TNA 5 Spot: Top 5 Mic Skills in TNA Right Now

 

This is the first in a series of new TNA articles I will be bringing your way right here courtesy of Bleacher Report.

I call it the "TNA 5 Spot."

In the first edition, I will be taking a look at the top five talents currently on the TNA roster when it comes to mic skills.

The talents I list here never disappoint when it comes time to let us, their opponent or even an innocent bystander know what is on their mind.

There are many tools a wrestler must possess in order to succeed in the wrestling business including technical skills, marketability, image, timing, pace, endurance and the ability to aid in the suspension in our disbelief via their overall performance.

However, the ability to engage us on the mic is what truly separates a mid-card player from a true super star.

If you doubt me, ask Dean Malenko.

Here is a look at the top five mic masters currently on the TNA roster.

Enjoy!

# 5: Kid Kash, Legit Bad Guy with the Old School Approach

TNA is dropping the ball by not utilzing Kash...

Shocked?

If you are, then you have not paid attention.

Kid Kash is no spring chicken. He has been around the block a time or two and it amazes me how underrated this guy is even at this stage of his long, strangely quiet career.

Not only is he skilled in the ring in terms of technical ability, he delivers some of the best offense the business has ever seen. 

His finisher, the "Money Maker", is one of the best in wrestling and he has the ability to adapt to differing styles of opponents making him a very versatile performer.

However, as you will note at the end of this above clip from an Impact Wrestling match in early fall vs. the up-and-coming Jesse Sorenson, Kash has no shame in his game when it comes to the mic.

One of the coolest things about this guy, and you will see him again with someone else in this 5 Spot, is his delivery.

Smooth, almost on the spot, making it up as he goes along.

There is no hint of rehearsal or scripting in his delivery or tone. If one did not know better, one would think Kash thinks all this is for real. That is crucial in a business where the ability to sell the suspension of disbelief is key.

He comes across as a legit bad guy and has the physicality to back it up.

That's what it takes and that's why he's on my list. He would be even higher if TNA would wise up and utilize him more than once every 2-3 months.

TNA would be very wise to use this guy more before Father Time catches up to his skill set and all we are left with is another talking veteran and TNA has its fill in that category.

#4: James Storm's in Your Face, Red-Neck Style

Storm's mic skills are without question

James Storm has been around for a while and to be honest, he never really did much for me until I witnessed the scene to your left on Impact last summer.

I became a fan of the "Cowboy" during that very segment.

Maybe it was the fact that I completely and utterly loathed Mexican America, or maybe I had gas, but in any event Storm got my attention.

Storm is one of the rare guys that does not need cheap theatrics to get over with the crowd. He does not need to compliment the city he is in or tell the audience they are the greatest fans in the world for them to love what he has to say or how he's going to say it.

The man simply opens his mouth, gets country on someone and BAM, we're hooked. It also helps that there is no one else like him in gimmick or style within TNA.

Since winning the TNA Heavyweight Title and losing it just as quickly late last year, Storm has been booked and scripted in a way that does not allow his talents to come through.

I can only hope that sometime in 2012, TNA remembers what this cat is capable of and allows him to once again reach his full potential.

The only reason Storm is ahead of Kash on this list as of this writing is because TNA remembers on a regular basis that Storm is on the roster.

Kash is not so lucky.

#3: Bobby Roode Proves That It Does Indeed Pay to Be Rude

Bobby Roode is fast on his way to being the #1 heel in TNA

In the previous slide, Robert Roode's tag team partner James Storm made a fan out of me the night he took the mic and schooled Anarquia of Mexican America.

Roode was in the ring with him but one could be forgiven if they did not notice. Storm dominated everyone that night as he stepped out on his on leaving Roode in the dust.

It would not last long.

As a face, Roode was bland, boring, predictable and unsure of himself. He was certainly not someone you would put the World Title on.

Then it happened. 

After a huge build up to be the face that would defeat the heel Kurt Angle for the TNA World Title, Roode came up short. Following that loss at Bound for Glory, his inner beast emerged as his former partner and best friend James Storm beat Angle a few days later on Impact to claim the title that Roode so desperately wanted.

Roode received an invite from Darth Vader to join the dark side, accepted it, turned on Storm and became what he is as of right now- one of the top heels in the industry.

Along the way TNA did a masterful job of building him up slowly as a selfish, arrogant, insecure cheat as they created possibly one of the best heels in the business today.

The above clip from late last year is a perfect example of how to cut a promo that makes us hate you and still want more. Body language, facial expression, voice inflection, confidence and fluidity all rolled together in a way that such a performance could be, and should be used, as a training tool for all up and coming wrestler in the art of mic mastery.

At times he still comes off as being a bit rehearsed but that is fading with each enthralling promo and one day soon he will be at the top of everyone's list, not just mine.

Until then he will have to be happy with third best.

#2: Bully Freakin' Ray

While I don't condone woman bashing..Bully Ray is an equal Op hater

Bubba Ray Dudley has been in the wrestling business for over 20 years. He, along with his longtime tag partner, Devon, ruled the ring during that time and racked up more tag team titles than any other team in the history of four major promotions.

And you know what?

I could have cared less.

I never took to Team 3D, never liked Devon and never liked Bubba Ray. They turned too often, went to the well once too many times with the tables gimmick and quickly became cliche.

Bubba Ray was a loud mouth heel in a sea of loud mouth heels. He did not stand out because he was one-half of something, not enough to take notice of on his own.

When I started watching TNA three years ago, Bubba Ray and Devon were on the roster, still doing their same old crap they have been doing for two decades.

I still did not care until someone in creative got a brain fart and decided to try something different.

They turned Devon face and Bubba heel. Just like that, Bully Ray was born.

He was still the same guy, still a loud mouth and I still was not interested until he stated his reasons for turning on Devon. Bully claimed he was the star of the team and Devon was dead weight. He claimed to carry Devon and it was time to look out for himself.

He was correct and it added realism to where they were going with his arc.

All the sudden it all clicked for me. He clicked for me. His in ring work was still the same, his mannerisms were still the same, his attitude was still the same but something was different.

A passion was there that was lacking after so many years of complacency. 

He still gets the lame cheap heat but he does not need it to get over...he enjoys it and is clearly having the most fun he has ever had in an industry he had bled for.

That's the difference.

He is smooth, fluid, crisp and while he seems to come off as an ignorant bully, his intelligence is clearly visible because he knows his craft and does it just about as good, if not better than anyone of the top guys in the business.

I have never been bored with him in his role as a singles wrestler. He, like Kash, is believable in his role because he cares enough to want to convey that intent and is skilled enough to accomplish it.

Never in a million years would I have ever believed two years ago that Bully Ray would be on my list, let alone No. 2, when discussing the best promo guys in the business.

He's that good but someone is much better.

And that man is....

#1: The Best in the World at What He Does..Not Punk, Not Jericho. It's Aries.

Aries is Undeniable...CM Punk? Jericho? I don't think so...

Austin Aries.

Here is the thing...

Unless you are a fan of the Indies or TNA, you are missing out on one of the greatest mic workers in industry has ever seen and are most likely forced into the false assumption that CM Punk or Chris Jericho are the best when it comes to delivering a promo.

In the clip above, which took place two weeks ago on Impact, Aries showcases his ability to control the segment, adapt live to audience without skipping a beat by manipulating their own comments into his promo as if he and the audience met earlier in the day and rehearsed it.

He also displays the ability to take another worker with less skills in the mic, in this case Alex Shelly, and by simple association makes him appear as if he belonged in the same ring, on the same stage as Aries himself.

That, my friends, is a master of the mic.

When you watch this promo, and I invite you to do so again after you read my opinion, note Aries demeanor and tone. We all know it's scripted but the thing about Aries and his ability on the mic is that he leaves us with the feeling that he makes it up as he goes and that is the difference between him and most in the business.

It's his subtly that separates him from the rest.When he talks you are engaged but long after he is done you are still thinking about it and talking about it....he's that good.

He does not scream or over react to the crowd. He is the coolest guy on the room and he knows it. When he is done, you know it too.

Aries is clearly the best within TNA when it comes to mic skills.

The best in the industry?

CM Punk is good and so is Jericho. For me ,when I see them on the mic, I see two entertainers and very good ones at that. I have seen Punk blow chunks on the mic and Jericho fail in epic scale over the years.

Yet when I see and hear Aries on the mic, I see a guy that says what he means and means what he says and quite possibly failed to get the memo reminding him that it's not real.

Never once have I seen him deliver a dud.

Still not convinced? Check the next slide.

Lastly..

Kash and Aries...TNA has a gold mine that for some reason they are not digging

I leave you with one last video to prove my point from end to end.

It bookends this slideshow perfectly as it features Kid Kash (# 5) and Austin Aries (# 1) from their epic joint promo last fall.

It serves as further evidence of the ability of these two men and their rightful place on my list.

Unfortunately it also serves as the only promo between these two last fall prior to their PPV match in which Aries won to retain his X-Division Title.

TNA really drops the balls with these guys by continually failing to showcase them. Kash is rarely seen and Aries, while seen more, is hardly on screen either and he is the X-Division champ for Pete's sake.

That in itself makes what they do when they are given the chance that much more impressive.

TNA needs to add another hour to Impact or perhaps a one hour show featuring the X-Division only. They could call it TNA: X.

 

Thanks for checking out TNA 5 Spot, my new articles series here at Bleacher Report.

Stay Tuned for the next edition of TNA 5 SPOT in which I will take a look at the Top 5 underutilized talents currently on the TNA Roster.

 

Agree, disagree? Share your thoughts...the floor is yours.

 

Like this column? Please check out my most recent ones below. Thanks!

TNA Wrestling: Bobby Roode to Lose His Title, Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?

TNA Wrestling: Impact 1/26- Hits, Misses, Lessons Learned,Reader Reax