino and Ole Anderson betraying Dusty Rhodes. The latter was masterfully explained during an episode of Georgia Championship Wrestling when Anderson revealed how he pretended to be a good guy for a year and a half to finally earn the trust of his arch rival Rhodes, only to pounce on him when the time was right. Anderson’s giddiness at pulling this off while reminding Rhodes of his own words – “it’ll never be over” – is delicious.

“Oh Caesar”

In one of the biggest moments of 2020, Jake “The Snake” Roberts interrupted Cody to a thunderous pop, looking healthier than he had any right to. Addressing Cody as “mighty Caesar,” Roberts revealed that he had a client coming to AEW to slay Cody and all others in their path. It was a chilling promo that reminded the wrestling world that Jake the Snake was still a master of the mic.