LANCE STORM COLUMN: Promos 101

[hollywood]

PROMOS 101


October 22, 2007

After watching TNA’s Impact this week I was inspired to offer a free promo lesson, which I will call Promos 101. Keep in mind that I have never claimed to be able to hold a candle to the great talkers in this industry. I am not in any way shape or form a Ric Flair, a Rock, or a John Cena on the microphone. I am however a competent promo and more importantly, know the important elements of a good promo. This past week on Impact I witnessed two of the worst promos I have ever seen.

Before I point the finger at the specific promos in question, lets take a look at what promos are and what they are supposed to accomplish. Promos are supposed to PROMOTE something, thus the name. If I am going to go out and cut a promo, I am suppose promote myself, promote my opponent, promote the angle and match I am in, or in a perfect world all of the above. This business is called a business, because that is what it is. We are all out there trying to convince fans to spend money on our product. Promos are designed to get people and angles over and convince fans that what ever the person is talking about is worth paying for or at least worth tuning in to watch. All the Charisma, electricity, and excitement in the world doesn’t make for a good promo if fans care less about what you are promoting when you’ve finished talking.

The single most fundamental rule of promos is to NEVER completely bury anyone or anything! This business is a work, so when you are cutting a promo you are trying to sell the entire match or angle not just yourself. Even if you are a cocky heel you cannot just completely run down your opponent. It is both lazy and bad for business. If you call your opponent a bum, with no other build up, what do you have? If the fans believe you, you’re facing a bum; who cares. If you beat the guy, you’ve beaten a bum; who cares. Heaven forbid he beats you, and then a bum has beaten you; where does that leave you?

There are a few minor exceptions to this rule, but even in those instances it’s not really the best approach, but it’s relatively harmless. Those exceptions are guys like Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan, who are pretty much Teflon to insults because they are so established, and over. You could run down both guys till you are blue in the face and they crowd is still going to love them, because they are legendary house hold names, but when you are dealing with less established guys, burying them is absolutely inexcusable.

This brings me to the TNA promos that inspired this commentary. The first one was by Jr. Fatu. I both know and have worked with Jr. and have a lot of respect for him, but this promo was atrocious, and never should have been allowed to air. When a company like TNA hires a guy like Jr. Fatu they do so because of the level of success he has achieved in his career. As Rikishi, Jr. Fatu was extremely over and was a very big name, so bringing him in is supposed to give the company more credibility and help elevate those he works with. His promo accomplished the exact opposite. Jr. Fatu cut a promo talking about facing Robert Roode in the Fight For Your Right Tournament. In the promo he didn’t know or care what the tournament was even called, didn’t know what his opponents name was, and continually referred to Roode as a “jobroni”.

If Jr. Fatu doesn’t care that he is in a tournament to win a World Title shot, why should we, and what does that say about the importance of a World Title Shot? Calling Roode a “Jobroni” and screwing up his name is so disrespectful and bad for business, that it isn’t even funny. This promo was a chance for a former Huge WWE star to give a TNA star some credibility, but that is not what happened. Instead we are left to believe that Roode is so unimportant and crappy that people in this industry don’t even know who he is. Why would I want to see this match when the baby face (the guy who is supposed to be telling the truth) tells me it’s an unimportant joke match? Established more experienced guys are supposed to give younger guys the rub and elevate them, not bury them!

If Jr. Fatu beats Roode in the tournament now, who cares, he beat a “jobroni” to advance in a tournament he doesn’t even care about. If Roode beats Jr. Fatu, Jr. Fatu got beat by a “jobroni”. This is the epitome of bad business, and if TNA wants to succeed, things like this CANNOT happen, ever!

The second promo I had a problem with was by another guy who should know better. Team 3D (Brother Rey) cut a promo on the Motor City Machine Guns before attacking them and power bombing both guys through tables. I would assume this segment is to create interest in a Team 3D vs. MCMG match. Team 3D is by far the more established team, so elevating the Machine Guns should be the goal of this segment. This leaves a sane booker, two options.

Option 1: The heels can come out and build the faces up verbally, talking about how every body loves these guys, and how the MCMGs are younger faster and more exciting team that everyone is talking about, but that Team 3D is still the big kids on the block and that the Guns will need to go through them to prove themselves. Then when the attack happened the Guns should have gotten the advantage only to have the rug pulled out from under them leading to the power bombs. This way we as fans can get behind the MCMG hoping they get their revenge.

Option 2: Team 3D comes out and buries these guys verbally, being cocky heels, to create heat, only to have their attack fail with the MCMG getting the upper hand running off Team 3D, sending the message that the verbal burial was complete bullshit.

What we got was of course the worst combination of the two. We had Team 3D come out and tell us that the MCMG (who are actually getting over) are unimportant and useless, as is the whole X-Division (why they are also burying the X-Div. Is beyond me, they are in the Tag Team Division after all) then they hit the ring and killed the unimportant useless tag team to drive home the fact that everything they just said was true. Even if that was the way it was booked, Brother Rey should have cut a different promo. This segment threw a huge bucket of water on a tag team that was catching fire, in order to get over a team that is about as established and over as a tag team can get. Yet again horrible, horrible business, and thus a bad promo!

Lance Storm

I still disagree with him on Robert Roode. I'm still convinced the guy sucks.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

It doesn't matter if he sucks or not, the company is trying to promote the guy; it doesn't do any good to say, on air, that he sucks.

Storm has a pretty good point, one that Mick Foley makes often in Have a Nice Day. Promos should always be promoting something...if they aren't, they fail.

[hollywood]

hardcorehick said:

It doesn't matter if he sucks or not, the company is trying to promote the guy; it doesn't do any good to say, on air, that he sucks.

I know. It was in jest more than anything. Lance has insisted before how good Roode is. But I really don't like Roode.

[Arthur Digby Stamp]

I remember watching that Jr. Fatu promo, and the impression that I got was that he wasn't trying to bury Robert Roode or the tournament, but that he legitimately didn't know Roode's name or anything. It came across like Fatu stumbled in from catering and bumbled through an interview to me.

[Michael Coello]

I don't get why a heel isn't allowed to put down the face. It's not the heel's job to push the face as a face, it's the face's job. It's the heel's job to make the face look like crap and the face's job is to prove him wrong via words or actions.

[Mozenrath]

dennisstamp316 said:

I remember watching that Jr. Fatu promo, and the impression that I got was that he wasn't trying to bury Robert Roode or the tournament, but that he legitimately didn't know Roode's name or anything. It came across like Fatu stumbled in from catering and bumbled through an interview to me.

Considering the show isn't even live, they should of reshot it.

I don't get why a heel isn't allowed to put down the face. It's not the heel's job to push the face as a face, it's the face's job. It's the heel's job to make the face look like crap and the face's job is to prove him wrong via words or actions.

All depends on how well you do it. For example, a few guys who are moving up the card in WWE, like Carlito and Kennedy, seem to know how to make fun of a guy in a way that makes the fans boo and sympathize with the face, and think the heel is full of it. That's the way to go.

Christian Cage is good at it, in that the fan percieves him as unwilling to shower praise on anyone but himself.

There's a right way and a wrong way.

[dsriggs]

sinister1 said:

I don't get why a heel isn't allowed to put down the face. It's not the heel's job to push the face as a face, it's the face's job. It's the heel's job to make the face look like crap and the face's job is to prove him wrong via words or actions.

Y'see, it's all well and good for the heel to put down the face, but the face has to have a chance to refute it. In that 3D promo Lance was talking about, the MCMGs didn't get that chance, and were beaten down pretty easily too. Didn't really help anybody.

[macdaddysquid]

Once again Lance Storm makes a great point.

[Hiroshi Hase]

I do agree wholeheartedly about the Fatu promo, why was it even allowed to air? It made no sense and he came across as a bumbling idiot to me.

[comahan]

The Fatu promo was indeed dreadful.

[Turd Ferguson]

kiddobradley said:

Considering the show isn't even live, they should of reshot it.

Like they edited out the clip of West and Tenay reading their EXCITING commentary off of their scripts?

[Mozenrath]

lariatoooooooooooo said:

kiddobradley said:

Considering the show isn't even live, they should of reshot it.

Like they edited out the clip of West and Tenay reading their EXCITING commentary off of their scripts?

Someone should of been fired for that. That could not possibly of been an accident. With a backstage brawl, why a shot of the announcers, and when they saw it, they didn't even turn the camera away or edit it out?!!

[BlackJackRobby]

I agree and disagree, with what he is saying.

I disagree I thought Jr. Fatu laid out a pretty good promo and it does build a sense of interest in seeing Jr. Fatu.

I loved the promo when it was done though seven years ago by the Rock, that is all I hate about the topic. His interviews are such shameless Rock knockoffs, that the man even has the gaul to ask what is that smell and cooking.

I hate Russo for having not enough genius that the people he helped create years ago have to be re-created because he cannot get another idea into his head.

[Michael Coello]

dsriggs said:

sinister1 said:

I don't get why a heel isn't allowed to put down the face. It's not the heel's job to push the face as a face, it's the face's job. It's the heel's job to make the face look like crap and the face's job is to prove him wrong via words or actions.

Y'see, it's all well and good for the heel to put down the face, but the face has to have a chance to refute it. In that 3D promo Lance was talking about, the MCMGs didn't get that chance, and were beaten down pretty easily too. Didn't really help anybody.

Are they not gonna be there next week or in 2 weeks or so? Just cause they didn't have a chance to refute it that moment in time doesn't mean they won't ever refute it. Plus, the plan was for Team 3D to do the Pearl Harbor job on them, and I think it would be bad if they kinda no sold it to cut a promo or something afterwards.

Team 3D are bullies. i don't see bullies playing the whole "Put you over first, and then talk about how we're better" thing. They pretty much insult you and then kick your butt.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

sinister1 said:

It's the heel's job to make the face look like crap and the face's job is to prove him wrong via words or actions.

No, it's the job of both guys to make each other look good.

As Storm pointed out, the problem here is that Team 3D gave both a verbal trashing AND a physical beatdown; one without the other would have been more effective.

[Aceorton]

One exception that Storm doesn't go into, but which I believe can work when done right, is the "Barry Horowitz scenario." You bury and belittle and disrespect and maybe even sneak attack the underdog opponent, but it's to show that you're way overconfident, and then when the match happens and you get pinned, people go nuts. Then you've got a great feud where the heel is desperate to avenge the embarrassment.

Horowitz's career took off when Skip did that to him in 1995. And other guys (1-2-3 Kid, Bob Holly, Virgil, the Hardyz) all benefitted from that type of treatment over the years.

I didn't see the Fatu promo, but it sounds like he wasn't overconfident as much as he was unprepared and uninterested. And also, isn't he a face? So unless they're planning on a double turn where Roode ends up being a face, it doesn't work.

[Sajoa Moe]

Fatu Promo Schedule


Week 1: Name-drop WWE.

Week 2: Be shown taking a crap in a HILARIOUS!1 segment.

Week 3: Belittle upcoming opponent.

[destrucity]

I totally disagree with his opinion of the Team 3D promo. It is way too early to tell where this is going. I have a feeling that this is Team 3D vs X Division scenario is going to lead to something interesting down the line that is greater than just a one-off Team 3D vs MCMG match.

[I Graduated Warrior University]

As much as I love Lance and their editorials, I think he's missing something: The fact that TNA could be pushing MCMGs as an UNDERDOG tag team.

[Kash Flagg]

sinister1 said:

dsriggs said:

Team 3D are bullies. i don't see bullies playing the whole "Put you over first, and then talk about how we're better" thing. They pretty much insult you and then kick your butt.

I understand that, but at some point they have to be the ones who gets their butts kicked...either verbally or physically. While it's too early to see where this is going, twhat they did to the MCMG's just gives the impression that they don't have a chance in hell.

Now if they do end up beating team 3D, then it might help them, but if Team 3D comes out on top (and I sincerely hope my guy feeling is wrong on this) then it doesn't help anyone at all.