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Top Five Tuesday: Greatest talkers in pro wrestling

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Wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes passed away last week and while writing a column in honor of the Austin product’s contribution to sports entertainment, I decided to devote this week’s Top Five Tuesday to the best mic men to ever don wrestling tights. As usual, I invite you to share your list.
So without further ado, here are my top five greatest talkers in wrestling history.

5. HULK HOGAN

hollywood-hogan_480x480Even before he pulled off the greatest heel turn in the history of the sport, Hogan was great on the mic. It also didn’t hurt to play Thunderlips in Rocky III. From the yellow and red of Hulkamania to the NWO black which gave us Hollywood Hogan, the Hulkster made up for his general lack of wrestling moves with nice promo skills.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFcOhDNhDeo&w=640&h=390]

4. “MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE

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The Macho Man had charisma in spades and you never knew what you would get from him, especially during that run of great promos he shot with “Mean” Gene Okerlund in the WWE. Unpredictably crazy but must-see television every time he grabbed a mic.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVvfCIcIsAE&w=640&h=390]

3 . DUSTY RHODES

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The American Dream was the epitome of the Common Man. He used his working class theme to capture the imagination of the wrestling world. Rhodes was as country as a dozen eggs but he came across clear as a bell in promos. No wrestler in the history of the game brought as much charisma to the table. Check out his Hard Times promo below. It was one of his best promos ever.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4MmynUrze8&w=640&h=390]

2. THE ROCK

hercules

Dude broke the mold. Dwyane Johnson was/is so good on the mic that the WWE had to quickly rethink him as a heel because everyone wanted a piece of him. Dwayne Johnson was born to shoot wrestling promos. Of the five on this list he was perhaps the most creative. The thing that makes him so cool is he still stops by every now and then between blockbuster movies to polish up his mic skills.

Check out this classic clip of him roasting wrestling fans in Sacramento back in the early 2000s.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-G1nnfyWmc&w=640&h=390]

1. RIC FLAIR

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The Nature Boy will always be the one that stands out most in my mind because I absolutely hated him while watching the old Georgia Championship Wrestling shows in the 1980s. That was back when youngsters always chose sides and usually sided with the good guys. Flair was a heel 90 percent of the time so it sometimes overshadowed his mastery of the microphone. No one shot a promo like Flair. He remains the gold standard.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT530ioehdU&w=640&h=390]

Flair was such a transcendent figure that his hilarious “Woo!” call echoes through a stadium anytime he walks in or any time a wrestler delivers a chop across his opponent’s chest.

HONORABLE MENTION

Here’s a short list of the ones who came close but didn’t make the cut. They were Michael P.S. Hayes, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd, Chis Jericho, Triple H, and “Superstar” Billy Graham.


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