Art of the Promo

In the last two weeks at camp E, I have to admit it, the promos are getting better. Monday Night Raw saw an invigorated John Cena, chumming with the guest host Dulé Hill, yelling at this and that, playing the moral good guy (Bret Hart's old job) against V. K. McMahon, and acting generally psychotic throughout. This is much improved from the over-determined (and overdetermined), all-American, kid-friendly John Cena.

Speaking of this, would it be that much of a crime for Mr. Cena to wear something other than his orange merch?

Perhaps this improvement was sparked by the recent promo of McMahon, where he talked about putting Bret Hart out to pasture. Something the writers or whoever is coming up with this stuff could actually do something with. Cena brought to McMahon's attention how he treats wrestlers like commodities (which is true) and how shitty that really is. What was impressive about this exchange, which could have come off as boring, over-serious, or melodramatic, was not only Cena's understated delivery but also the contrast of his zaniness in other backstage promos. Unlike recently, when the wrestlers all seem to be hitting one, shrill note (the unhinged Randy Orton, the menacing and white Sheamus, the overbearing Miz), Cena pulls out different flavors of Cena all in the same night--something he should do night after night.

Think--wrestlers that seem like real complex people. Albeit glamorous exaggerations of real people! This is supposed to be fun and occasionally moving, not just the same fierce monochromes every night, usually paired up the same way.

I feel this harkens back to some of the better moments of wrestling from twenty years ago, and definitely back to the long-gone Attitude Era. Even though Hogan's promos were often similar in incoherence, he seemed capable of being himself without always expressing the exact same emotion. And if we need to look for the role model of all wrestling promos, we should look to the work of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose personality didn't even necessarily change between heel/face changes. I'd like to not be able to sum up a wrestler's character by a concise emotion or a single characteristic. Try that with the Rock. Try that with Bret Hart. Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels. And if Cena keeps Monday's performance up, no one will hold him from joining this list.

About to watch TNA. I hope to be impressed.