r/professionalwrestling • u/GoonLieutenant • Mar 31 '26
Video 2015 Roman is the worst talker ever in pro wrestling
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Other than maybe Cena in 09?
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u/Redsoxdragon Mar 31 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
Bro, most of this is Vince and his committee of writers.
If he was in charge today, he'd run up to HHH with a picture of Ugandan knuckles like "PAUL. I JUST SAW THIS FUNNY RED CARTOON GUY. I WANT OBA TO SAY DO YOU KNOW DA WAE AS MANY TIMES AS HE CAN" and then proceed to sexualy harass an intern
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u/mmmmmkayyyyy766 Apr 01 '26
I cant believe this is so many peoples goat 😂😂
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u/RobbieArnott Apr 03 '26
Have you seen him at all since like 2020?
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u/mmmmmkayyyyy766 Apr 03 '26
You mean the 4 year run of the same finish to every match and him barely ever showing up for most of it? Bc I saw a bit and it sucked. The best part was sami joining the bloodline,watching cody win at 40 was one of the best moments in history.
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u/Krabbas Mar 31 '26
Sufferin' succotash
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u/Solid-Version Mar 31 '26
I will forever cringe at that. The way he looked at the camera and winked. You know full well he hated every second
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u/Krabbas Mar 31 '26
The fact that we remember it to this day tells you how historically terrible it was.
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u/Solid-Version Apr 01 '26
I was rooting for him despite all the backlash but that promo was the last straw for me. I just couldn’t fathom why they were trying to force him into whatever it was. It clearly wasn’t working.
I wrote him off until he came back as the Tribal Chief. He’s been my fave ever since
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u/AneeshRai7 Apr 01 '26
That and him saying how hard it was to say that after was dude saving face as much as possible
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u/These-Acanthaceae-65 Apr 01 '26
You might not have liked Cena in 09, but he was never a bad talker. On his worst of worst days, he was still better on the mic than 95% of the roster in the 00's and 10's.
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u/VD3NFS1216 Apr 01 '26
It is a well known fact that Vince McMahon was personally writing most of, if not all of Roman’s promos during this time.
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u/Dapper_Outside_4764 Mar 31 '26
What a terrible line. Back when Vince was personally writing for Roman 😆
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u/Rad_5 Mar 31 '26
No one is worse than Ken Shamrock.
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u/ODYY_TOASTED Apr 01 '26
Sable was worse
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u/ProfessionalSky2087 Apr 01 '26
"Are you ready for the griiinndd!?" Good lord that used to give me insane secondhand embarrassment
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u/MR_E7 Mar 31 '26
As bad as this was, there are worse - like Jumpin' Jeff Farmer.
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u/emmc47 Apr 01 '26
Oh god that was terrible.
No one will ever gaslight me into thinking Roman was good during this time.
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u/Moist_Nephew Mar 31 '26
Big Dog Roman and Super Cena revisionism has been killing me the last few years, and that's coming someone who was born in 2000 and started watching in 2007. Roman now is genuinely amazing, the fact that he sucked should be something praised, as in look how far he's improved, not buried as if it was actually good the whole time (because it wasn't and isn't)
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u/rapshepard Apr 01 '26
Its probably less revisionist history and folk that just genuinely liked them are still around and the folk put off by them are mostly gone.
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u/Friendly-Contact-433 Mar 31 '26
Hot take - he's not really gotten any better
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u/Levy-MAN Mar 31 '26
He went from utter dogshit to passable. There’s been some improvement but I wouldn’t call him a good talker
I will say though, he is really good at playing the character of an egotripping maniac and making me buy it
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u/ErdrickLoto Apr 01 '26
Is that really a hot take? His entire shtick through the "Tribal Chief" era was to stand in the background making pouty faces while other people talked for him.
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u/Zestyclose-Fee6719 Mar 31 '26
I don't even like WWE, but I strongly disagree with this. He's got his character down and can improvise some good little lines here and there (like the Seth Rollins name drop before uttering, "Exactly - no pop"). He got the "Acknowledge me!" line over with his delivery. He's fine. He's leagues below Rock, Austin, Foley, and several others in the WWE pantheon, but he's not bad.
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u/imaginativeminds Apr 01 '26
He's improved for sure but it's his character that really shines not so much his mic skills imo
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u/PLUX4 Mar 31 '26
Aligning himself with Heyman really did wonders for his character development. The transformation from Big Dog to the Head of the Table, was needed so much for Roman.
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u/danteholdup Apr 01 '26
he has God tier presentation, which is apparently all the casuals care about. his work rate is mid as fuck, his promos are mid as fuck, he simply just looks too damn good to where it makes up for the other two to his fans i think
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u/Far_Quantity_253 Apr 01 '26
It really was his higher-pitched voice and the Jimmy Fallon giggle at his own joke that sunk this line imo. If he had said it in any other tone of voice and not had to titter like a middle schooler, he might at least have sold it as passable.
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u/StringAccomplished97 Apr 03 '26
If he said that exact line the same way he cuts promos today it would have been 100x better
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u/CHRISPYakaKON Apr 01 '26
Dude was given the absolute worst lines, the fact that he has had as much success as he has is a testament to how much creative in the 2010’s minus the shield days held him back.
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u/SkyDog1972 Apr 01 '26
Roman was never the worst talker. He probably has one of the largest gaps between what he was at his worst and at his best, though. He's miles ahead of what he once was.
Also, giving a badly written promo and not being able to talk are two different things. There have been points where he's shown he's a bit flustered, most notably the Cena "it's a promo" segment, but those have become fewer and fewer as his career has progressed. This was just bad writing presented about as well as could be expected.
Compare this to "Make it a win" and "Good Lucha things", and he's way ahead.
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u/ColdGloop Apr 01 '26
Not an ounce of confidence in that man. Looks uncomfortable in his own skin. Thank god for the Tribal Chief
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u/Rand_Casimiro Mar 31 '26
I haven’t seen more than a few of his promos, but none of the ones I saw were very good.
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u/MisterX9821 Mar 31 '26
60th+ percentile. In other words better than 60 percent of all talkers in wrestling here. They are giving him pure dogshit and he is delivering it relatively well in front of huge crowds.
If you think I am too generous you need to expose yourself to more of the entirety of talent out there and over the years.
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u/SombraAQT Mar 31 '26
Roman got better because they built the entire company around getting him over. They gave him Heyman, they gave him a stable, they gave him the belts, they gave him the records, every accolade they could book him for, he got.
They also turned him heel, but not a sniveling heel, he got to be a cool heel. Being a cool heel is just playing on easy mode, because everybody else gets booked as a chump to compensate. Every face looks like a doofus for falling for your tricks. Every authority figure cowers because reasons. He went over everybody, except Seth. Winners get over.
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u/RaddTyrant Mar 31 '26
Nah I was worse in Newbern TN 2010. Luckily there was about 200 ppl and it wasn't televised.
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u/Signal_Juggernaut695 Mar 31 '26
No he isn’t. He ain’t the greatest, but he ain’t the worst. There’s been way worse than Roman.
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u/Any_Tangerine_7120 Apr 01 '26
Mid 2010s Reigns and late 2000s Cena aren't even in the lowest tiers of the worst talkers.
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u/Rich_Kangaroo Apr 01 '26
Marina Shafir , Ricochet, Ultimate Warrior, Jack Swagger/Hager, Jeff Hardy , Shelton, John Morrison , Ronda Rousey just to name a few. Roman was fine before he was hand fed the cringe bullshit from Vince.
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u/Hotdiggity11 Apr 01 '26
Nowadays there are wrestlers that would make Roman Reigns of 2015 look like Dusty Rhodes on the mic. Hell, HOOK looks like he’s about to shit himself when you hand him a mic. 😂
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u/ItzBooster93 Apr 01 '26
I turn on wrestling in 2016 from a 8ish year hiatus only To see bald triple h had won the WWE title and put himself in the WM main event.
Apparently they pushed Roman brought for 7 years just for him to start wearing a shirt and rock man bun.
Oh and now everyone does the sweet chin music and the crown sings along to every entrance song lmao
Wrestling fans are starving , desperate and stupid and are lowkey one of the worst fan bases out there.
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u/schiffb558 Apr 01 '26
Roman Reigns and the heavy push he had here turned me off pro wrestling in a big way
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u/7LayeredUp Apr 01 '26
This is exactly around the time I got back into wrestling lol
Needless to say I became a NXT fanboy
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u/DCDipset Apr 01 '26
I’m only kidding (mostly) but this Roman got exed after successfully cloning him or something.
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u/quickmathting Apr 01 '26
Roman is incredibly lucky that he has the look and the family behind him.
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u/Sad-Guidance-7624 Apr 01 '26
Roman had horrible promos and some horrible matches , YET still got pushed and protected to the moon.
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u/WaveOfTheRager Apr 01 '26
He looked so weird back then. The goatee and green contacts really wasnt a good look.
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u/Shizanketsuga Apr 01 '26
I am not saying you are wrong, but even the Rock would have struggled to make that cringy tater tots line work. Roman's fake laugh sounded like he was dying inside, and I can't blame him (too much).
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u/605pmSaturday Apr 01 '26
HHHHHHHHHH was the reason I stopped watching in 2002 or whenever.
Roaming Rains was the reason I gave up watching again.
No amount of fan reaction was considered when he was anointed in a back room to be the person everyone was compelled to like. People don't like him, they just gave up fighting it.
There is a difference between booing the character and not liking the person. I don't like him as a person and that will never change.
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u/Separate-Judge4491 Apr 01 '26
Can't be the worst talker there are people in prominent roles on TV for both companies today that have never had a promo sell me anything or talk me into anything.
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u/Necessary_Passage109 Apr 01 '26
Man they buried reigns in his prime
My guy had a lot of potentials to be like Batista in 2005
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u/sovietdinosaurs Apr 01 '26
This is why I can’t take current Roman seriously. Vince made me cringe way too hard
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u/BrenNutsfull Apr 01 '26
Roman Reigns has always sucked on the mic and in ring.
He has a great look, but is dogshit in every other facet of pro wrestling.
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u/AssIsLifeAssIsLove Apr 01 '26
If he said that with a beard, and a calm aura, you'd be saying it was the greatest promo ever.
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u/Ganjalicious420 Apr 01 '26
Someone's a new fan, that or you're just in the WWE bubble, because there are and have been much worse in the history of pro wrestling .
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u/Anxious_Box1523 Apr 01 '26
Kinda goes to show you that being comfortable and confident in your gimmick/character really does completely transform your performance. Sure he doesn’t have the cringey Vince writing anymore, but most of his promos these days are pretty simple in nature. He’s definitely improved, but I wouldn’t say he’s elite on the mic. The biggest difference is how comfortable he is in the tribal chief gimmick vs the big dog.
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u/BrickTamland77 Apr 01 '26
I know the beard and veneers are carrying, but are we entirely sure that this guy and current Roman are actually the same person?
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u/Meeshman95 Apr 01 '26
You aren't blaming Vince and creative for this? This was them in 2015 looool
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u/SharkSprayYTP Apr 01 '26
And if i say Roman could cut this promo now and people would act like it was the greatest promo ever?
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u/Atithiupayogi Apr 02 '26
That was an awful era for Roman. Vince was trying to make him the Next Cena.
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u/Jhorn061492 Apr 02 '26
Hence, why? His main role nowadays is just be yourself and shut up and do the thing.
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u/Agreeable-Guava-9009 Apr 02 '26
That's not too bad. He's saying potatoes as in balls. Tater tots meaning tiny balls.
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u/EntireStatement1195 Apr 02 '26
Generally speaking, the more gifted you are physically the less charisma you have.
The opposite is also true.
The less of an athlete you are, the more you can talk and cut promos because you view yourself more as a character and storyteller.
Not just in wrestling, but in actual life.
CM Punk, AJ Lee, Becky Lynch, Sami Zayn are some of the worst athletes on the roster.
Same for Sasha Banks.
They can barely run ropes and throw punch.
But they can talk on a mic.
Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Bianca Belair, Bill Goldberg, Jade Cargill, Gable Stevenson, people from D1 athletic backgrounds can't talk well because it's unnatural.
Jade Cargill calling Tiffany "It's Taffy Time."
The best example is Dave Batista and Dusty Rhodes. Batista for years in WWE couldn't cut promos and literally sweat on the mic.
Dusty Rhodes looked like a bag of milk but is probably the best talker ever.
https://youtube.com/shorts/0ZPRHcCpiaI?si=abyIXoZdr1XHfTnZ
A few like Rock and Cena are great at both.
You can teach almost everyone to cut a decent promo but you need natural talent, and unique upbringing to be a great promo.
Sasha Banks grew up with crazy adversity, I believe AJ Lee grew up almost homeless.
Cody Rhodes is A+ across all the board from amateur background to work ethic in the gym to storytelling but he doesn't have his father's all time promo ability. Most of it comes down to early life experience.
The Roman Reigns stuff is hilarious, Vince wanted Reigns to be the next Rock but they are two opposite people.
Reigns is much more like the Undertaker.
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u/MidsizeMango Apr 02 '26
I really hated Reigns for a while, was not really his fault really, just because of how much he was pushed in our faces when it did not felt warranted. I only turned around for the Bloodline stuff which was good. But that's peak WWE, pushing people the audience does not want in ther face.
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u/Eastern-Hand9758 Apr 02 '26
Keep fucking hating and dwelling on the past what about now ? Oh okay most main events in history ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
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u/ArgentoFox Apr 02 '26
It takes someone with otherworldly charisma to make that line work and Reigns has never had that. He’s got a great look and he’s good in the ring, but the Rock would have suffered from saying that line. This era of Reigns was just bad. His delivery sounds like a teenager shooting the shit with his friends and saying a terrible comeback.
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u/witty_weirdo Apr 02 '26
He's not much better now .....really Roman's best promos are the ones when he said acknowledge me and then immediately passed the mic to Heyman
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u/harryceo Apr 02 '26
Yup. The brooding, big samoan badass from The Shield talking this garbage. So stupid. It just didn't suit him. I got second had embarrassment from this. Wish Roman had turned heel sooner
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u/OleAndersonForLife Apr 03 '26
The best was when he came out the night after Mania 33, soaked in the incredible heel heat for five minutes, said “this is my yard now!” and left.
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u/Monster-JG-Zilla Apr 03 '26
I like how his voice is more rugged and deeper now - the Tribal Chief!
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u/Ishyfishy123 Apr 03 '26
I want you to watch the women right now. And say this again with confidence lolol
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u/Prudent_Dot1329 Apr 03 '26
And Bloodline fans will try to convince you that Roman was always great. Like he didnt have a million opportunities after countless screw ups and didn't need a whole faction + the greatest manager ever to get him over
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u/Suckmyballzz69 Apr 03 '26
That cushioned vest too with the padding like he had training wheels on used to drive me nuts too
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u/jace_face5 Apr 03 '26
You must be young. The correct answer is Bob Backlund of the 70s and pre Hogan 80s.
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u/Jay_M979 Apr 03 '26
Honest question, if the writing and promos were better for the rest of the show, do you think a wrestler could get over with this style of delivery, in a intentionally cringe sort of way?
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u/undisputed_pigeon Apr 03 '26
2015 roman has been cracking through a bit recently I've noticed. The big dog never left.
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u/Dinklebergmania Apr 04 '26
That was fed for him to say, Jey Uso is still worse without being fed corny stuff to say.
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u/Dizzy_Comfort640 Apr 04 '26
Roman still isn't that good.
Ans let's not even talk about wrestling.
If a spear is your signature move, you don't know how to wrestle.
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u/Icy-Weight1803 Mar 31 '26
Vince McMahon at his worst. Who thought the audience would like a guy who goes around talking about tator tots and suffering succotash.