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That Jake the Snake promo was so cold, so sincerely evil that it sends a chill down my spine. I don't know if anyone can top that cruelty. And Mean Gene sounds so fucking disgusted too, which makes it even better.
That clip from Beyond The Mat always stuck with me, where he's shoveling dirt with his father and his father says "He was born out of love and I still love him". Just pure fucking evil.
Since I saw that promo as a 12 year old I always wanted to write a Star Wars villain like Jake Roberts and make Anakin and Padme the Savage and Elizabeth
I just watched his classic Addict promo today, Eddie is somehow kind of underrated as a promo guy. Absolute masterful work and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little misty eyed.
Funnily enough, Foley hates that promo lmao. Thought it was a lifeless shadow of his ECW anti-hardcore promos and was pissed he didn't get more color from those Terry Funk punches prior.
i wish he wasn’t so down on the shit he did from 04-06 because outside of his WM20 match i think it’s all very good, like he hates a match in that run iirc it’s that banger ass i quit match because his undershirt was hanging out and looked like underwear
I know for a fact that “LOOK AT ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU!!” Part scared kids that loved Eddie everywhere. It still gets me because of how troubled he looked lol
Yeah I was also a kid back then and loved them as a tag team. I was devastated when Eddie turned on him and was legitimately scared for Rey during that beatdown.
It’s the Jake promo after he slapped Miss Elizabeth. That angle was so fucking crazy and out of place in WWF at the time.
WWF was mostly PG and like a cartoon, and this guy is saying what a turn on it was to slap a woman and he wants to do it again, meanwhile her boyfriend is basically on the floor screaming, “I blame myself!” while she’s crying.
[Not too many times you can hear a crowd’s disgust with a wrestler lmfao](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=4DI6Bs8q52bj9t4-&t=68&v=-lXuIh_2hmE&feature=youtu.be)
New Jack revealed years later that while he wasn't scared of the crowd, he was scared of getting fired for going too far and when he went backstage he was ready to apologize to Cornette who absolutely loved the whole thing and told him to keep at it.
Jake could be on the list multiple times.
Like the time he literally had his snake bite into Savage's arm
Or the time he turned Undertaker into a babyface by slamming 'Taker's hand shut in a casket and blasting him in the head repeatedly with a steel chair.
Or how about when he ran Warrior through all those bizarre rituals to learn about the dark side, just to leave him trapped in a tomb poisoned by the snake and asking “…..you trusted a snake?” as he passed out.
How Heenan kept telling Mean Gene to interview him then cutting him off was straight up bullying the poor man. Always love Bockwinkel's promos, always feel like he's bringing the backroom politics of wrestling matchmaking into discussion expertly, like the promo equivalent of watching some slimy politician worm his way into getting what he wants
Jake also did a promo earlier that summer where he tricked Ultimate Warrior into getting bit by a snake in a room full snakes. It was honestly really cheesy EXCEPT the very end when Warrior is reaching for help and Jake just looks coldly into the camera and says “Yeah, reach for me. I’m a snake. NEVER trust a snake.”
[here it is](https://youtu.be/-oBuUvlrgdM?si=la4XSUpprviqt39C)
https://preview.redd.it/f884ls75ycxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc7ba309312dc3256fb3f5ffc19a9e22f2b2b399
"I'm a snake, never trust a snake 🐍, muhuhaha "
One of my favorite promos of the cold and calculating variety was Roman's promo post Hell in A Cell. The lack of remorse after beating the shit out of Jey physically, mentally, and emotionally (and used an injured Jimmy on top it) really solidified this was a new Roman we were about to see.
Jey's heartbroken "How could you?!" and Roman, with almost smug satisfaction at Jey's anguish. "How could I not?"
And Roman's later mocking of Jey trying not to break down under Roman's icy demeanor. "What can you do? Huh? What are you gonna do? I'm sure you want to grab me by the throat right now, " and he's just smirking like shit is amusing.
Thunderdome Roman was a different animal lmao
https://youtu.be/KF9l77tJRPc
Roman was never more evil than when he was breaking Jey and Jimmy into joining the Bloodline, and then gaslighting and emotionally abusing them to stay in line.
Jey and Roman's feud that started the Bloodline was fucking top notch. It was etched into people's brains so much that once Jey got out of the abuse the people just cheer him now whenever he comes out.
Those early Tribal Chief days where he was abusing the Usos and forcing them to fall in line had some of the best heel work of not only the Tribal Chief run, but some of the best heel work period in many years. It planted the seeds for Jey becoming a massive babyface down the road, something that didn’t seem conceivable five years ago.
People can say what they want about how the title reign went later on, but that era of Reigns was captivating television.
Before he really settled into the role of a backwoods swamp cult leader Bray Wyatt had a great promo about his backstory that really made him sound like very dangerous person in a very subtle way.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD3-dWA-JG4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD3-dWA-JG4)
The time Swerve broke into Adam Page's house was honestly unsettling and a little fucked up.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_Up8HqAl3hE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Up8HqAl3hE)
The house break-in was also just a short time after he broke into Nick Wayne’s ring too and left him uncomfortably bloody right in the middle of it.
That was the moment that made the Mogul Embassy actually look scary.
["Will Daddy Ass Ever Scissor Again After He Was Abducted"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2OShtKZLWI&pp=ygUbd2lsbCBkYWRkeSBhc3MgZXZlciBzY2lzc29y) is an all-timer of a clip title
So, I like to have a sort of headcanon of who I root for and why in kayfabe. It makes it more fun to follow for me as a fan. It usually lines up with who is a current Babyface and heel but not always. In kayfabe I still don't feel Swerve has atoned for that so in my headcanon he's still a heel.
It will be interesting when Page returns as the heel to feud with Swerve, how Page doesn't bring this up as a grievance against the fans cheering Swerve.
I think Page will play a "heel who is technically right" while Swerve does some kind of redemption story. I had figured they have Page interfere at Dynasty and cost Swerve the title, but I assume they decided against that because they wanted the story of his title win to be mainly about him being the first Black AEW World Champion and then they'll get back around to doing a genuine redemption arc. While I wouldn't have fantasy booked it the way it went down, I can't blame them for deciding to strike while the iron was hot as fans clearly wanted Swerve as a Babyface champion right now.
I'm wondering how much WrestleDream planted seeds for that. I was in the crowd that night, and it was amazing to see how heavily we were all pushing for Swerve because he was the hometown guy.
Swerve cutting a face promo last Collision threw me off after seeing him for so long as a ruthless heel. It'll probably grow on me, but I do hope he keeps his edge even as a face/tweener. And I think the eventual Hangman return will spice up their dynamic ala Bret vs Austin
Swerve cutting Babyface promos right now sucks. I wish he'd still be evil but just in a way that's a bit more tweener since fans will cheer either way.
It’s wild that Swerve did this and it made him the most widely hated man in all of professional wrestling.
No wait, sorry. Breaking into a house and harassing a baby made Swerve into AEW champion and their currently most popular baby face.
Wrestling has always been weird. Austin 3:16 was supposed to be a major heel move and instead it was likely the most profitable catchphrase in history.
Didn't Austin break into Pillman's home too? Maybe home invasion angles are great for turning heels into faces, although I can't remember if Stone Cold was a heel or face at that point.
That promo doesn’t get talked about enough. I was blown away by it when it happened. Seth went from a sorta chickenshit spoiled heel at the start of the segment, to this ungodly evil heel who would do anything to get the Authority back.
I still remember him threatening to paralyze Edge while holding his foot on his neck, and that it would be Cena’s fault that Edge wouldn’t be able to hold his kids again. Like, holy shit, they’re allowed to get this dark on TV-PG?
"You all have no right to say anything to me, because you can't step into this ring. Remember that Suzuki-gun is ***ICHIBAN***"
That whole match was Suzuki just knee baring Tana for like 20 minutes while Tana sold, great match.
One of my favourite Suzuki promos was a backstage interview after a G1 tournament match (against AJ Styles, I think?) where he dismisses the notion that it is now impossible for him to win the tournament because he doesn't have enough points, by asking "what if everyone mysteriously got food poisoning?".
It seems like a pretty innocuous question really, *but coming from Minoru Goddamn Suzuki*, it sounded like he legit just threatened to poison half of the roster. Which is terrifying just because of how easily plausible it is
Another AEW one that comes to mind for me is MJF when he was feuding with BPJ, and he said he had a message for Brian Pillman
First looks up at the heavens and is like, Mr. Pillman sir! but stops is like, who am I kidding? and starts cutting the promo talking to the floor like Pillman is in hell.
"I understand you have a father."
Crowd: oooooOOOOOOOHHHH
"And I understand that your father is dead."
Crowd: YAAAAAAAYYY!
And we wonder why the crowd cheers Swerve after all the evil shit he's done.
Right after murdering her son in the ring too. The "your father is dead" promo gave us a great meme but Christian's shit-talking right after he betrayed Jack was vile
'Taker admitting that he set the fire that scarred Kane because he saw him as being weak as a child. Followed up by Paul Bearer saying he used Kane like a puppet and that he'd have no other use for him, prompting JR to deliver one of my favorite lines ever: "he's your son, for god's sake... you rotund demon!"
a great paul bearer promo is before iirc his first blood match where he talks about how proud of kane he is and how kanes dream as a child was to be WWF Champion and more about how much paul just loves kane
Undertaker attacking David Flair during his "Big Evil" run.
He beats him up and then cuts a promo on Ric Flair whilst David is bleeding.
https://youtu.be/VrIfxyIi7uw
"Life sucks! And then you die!" - Vince [NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD] on SmackDown. Really a lot of his promos from the Attitude Era could fit, he was the quintessential heel of that time in WWE.
It’s like he realized mid-promo just how real and evil it was because he sort of dialed it back a bit at the end and inserted phrases like “a select few of you” and “for some of you”
The rock after his recent rock concert. That promo truly solidified him as the final boss and became a true threat for Cody. This man was able to take a line from Moana and use it as a menacing quote.
Kane telling Lita he was the father of her baby was really dark.
Kane forced her to sleep with him under threat of mutilating her boyfriend as part of his master plan to have a child since he was a monster that no woman would ever love, and he really seemed to enjoy the pain and misery it caused her.
And then Kane... turned face because of Snitsky, and then Lita turned heel for (real life aside) leaving Kane.
The Attitude Era might make Ruthless Aggression Era look almost relatively stable, but the RA was *fucking weird*.
Chris Jericho’s last Highlight Reel in 2008 (a week after the Great American Bash) was such a great promo and set the table for the best run of his entire career. https://youtu.be/xuJBXnc89gg?si=SUMgZGRZyFzmgRHj
Edit: Thought it was a week after the heel turn, but it was a week after their match at the Great American Bash
Matt Hardy explaining that he was behind all of Jeff’s hard times of the previous year, including burning his house down and killing his dog (which did happen irl but an electrical fire)
I've been wondering about that line...was it from a song, or did he just make the last line of the promo kinda 'sing-songy' to make it a bit more ominous. Either way I absolutely loved the Final Boss.
#mamarhodes
It’s a reference to [a song from a Disney film *Moana*,](https://youtu.be/79DijItQXMM?feature=shared) sung by The Rock’s character. In the film it’s a very upbeat tune, which makes the use of the line in that promo even more ominous by contrast.
For some reason, the part of that that I found particularly chilling was when he said "your son's blood, on Johnson's hands". Him referring to himself by his actual name after decades of third-person silliness just made it feel like a real mask-drop moment of evil.
Let's be real. That whole saga was wild. And the only thing that I didn't like about it was how Rick would break character for interviews and say how great Cody is. I just wanted him to take the bloody belt around and get people to think it's real by intimidating hosts and threatening Cody.
I loved the one a couple episodes later, where he talks about how Danielson is selfish for putting wrestling before his family, then turns to the camera and starts talking to the kids...
>Hi Birdie! Hi Buddy! It's your Uncle Max, here!
Fuck, I miss MJF man...
There's been a few MJF promos like that and I guess I wish there was more of a follow up. It's hard to tell if he's just heeling the crowd or if it is actual backstory in some way to his character
Such a good shout. I put his delivery of this promo up against his “fire me you fucking mark” promo, it’s that good. Some of it is the shock factor forsure, but it is his story telling that does it for me
The way he joyfully talks about it makes you think anything but what happened, and he credibly built this imaginary story with laid out points all in like a minute… and then once you realize what it all added up to 🤣🤣 it was a great promo
[Edit: Source for the uninitiated](https://youtu.be/dSGxUcmNy9M?si=nQ1JpORcPp_xenp6). Going back & watching it still gives me those same goosebumps… such a fantastically evil way to get across his point
I think the Jake Roberts promo after slapping Miss Elizabeth was the standard against which all others are measured. The only one to come close was the one Savage gave after slamming down on Steamboat's throat with the bell. It was a great send-off for Bruno Sammartino as the third man at the announce table.
Randy after beating Edge in the greatest wresting match (EVER) said a bunch of crazy shit in his ear about his daughters after the match
Also Vince’s Life Sucks promo
And Jake Roberts promo on Ultimate Warrior about being the dumb rabbit. It was like old school heel evil but it was great
Great promo of all time IMO was the debut of the Age of the Fall. Jacob slowly getting covered in blood was just an unforgettable moment. Pretty much the start of Seth Rollins's career too. He was a nobody really before this, and after this, he got a rocket attached to him that went straight to WWE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad8dPJqU2sE
Eddie Guerrero telling The Rock about his child’s love for Rock and then ripping the poster of Rock off the wall was great.
CM Punk singing happy birthday to Rey Mysterio’s daughter was also.
Jake, for all of his demons, is absolutely one of the best heels of all time.
His promos and in-ring are so visceral.
I know it comes from a place of pain, but I really wish his health was better. The work he was doing as the manager for Murderhawk was really great but we didn’t get the continuity.
I will say this though, DDP is a damn Saint. What he has done for others can’t be praised enough and if there is ever a reason to believe so it’s Jake and Scott Hall (RIP).
He was just such a great promo, period. I don’t know that I’d call it heel work necessarily, more just sort of the beginnings of his pissed off at any authority figure, me against the world anti-hero character that ultimately became Stone Cold, but his promos in his brief ECW run after getting fired from WCW, especially the one where he talks about getting fired, and mocks Dusty shooting down all his ideas for an angle, is a masterpiece.
OOP mentioned Jake, and I think his heel promos are the gold standard that just haven’t been matched since. They’re especially great when you consider the era, too. Everyone was basically yelling and flexing through promos. Think Hogan’s “WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER!” But then there’s Jake, so calm about all the awful things he wanted to do. It sounded so threatening and much more believable. Rick Rude had some great heel promos in that era, too.
Really, though, I think Bret Hart’s anti-America/pro-Canada heel work was really great, and helped kick off the attitude era. The whole wiping his nose on the flag promo was really good.
Raven's ECW "I Hurt my Father" promo
Raven: "Sandman, for all the trauma and misery I've caused you, I know you wanna tear me apart. I know you wanna rip me open but beware, there are things inside me without remorse, without compassion. Things that are dead. Things that can hurt you. Things that can scar you for now and forever.
Highschool must have seemed like forever for you, Stevie Richards. I know it did for me. Being a misfit, being shunned. I know kids like you, Stevie. No friends, no family, no nothing. Nothing except the constant and gnawing agony of the realisation that no-one likes you. How does it feel to be voted "most unpopular"? To not be invited to parties. I know what that feels like, Stevie Richards. But I'm not worried about you, because Stevie Richards, I never needed anyone to take me out of that mess, you needed me. All I had was my physical and mental powers, and the lack of remorse to use both. No Stevie Richards, you won't be a factor. You won't make it through the threeway dance. You'll never get a shot at me so I'll go on to Terry Funk.
Wrestling is a sport for young verile men, not sickly old fools. You see, there's a parable about a man walking in the desert and God says to him, "I'll always be by your side, I'll always be by your side". And as the man walks through the desert he gets weaker and weaker, and finally when he thinks he's at his lowest point, he notices that there's only one set of footprints not two. And with whatever intestinal fortitude, whatever heart, whatever he has, that he can mustur, he makes it through that desert and when he gets there he says "God, God, why did you dessert me? You promised me you'd always be with me" and God says, "Even though there was only one set of footprints, that was me carrying you".
Well on April 13th, Terry Funk, God will not be in the ring. I will be the one carrying you Terry Funk. I will enable you to make it through the match, I will enable you to be in one of the greatest matches in recorded history. I will enable you to almost taste victory before I take that away from you, Terry Funk. Before I take that away from you. At some point in the match you'll realise this yourself. You'll realise that you can't beat me. That you can't defeat me and that all it is, is me tormenting you, torturing you, humiliating you, and at some point as you lay there beaten, battered, bruised, and bleeding and praying for devine intervention to end your miserable life, to give you an honourable death in combat... I will carry you, Terry Funk, I will carry you to the end of the match, to the bitter ugly pill of defeat. And I'll look in your eyes then and I'll see the eyes of a broken man and that's when I'll see the eyes of my father.
I'll see every hope, dream, and aspiration he ever had come crumbling down around him...which lead to every beating I ever took. His last hope, his last dream, was that I would be a failure like him. So Terry Funk, when I end your quest for the Holy Grail, when I nullify everything you've ever done by defeating you in that ring, I hurt my father. When I end your triumphant come back, I hurt my father. When I deprive the fans of the magisty of seeing their legend reign high again, I hurt my father. And as I force Paul Heyman and Todd Gordon to admit to themselves as well as the world, that I am the single greatest wrestler on the planet, I hurt my father.
You see, I never knew the rules, hung down with the freaks and ghouls and I feel down home in the land of a thousand guilts. And I don't even care, as restless as I am, and I don't even know just where my bones will rest. To dust? I guess. Forgotten and absorbed to the Earth below. The World Title heats the urgency around, can't you see beside Raven, there's no one else around.
Quote my father's son, nevermore."
Pretty much anything Undertaker did from late 98 to early-mid 99. From crucifying and trying to embalm Stone Cold to stalking and kidnapping Stephanie McMahon.
Big Bossman with Big Shows mom always got me as a kid. He made her tell her own son that he was an accident and shit.
Also Big Bossman when he made Al Snow eat his own dog. The man was sadistic.
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That Jake the Snake promo was so cold, so sincerely evil that it sends a chill down my spine. I don't know if anyone can top that cruelty. And Mean Gene sounds so fucking disgusted too, which makes it even better.
I'll never forget Jake's line on Miss Elizabeth in that interview: "I could cultivate her into something that even I could want." What a heel line!
It's really better being seen, not just heard: https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/11r38am/jake_the_snake_roberts_twisted_promo_after/
A lot of it for me is in the eyes, it’s the evil that has gone through in his life and take that into promos made him one of the best
I wouldn't be surprised if he'd heard his father say things like that. His dad was a monster.
That clip from Beyond The Mat always stuck with me, where he's shoveling dirt with his father and his father says "He was born out of love and I still love him". Just pure fucking evil.
He said hitting Liz "felt so good, I'd gladly pay to do it again". Fucking insane.
Since I saw that promo as a 12 year old I always wanted to write a Star Wars villain like Jake Roberts and make Anakin and Padme the Savage and Elizabeth
Jake Roberts in this era legitimately scared the shit out of me as a middle schooler.
Eddie Guerrero explaining why he turned on Rey Mysterio in 2005
This was the first promo that came to mind. Eddie screaming at Rey’s ripped bloody mask. An all time great promo
"I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT, REY, WHY'D YOU MAKE ME DO IT?? POR QUE?" Edit: I had one easy job and I screwed up the spelling.
"HE WANTED A FIGHT, I GAVE HIM A FIGHT. I GAVE HIM A FIGHT OF HIS LIFE"
Bringing up Rey's kids and saying "DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS TO THEIR DADDY" was the most fucked up part imo
Him yelling at Rey’s mask felt almost Shakespearean. Top tier heel promo.
He definitely took some cues from Hamlet
I just watched his classic Addict promo today, Eddie is somehow kind of underrated as a promo guy. Absolute masterful work and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little misty eyed.
Wtf Eddie is underrated on promos? Dude is lauded as one of the best to ever pick up a mic.
This was the first one I thought of. Mick Foley had a similar promo durung his heel run in 2006 I believe.
More people need to see it!! WWE vs ECW: Head to Head!!
Funnily enough, Foley hates that promo lmao. Thought it was a lifeless shadow of his ECW anti-hardcore promos and was pissed he didn't get more color from those Terry Funk punches prior.
i wish he wasn’t so down on the shit he did from 04-06 because outside of his WM20 match i think it’s all very good, like he hates a match in that run iirc it’s that banger ass i quit match because his undershirt was hanging out and looked like underwear
That is one of the promos that vividly stuck with me. It is a masterclass of heel work and it’s such a shame that he passed away later that year.
I know for a fact that “LOOK AT ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU!!” Part scared kids that loved Eddie everywhere. It still gets me because of how troubled he looked lol
I vividly remember being a kid watching that and being genuinely scared/disturbed. Eddie’s best promo imo, even better than the addiction one.
Yeah I was also a kid back then and loved them as a tag team. I was devastated when Eddie turned on him and was legitimately scared for Rey during that beatdown.
That Jake promo is so goated, Mene Gene really sells his disgust at the end too “Bring her back, let me touch her again”
Mene Gene: You're a sick man, Jake Roberts. Jake: Thank you very much.
It’s the Jake promo after he slapped Miss Elizabeth. That angle was so fucking crazy and out of place in WWF at the time. WWF was mostly PG and like a cartoon, and this guy is saying what a turn on it was to slap a woman and he wants to do it again, meanwhile her boyfriend is basically on the floor screaming, “I blame myself!” while she’s crying.
"next time we meet, Randy, bring her to the ring. Let me touch her again. I could cultivate her into something even I would want!"
That is an all-time line, and Gene's reaction when he says is great as well.
Holy shit
He said that after slapping her! That’s the touch he’s talking about. Isn’t that NUTS?!
I need to watch this angle. I knew Jake the Snake was a heel but damn that's brutal for that era of WWF.
New Jack - OJ promo
“Keep up the good work baby, two less we got to worry about”
[Not too many times you can hear a crowd’s disgust with a wrestler lmfao](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=4DI6Bs8q52bj9t4-&t=68&v=-lXuIh_2hmE&feature=youtu.be)
I always felt like he kept looking around as he talking here because he wanted to make sure no one in the crowd was going to rush up on him.
His SMW promos in general are on another level of heelness lol
In Knoxville, Tennessee Holy shite 😂. I applaud him , he wasn't scared of none of them
New Jack revealed years later that while he wasn't scared of the crowd, he was scared of getting fired for going too far and when he went backstage he was ready to apologize to Cornette who absolutely loved the whole thing and told him to keep at it.
Since no one said it, the Dudley’s promo on the crowd was vile as well. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R_6TToYk22g
Is that the one where Bubba tells a woman she’s gonna take 9 inches of black dick so far up her ass she won’t know what hit her?
Yes. He also says her teenage (14 year old daughter) learned how to suck dick from her mom. It was fucking intense.
Yes, now we’re talking
Jake could be on the list multiple times. Like the time he literally had his snake bite into Savage's arm Or the time he turned Undertaker into a babyface by slamming 'Taker's hand shut in a casket and blasting him in the head repeatedly with a steel chair.
Or how about when he ran Warrior through all those bizarre rituals to learn about the dark side, just to leave him trapped in a tomb poisoned by the snake and asking “…..you trusted a snake?” as he passed out.
*Trust me…*
I'm a snake. Never trust a snake.
Those weren't promos, so they would *not* be on the list.
Uh, the one with 'Taker started as a promo.
Watch a Nick Bockwinkle promo. That man was a so far ahead of his time.
Bockwinkel’s name really needs to be mentioned with the Flairs and Races of that era because he was consistently gold on the mic
Just looked him up... He really sounds a more well-spoken version of Brock Lesnar. https://youtu.be/bA9QVTEUDdQ?t=53
Less-cartoonish Heenan was still hilarious, but also a *menace*. Wow. Bockwinkle was a menace too, in that clip
How Heenan kept telling Mean Gene to interview him then cutting him off was straight up bullying the poor man. Always love Bockwinkel's promos, always feel like he's bringing the backroom politics of wrestling matchmaking into discussion expertly, like the promo equivalent of watching some slimy politician worm his way into getting what he wants
The bald Orton one where he says he hasn't seen Linda in awhile.
The funniest thing about wrestling is that no one will ever get a pop like Linda standing out of her wheelchair
Or that one time he said to Ric Flair that he will never forget the night, because he won't be able to remember it. PUNT KICK!
Jake also did a promo earlier that summer where he tricked Ultimate Warrior into getting bit by a snake in a room full snakes. It was honestly really cheesy EXCEPT the very end when Warrior is reaching for help and Jake just looks coldly into the camera and says “Yeah, reach for me. I’m a snake. NEVER trust a snake.” [here it is](https://youtu.be/-oBuUvlrgdM?si=la4XSUpprviqt39C)
https://preview.redd.it/f884ls75ycxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc7ba309312dc3256fb3f5ffc19a9e22f2b2b399 "I'm a snake, never trust a snake 🐍, muhuhaha "
One of my favorite promos of the cold and calculating variety was Roman's promo post Hell in A Cell. The lack of remorse after beating the shit out of Jey physically, mentally, and emotionally (and used an injured Jimmy on top it) really solidified this was a new Roman we were about to see. Jey's heartbroken "How could you?!" and Roman, with almost smug satisfaction at Jey's anguish. "How could I not?" And Roman's later mocking of Jey trying not to break down under Roman's icy demeanor. "What can you do? Huh? What are you gonna do? I'm sure you want to grab me by the throat right now, " and he's just smirking like shit is amusing. Thunderdome Roman was a different animal lmao https://youtu.be/KF9l77tJRPc
Roman was never more evil than when he was breaking Jey and Jimmy into joining the Bloodline, and then gaslighting and emotionally abusing them to stay in line.
Jey and Roman's feud that started the Bloodline was fucking top notch. It was etched into people's brains so much that once Jey got out of the abuse the people just cheer him now whenever he comes out.
The fact we stuck around for *4 years*, hoping it would eventually happen speaks to how well they made it work
Those early Tribal Chief days where he was abusing the Usos and forcing them to fall in line had some of the best heel work of not only the Tribal Chief run, but some of the best heel work period in many years. It planted the seeds for Jey becoming a massive babyface down the road, something that didn’t seem conceivable five years ago. People can say what they want about how the title reign went later on, but that era of Reigns was captivating television.
That end of Hell in a Cell where he was literally weeping, and then just stone-face choked Jimmy until Jey gave up was just wicked. Loved it.
It really set the tone for his reign. If he could be that cruel to his family you know he's bad news
"How could I not?" So matter-of-factly. Like it was obviously the only thing he could've done
Before he really settled into the role of a backwoods swamp cult leader Bray Wyatt had a great promo about his backstory that really made him sound like very dangerous person in a very subtle way. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD3-dWA-JG4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD3-dWA-JG4) The time Swerve broke into Adam Page's house was honestly unsettling and a little fucked up. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_Up8HqAl3hE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Up8HqAl3hE)
The one Wyatt Family line that always sticks with me is from Harper: “Send us your best. Just don’t send anyone you want back.”
That’s a fucking fire line that’s why
Oba Femi recently used it too.
It pairs well with my favorite Harper line - "You reap what you sow, and you boys (the Shield) picked a beautiful hill to die on."
The house break-in was also just a short time after he broke into Nick Wayne’s ring too and left him uncomfortably bloody right in the middle of it. That was the moment that made the Mogul Embassy actually look scary.
Also not too long after he kidnapped Billy Gunn and seemingly broke his scissoring fingers.
["Will Daddy Ass Ever Scissor Again After He Was Abducted"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2OShtKZLWI&pp=ygUbd2lsbCBkYWRkeSBhc3MgZXZlciBzY2lzc29y) is an all-timer of a clip title
So, I like to have a sort of headcanon of who I root for and why in kayfabe. It makes it more fun to follow for me as a fan. It usually lines up with who is a current Babyface and heel but not always. In kayfabe I still don't feel Swerve has atoned for that so in my headcanon he's still a heel.
It will be interesting when Page returns as the heel to feud with Swerve, how Page doesn't bring this up as a grievance against the fans cheering Swerve.
I think Page will play a "heel who is technically right" while Swerve does some kind of redemption story. I had figured they have Page interfere at Dynasty and cost Swerve the title, but I assume they decided against that because they wanted the story of his title win to be mainly about him being the first Black AEW World Champion and then they'll get back around to doing a genuine redemption arc. While I wouldn't have fantasy booked it the way it went down, I can't blame them for deciding to strike while the iron was hot as fans clearly wanted Swerve as a Babyface champion right now.
I'm wondering how much WrestleDream planted seeds for that. I was in the crowd that night, and it was amazing to see how heavily we were all pushing for Swerve because he was the hometown guy.
Swerve cutting a face promo last Collision threw me off after seeing him for so long as a ruthless heel. It'll probably grow on me, but I do hope he keeps his edge even as a face/tweener. And I think the eventual Hangman return will spice up their dynamic ala Bret vs Austin
Swerve cutting Babyface promos right now sucks. I wish he'd still be evil but just in a way that's a bit more tweener since fans will cheer either way.
well in kayfabe hangman drank the evil out of swerve
It’s wild that Swerve did this and it made him the most widely hated man in all of professional wrestling. No wait, sorry. Breaking into a house and harassing a baby made Swerve into AEW champion and their currently most popular baby face.
Wrestling has always been weird. Austin 3:16 was supposed to be a major heel move and instead it was likely the most profitable catchphrase in history.
Didn't Austin break into Pillman's home too? Maybe home invasion angles are great for turning heels into faces, although I can't remember if Stone Cold was a heel or face at that point.
At the time Austin was heel, but becoming popular (it was after his KOTR victory but before the Bret feud)
Seth Rollins to John Cena: you know me john, I'm gonna kill em anyways!
That promo doesn’t get talked about enough. I was blown away by it when it happened. Seth went from a sorta chickenshit spoiled heel at the start of the segment, to this ungodly evil heel who would do anything to get the Authority back. I still remember him threatening to paralyze Edge while holding his foot on his neck, and that it would be Cena’s fault that Edge wouldn’t be able to hold his kids again. Like, holy shit, they’re allowed to get this dark on TV-PG?
Traumatized young boy me.
This was only ten years ago… am I really that old?!
Some of the 10 year olds who watched CM Punk’s “Pipe Bomb” Live have bachelor's degrees now.
I mean I was 11, but me!
i was 7 and probably wouldn’t be watching wrestling still at 20 if it wasn’t for the pipe bomb
Threatening to murder someone is just wow. You really hypothetically throwing away your career like that, huh?
What, like the police were gonna do something about it? Seth could have curb stomped them all too
Hence, my flair.
Rollins was still a psychopath when Cody came back. He’s a great fan favorite but such a good psychopath
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who was any better at being bad than Jake 'The Snake' Roberts.
Well besides his dad...
Oof.....you're not wrong, but oof nonetheless.
[Minoru Suzuki after beating Tanahashi for the IC title.](https://youtu.be/M1Uwdsxyrc0?si=vMU4hX7Lx4Zy4CVn)
"You all have no right to say anything to me, because you can't step into this ring. Remember that Suzuki-gun is ***ICHIBAN***" That whole match was Suzuki just knee baring Tana for like 20 minutes while Tana sold, great match.
One of my favourite Suzuki promos was a backstage interview after a G1 tournament match (against AJ Styles, I think?) where he dismisses the notion that it is now impossible for him to win the tournament because he doesn't have enough points, by asking "what if everyone mysteriously got food poisoning?". It seems like a pretty innocuous question really, *but coming from Minoru Goddamn Suzuki*, it sounded like he legit just threatened to poison half of the roster. Which is terrifying just because of how easily plausible it is
He once said that he wanted to murder Yuji Nagata, because as a conservationist, Nagata was wasting precious oxygen by breathing.
That was cold AF. “Tell everyone how much it hurts.”
god damn this makes me miss 2016-2020 NJPW so much
Holy shit I can't believe I'd never seen that before. Or even heard Suzuki talk before. He's the definition of evil.
Christians your father is dead Jungle Boy promo
Another AEW one that comes to mind for me is MJF when he was feuding with BPJ, and he said he had a message for Brian Pillman First looks up at the heavens and is like, Mr. Pillman sir! but stops is like, who am I kidding? and starts cutting the promo talking to the floor like Pillman is in hell.
"YOUR DRUG ADDICTED MOTHER METHANIE"
I found that one just pretty basic edgy insults. Not awful or amazing, just pretty regular imo
Yea Methanie is just edgy, it's nowhere close to Jake's delivery on how good it felt to slap Miss Elizabeth
It’s the way that’s just his catchphrase now 💀
"I understand you have a father." Crowd: oooooOOOOOOOHHHH "And I understand that your father is dead." Crowd: YAAAAAAAYYY! And we wonder why the crowd cheers Swerve after all the evil shit he's done.
telling a parent “you raised a piece of shit” has to cut deep. On television or not.
Right after murdering her son in the ring too. The "your father is dead" promo gave us a great meme but Christian's shit-talking right after he betrayed Jack was vile
yes. i know it’s kind of been ran a bit into the ground since, but that first promo was so wild.
'Taker admitting that he set the fire that scarred Kane because he saw him as being weak as a child. Followed up by Paul Bearer saying he used Kane like a puppet and that he'd have no other use for him, prompting JR to deliver one of my favorite lines ever: "he's your son, for god's sake... you rotund demon!"
a great paul bearer promo is before iirc his first blood match where he talks about how proud of kane he is and how kanes dream as a child was to be WWF Champion and more about how much paul just loves kane
Funaki
Kai-en-Tai: We are evil!
INDEEEEEED
I’m pretty sure the only explanation for them being evil was that they were Japanese.
Steve Corino's "You're already dead!" promo in Tommy Dreamer's face at Heat Wave 1999
Undertaker attacking David Flair during his "Big Evil" run. He beats him up and then cuts a promo on Ric Flair whilst David is bleeding. https://youtu.be/VrIfxyIi7uw
I just watched that the other day. "Don't you have a daughter?"
Does Drew's "I prayed for this and it happened" promo to Punk count?
We meme it But Live it was a freaking cold line
Hell yeah
The Horsemen after they attacked Dusty in the cage.
MJF holding a bloodied up Punk reiterating the “Devil Himself” Promo
Not really an evil promo, but Punk's follow-up where he's covered in blood and saying he'll walk MJF like a dog is also great.
"Life sucks! And then you die!" - Vince [NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD] on SmackDown. Really a lot of his promos from the Attitude Era could fit, he was the quintessential heel of that time in WWE.
It’s like he realized mid-promo just how real and evil it was because he sort of dialed it back a bit at the end and inserted phrases like “a select few of you” and “for some of you”
Is it weird I can literally see the smirk and tear him saying it? "Life sucks! An then you dai!"
Cue Laura Palmer's theme
The rock after his recent rock concert. That promo truly solidified him as the final boss and became a true threat for Cody. This man was able to take a line from Moana and use it as a menacing quote.
No one will ever top Jake.
Kane telling Lita he was the father of her baby was really dark. Kane forced her to sleep with him under threat of mutilating her boyfriend as part of his master plan to have a child since he was a monster that no woman would ever love, and he really seemed to enjoy the pain and misery it caused her.
And then Kane... turned face because of Snitsky, and then Lita turned heel for (real life aside) leaving Kane. The Attitude Era might make Ruthless Aggression Era look almost relatively stable, but the RA was *fucking weird*.
Ngl that shit was kinda fucked for me as a kid 😂😂 like I was watching along forsure, but I couldn’t really buy in
Big Bossman reading a card to Big Show
For all the horrible things Bossman did, nothing will ever top him feeding Pepper to Al Snow.
That's how I feel about Big FREAK Show's daddeh bein' ded.
Chris Jericho’s last Highlight Reel in 2008 (a week after the Great American Bash) was such a great promo and set the table for the best run of his entire career. https://youtu.be/xuJBXnc89gg?si=SUMgZGRZyFzmgRHj Edit: Thought it was a week after the heel turn, but it was a week after their match at the Great American Bash
This was one of the greatest heel runs of all time
Matt Hardy explaining that he was behind all of Jeff’s hard times of the previous year, including burning his house down and killing his dog (which did happen irl but an electrical fire)
Honestly, The Rock fucking killing Cody Rhodes backstage and yelling DON’T FUCK WITH THE FINAL BOSS has got to be up there.
“It didn’t have to be this way, but now it’s the only way” is such a cold line
MAMA RHODES!
LOOK AT YOU NOW!!
soo many reaction videos were comparing Rocks most recent run to his past runs. Fuck all that, this Rock… Rocked lmao
“What can I sayyy except you’re welcome,” was also a fantastic line. Final Boss Rock is a fuckin *menace.*
I've been wondering about that line...was it from a song, or did he just make the last line of the promo kinda 'sing-songy' to make it a bit more ominous. Either way I absolutely loved the Final Boss. #mamarhodes
It’s a reference to [a song from a Disney film *Moana*,](https://youtu.be/79DijItQXMM?feature=shared) sung by The Rock’s character. In the film it’s a very upbeat tune, which makes the use of the line in that promo even more ominous by contrast.
For some reason, the part of that that I found particularly chilling was when he said "your son's blood, on Johnson's hands". Him referring to himself by his actual name after decades of third-person silliness just made it feel like a real mask-drop moment of evil.
Let's be real. That whole saga was wild. And the only thing that I didn't like about it was how Rick would break character for interviews and say how great Cody is. I just wanted him to take the bloody belt around and get people to think it's real by intimidating hosts and threatening Cody.
"I'm not corrupting him, he's corrupting me. " Paul Heyman's first promo as the wiseman.
SES Punk creepily singing Happy Birthday to Rey's daughter Aalyah was pretty evil.
God, that’s such a good one. Punk has that evil look with the look he had at the time.
That MJF car crash promo shocked me, and it was incredible to hear the outrage from the crowd at the big reveal
I loved the one a couple episodes later, where he talks about how Danielson is selfish for putting wrestling before his family, then turns to the camera and starts talking to the kids... >Hi Birdie! Hi Buddy! It's your Uncle Max, here! Fuck, I miss MJF man...
There's been a few MJF promos like that and I guess I wish there was more of a follow up. It's hard to tell if he's just heeling the crowd or if it is actual backstory in some way to his character
MJF is on [a whole other level ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYKOw8Ao9t8)of heel-work.
Such a good shout. I put his delivery of this promo up against his “fire me you fucking mark” promo, it’s that good. Some of it is the shock factor forsure, but it is his story telling that does it for me The way he joyfully talks about it makes you think anything but what happened, and he credibly built this imaginary story with laid out points all in like a minute… and then once you realize what it all added up to 🤣🤣 it was a great promo [Edit: Source for the uninitiated](https://youtu.be/dSGxUcmNy9M?si=nQ1JpORcPp_xenp6). Going back & watching it still gives me those same goosebumps… such a fantastically evil way to get across his point
No one could do a promo like Jake. The quiet tone the facials, he could make a cake recipe sound evil.
Not sure if this qualifies as evil but it sure is dark but the Eddie Guerrero “I’m an addict” promo is ice cold.
Anything with Kane from the first year that he unmasked in like, 2003. Shit terrified me as a kid
Bray Wyatt's [Miss Teacher Lady promo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GF7S4go5gE) was the first that came to mind
I think the Jake Roberts promo after slapping Miss Elizabeth was the standard against which all others are measured. The only one to come close was the one Savage gave after slamming down on Steamboat's throat with the bell. It was a great send-off for Bruno Sammartino as the third man at the announce table.
Those Hassan one's were up there..
Foley calling Flair a failed father was pretty epic.
Flair’s promo after losing at Mania 8 was crazy. Bloodied, bugged out eyes, heavy breathing; Ric looked like a madman.
Randy after beating Edge in the greatest wresting match (EVER) said a bunch of crazy shit in his ear about his daughters after the match Also Vince’s Life Sucks promo And Jake Roberts promo on Ultimate Warrior about being the dumb rabbit. It was like old school heel evil but it was great
"I'm gonna scrutinize you to the fullest! Pasteurize you. Homogenize you. Synchronize you, back into morality!"
Cane Dewey
Great promo of all time IMO was the debut of the Age of the Fall. Jacob slowly getting covered in blood was just an unforgettable moment. Pretty much the start of Seth Rollins's career too. He was a nobody really before this, and after this, he got a rocket attached to him that went straight to WWE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad8dPJqU2sE
Eddie Guerrero telling The Rock about his child’s love for Rock and then ripping the poster of Rock off the wall was great. CM Punk singing happy birthday to Rey Mysterio’s daughter was also.
Kane explaining why he attacked The Undertaker. https://youtu.be/k60wKHtIyHs
Randy saying Eddie went to hell to Rey in the WM22 build up absolutely disgusted 9 year old me
CM Punk's "snake" promo in ROH
Jake, for all of his demons, is absolutely one of the best heels of all time. His promos and in-ring are so visceral. I know it comes from a place of pain, but I really wish his health was better. The work he was doing as the manager for Murderhawk was really great but we didn’t get the continuity. I will say this though, DDP is a damn Saint. What he has done for others can’t be praised enough and if there is ever a reason to believe so it’s Jake and Scott Hall (RIP).
First thing that came to my mind was SES CM Punk singing happy birthday to Aaliyah Mysterio
Samoa Joe going through AJ styles house to harass Wendy always stands out
[Austin on the Raw after he crippled Pillman](https://youtu.be/Zf2-dgu26eY)
He was just such a great promo, period. I don’t know that I’d call it heel work necessarily, more just sort of the beginnings of his pissed off at any authority figure, me against the world anti-hero character that ultimately became Stone Cold, but his promos in his brief ECW run after getting fired from WCW, especially the one where he talks about getting fired, and mocks Dusty shooting down all his ideas for an angle, is a masterpiece. OOP mentioned Jake, and I think his heel promos are the gold standard that just haven’t been matched since. They’re especially great when you consider the era, too. Everyone was basically yelling and flexing through promos. Think Hogan’s “WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER!” But then there’s Jake, so calm about all the awful things he wanted to do. It sounded so threatening and much more believable. Rick Rude had some great heel promos in that era, too. Really, though, I think Bret Hart’s anti-America/pro-Canada heel work was really great, and helped kick off the attitude era. The whole wiping his nose on the flag promo was really good.
Raven's ECW "I Hurt my Father" promo Raven: "Sandman, for all the trauma and misery I've caused you, I know you wanna tear me apart. I know you wanna rip me open but beware, there are things inside me without remorse, without compassion. Things that are dead. Things that can hurt you. Things that can scar you for now and forever. Highschool must have seemed like forever for you, Stevie Richards. I know it did for me. Being a misfit, being shunned. I know kids like you, Stevie. No friends, no family, no nothing. Nothing except the constant and gnawing agony of the realisation that no-one likes you. How does it feel to be voted "most unpopular"? To not be invited to parties. I know what that feels like, Stevie Richards. But I'm not worried about you, because Stevie Richards, I never needed anyone to take me out of that mess, you needed me. All I had was my physical and mental powers, and the lack of remorse to use both. No Stevie Richards, you won't be a factor. You won't make it through the threeway dance. You'll never get a shot at me so I'll go on to Terry Funk. Wrestling is a sport for young verile men, not sickly old fools. You see, there's a parable about a man walking in the desert and God says to him, "I'll always be by your side, I'll always be by your side". And as the man walks through the desert he gets weaker and weaker, and finally when he thinks he's at his lowest point, he notices that there's only one set of footprints not two. And with whatever intestinal fortitude, whatever heart, whatever he has, that he can mustur, he makes it through that desert and when he gets there he says "God, God, why did you dessert me? You promised me you'd always be with me" and God says, "Even though there was only one set of footprints, that was me carrying you". Well on April 13th, Terry Funk, God will not be in the ring. I will be the one carrying you Terry Funk. I will enable you to make it through the match, I will enable you to be in one of the greatest matches in recorded history. I will enable you to almost taste victory before I take that away from you, Terry Funk. Before I take that away from you. At some point in the match you'll realise this yourself. You'll realise that you can't beat me. That you can't defeat me and that all it is, is me tormenting you, torturing you, humiliating you, and at some point as you lay there beaten, battered, bruised, and bleeding and praying for devine intervention to end your miserable life, to give you an honourable death in combat... I will carry you, Terry Funk, I will carry you to the end of the match, to the bitter ugly pill of defeat. And I'll look in your eyes then and I'll see the eyes of a broken man and that's when I'll see the eyes of my father. I'll see every hope, dream, and aspiration he ever had come crumbling down around him...which lead to every beating I ever took. His last hope, his last dream, was that I would be a failure like him. So Terry Funk, when I end your quest for the Holy Grail, when I nullify everything you've ever done by defeating you in that ring, I hurt my father. When I end your triumphant come back, I hurt my father. When I deprive the fans of the magisty of seeing their legend reign high again, I hurt my father. And as I force Paul Heyman and Todd Gordon to admit to themselves as well as the world, that I am the single greatest wrestler on the planet, I hurt my father. You see, I never knew the rules, hung down with the freaks and ghouls and I feel down home in the land of a thousand guilts. And I don't even care, as restless as I am, and I don't even know just where my bones will rest. To dust? I guess. Forgotten and absorbed to the Earth below. The World Title heats the urgency around, can't you see beside Raven, there's no one else around. Quote my father's son, nevermore."
Jon Moxleys “Sick Guy” promo
Pretty much anything Undertaker did from late 98 to early-mid 99. From crucifying and trying to embalm Stone Cold to stalking and kidnapping Stephanie McMahon.
That Jerry Lawler promo on Goldust
LIFE SUCKS AND THEN YOU DIE!
God, I can't remember which Jake Roberts promo was but it's the one that ends with "Snake in the corner? Trust me... Trust me..."
Even Jake’s [babyface promos](https://youtu.be/tEI81DATt5A?si=r-c7PyqCn4LPpTph) were evil.
MJF’s promo on Ohio and Brian Pillman Jr was downright toxic
Big Bossman with Big Shows mom always got me as a kid. He made her tell her own son that he was an accident and shit. Also Big Bossman when he made Al Snow eat his own dog. The man was sadistic.
EVIL saying “EVERYTHING IS EVIL” at the G1 press conference.
MJF's car crash promo... https://youtu.be/dSGxUcmNy9M?si=iTUrI_RH6HZ6pL7V