By Greg Anthony, OWW staff member:
At the core, professional wrestlers are storytellers. Plain and simple. Telling a tale with every stomp and blow. Conveying complex storytelling with no words, is truly an art form. However the most utilized talent in our business has always and will always be the ability to talk to the people. To take a microphone a sell them on match they haven’t seen yet. That is were the true magic lies.
Some might argue that in ring ability is by far the much better trait to have. Of course being able to perform is what our business is all about but being able get in done in the ring is only but one dimension. If you are a great wrestler only then that is where your career begins and ends with your in ring talents. As someone that has the gift of gab then your limitations in the business disappear.
Our history is full of men that were very mediocre inside the squared circle but had a true talent on the mic that went on to have great careers. While the list is long of men that were fantastic in the ring with zero mic ability, they rarely made it to the top of the roster. Being able to grab the that mic and create that magic is truly what separates the men from the boys.
Even as a trainer or a booker you have to be able to verbally convey your message to the talent. You can know every hold, move and counter under the sun but if you can’t interact in a social situation and relay how to do such things then that knowledge won’t be passed on.
There are so many great men to learn this talent from. Men like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts, Arn Anderson, Jerry Lawler, Nick Bockwinkle, Michael Hayes, Ray Stevens, Paul Heyman, Ted Dibiase, Mick Foley, Roddy Piper and the list goes on. Take the time to learn and your craft will always take the time to grow.
–– Greg Anthony