Power Ranking WWE's 15 Best Mic Workers on the Roster Today

With razor-tongued performers like Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose on call, the WWE roster has no shortage of mic mastery.

Those men are among the many hypnotizing verbal artists standing on soapboxes and growling into a microphone for the company today. Taking stock of the number of rising stars who excel at the talking part of the pro wrestling question points to a promising future.

How well does The Eater of Worlds and The Lunatic Fringe stack up against the more established veterans?

The following is a ranking of WWE's best sermon-givers and trash-talkers, with Wyatt and Ambrose already planting themselves high on the list. The managers, Superstars and authority figures' promo skills are ordered by the effectiveness of their delivery, charisma and number of standout performances.

Versatility, consistency and memorable lines affect the rankings as well.

Who most holds the audience's attention with their words? Who stirs one's gut and leaves a lasting mark with every speech?

Honorable Mentions

• Brock Lesnar
• Seth Rollins
• Lana
• Ryback
• Zack Ryder

Lesnar is underrated as a mic worker. He can be terrifying when he starts to explain how he's going to destroy someone.

However, he gets several points off for not being able to do that live. His best work has been in prerecorded videos. His competition here doesn't need that kind of crutch.

Rollins has proved to be a convincingly cold villain since disbanding The Shield.

He has a strong presence on the mic but isn't as charismatic as some Superstars, former comrade Dean Ambrose included. His delivery is a good balance of over-the-top and natural and seems to be getting better as his heel run progresses.

Continued improvement in that department will have him move past others who are now higher on the list.  

As powerful as Lana's anti-American tirades have been, they've also been one-noted. Each speech only feels like a slight variation of the previous one.

Still, there is something captivating and charming in a sinister way about her. Should she get to show off a wider range, she will likely join the list proper.

Ryback has too few opportunities to share his personality. He's surprisingly charming and has the classic pro wrestling promo delivery down.

So far, though, his best mic work has come from a hospital bed. In order to develop his skills, WWE needs to tap into that version of The Big Guy.

As for Ryder, he's good at all the components of delivering promos but not great. His Internet shows display his passion and energy, something that some of his peers have more of.

The following list features folks who are more larger-than-life and memorable each time out than he has been so far. 

15. Bad News Barrett

A shift in gimmick helped accentuate Bad News Barrett's mic skills.

Until injury forced him off screen, Barrett was excelling at delivering disheartening news. He may not have the deep store of charisma that some of the top talkers in the business have, but he's regularly entertaining.

His delivery is strong. His lines are crisp, and his inflections are ideal. His gravelly voice and English accent only aid his negative rants.

The Superstars ranked above him generate more emotion and connect with the audience on a deeper level. He'll be back on TV before long, looking to make an even bigger mark on WWE in front of a microphone.

14. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler's athletic ability, selling and mat wrestling were his biggest strengths early on. In the last few years, he's added delivering moving speeches to that list.

Passion is the key to Ziggler's mic work. He seems to be allowing fans into his heart in his interviews and promos. That has made much of what he has to say as of late must-watch.

He's also likable, funny and charming but not on Chris Jericho's level, though.

The very top Superstars on this list have a longer list of great promos. The Showoff hasn't shown himself to be as consistent on the mic as those performers. That could soon be changing.

His excellence ratio seems to grow each month. 

13. Goldust

Goldust is a hypnotist once he begins to talk. He's been a bizarre, compelling figure since the Attitude Era.

His delivery is dramatic and filled with great body language. The Goldust gimmick also showcased charisma that folks didn't believe he had when he was still wrestling as Dustin Rhodes.

His portrayal as this character has been incredibly memorable, but the same can't be said about specific promos. The greatest mic workers have a collection of hits that fans can refer to. There aren't as many as those for the former tag team champ.

After morphing into Stardust, his brother has begun to outdo him in the strange department. Cody Rhodes is Goldusting Goldust. 

12. Damien Sandow

It's easy to forget how captivating Damien Sandow was early on when he held a microphone like a brandy snifter. After all, he's been asked to be a costume-changing buffoon for much of the year.

Few Superstars pulled off arrogance and self-righteousness better than Sandow when he first arrived.

A smooth delivery, memorable jabs at the audience and his foes, and an air of superiority made for great entertainment on a regular basis. He's shown some versatility in having to play a version of characters like Sherlock Holmes, but they are really just watered-down versions of his original gimmick.

As good as he is, Sandow slides this low because of others boasting even more charisma and having a greater body of work.

11. The Miz

The Miz made his way to the main event of WrestleMania mostly because he can talk so well.

He's comfortable and confident on the microphone. One has to grade his charisma and delivery highly as well.

His current Hollywood persona is allowing him to be even more obnoxious. Few guys make you want to punch them in the face the way The Miz does.

Even with all that skill, it's hard to compile a list of great Miz promos. Cody Rhodes can brag about the home run he hit when he was fired last year. Mark Henry can hold up his fake retirement speech as proof of his ability.

Miz has been consistent but not as outstanding as those ranked above him here.

10. Cody Rhodes/Stardust

Either as clean-cut Cody Rhodes or the outlandish Stardust, he has thrived when given mic time.

Rhodes' versatility moves him past his brother, Bad News Barrett and Dolph Ziggler. He's shown he can be slimy, spacey or dead serious. Seeing his range at play, it's no surprise to learn that he, as Mike Mooneyham points out in The Post and Courier, "attended the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Los Angeles for a year."

He is adding to his resume as Stardust, embracing the oddity of his character and flourishing with it.

Rhodes' charisma, though, is more subtle compared to those who top him on the list. He certainly has the "It" factor, but guys like Dean Ambrose have more. 

9. Mark Henry

In a feud with John Cena last year, Mark Henry forced fans to pay attention. It was a reminder of just how talented of a talker The World's Strongest Man is.

With his voice booming and his anger seemingly genuine, Henry is often as powerful in his promos as he is in the ring. His fake retirement speech from last year was one of the best performances in recent memory. It showed off his acting skills as he fought off tears and suckered fans in.

At this point in this list, the competition starts to stiffen.

Henry is plenty charismatic, and his battering-ram delivery is effective. The top eight mic workers do what he does best even better.

In the case of someone like Chris Jericho, more versatility gets him a higher rank. Someone like Zeb Colter is even smoother and more in control of the audience. 

8. Zeb Colter

When Zeb Colter arrived to reignite Jack Swagger's career, he established himself as one of WWE's best mic workers.

The crowd becomes puppets attached to his strings when he begins to speak. His delivery shows off his experience, and his compelling aura keeps fans engaged. 

At the peak of his initial anti-immigration storyline, one could argue that he was the most must-watch talker in the company. 

That has since faded. Even with his recent face turn, it's clear that Colter (with this character at least) doesn't have the range that others do. Many of his speeches feel formulaic now.

That makes it hard for him to rank above someone like Triple H or Chris Jericho, who can handle funny, angry and somber promos so well.

7. Dean Ambrose

By the time Dean Ambrose is done wrestling, he will be sitting higher on this list and talked about as one of the all-time greats.

A frenzied energy powers his promos. He's wide-eyed and twitchy. His emotions seem to bubble up out of his mouth.

On charisma alone, Ambrose is one of WWE's best. There's a reason he so often gets compared to Brian Pillman and Roddy Piper. He has a rare electricity about him, just like those men. 

At times, though, he becomes a bit too cartoony. He's likely not allowed to be the complete nutjob he was while in the indies. He can't make up for that with being so over-the-top.

Refining that part of his game and continuing to expand his already impressive promo resume will force this list to be rearranged. 

6. Triple H

At No. 6, we get into all-time great territory.

Triple H, one can argue, has been on TV too much during The Authority storyline. Each time he belittles an employee or derides the audience, though, he shows why he belongs in the spotlight.

The Game's promos don't feel acting. They feel like glimpses into a heartless executive's dark mind.

He doesn't get credit for his charisma enough either. He had to compete with The Rock and Steve Austin during the Attitude Era. Because he's not on their level in "It" factor, his strengths sometimes get devalued.

Look back on how funny he was as a part of D-Generation X. Look back at his verbal showdowns with John Cena, Mick Foley and Austin. There is plenty to celebrate there.

Only WWE's best actors and its current franchise player top him when it comes to performing on a mic.

5. John Cena

At his best, only Paul Heyman can compete with John Cena on the mic.

If charisma is graded on 1-10 scale, he scores a 10.5. Despite his vocal critics, he has remained atop the WWE for years. A big part of that is because he sells a match so well.

When he's fired up, barking at his opponent or reflecting on his own legacy, he's magnificent. When WWE wants intensity or emotion before a marquee event, it can rely on Cena.

The trouble is that he's not always at his best. There are too many times where he leans too much on childish humor and is more goofy than warrior-like. Other men delve into comedy and thrive; Cena stumbles there.

That lack of consistency drags him down a few spots. Still, he's only looking up at Hall of Fame-level talent.

4. Stephanie McMahon

There is clearly some gene that exists in the McMahons' DNA that allows them to tell an enthralling story with mic in hand.

Stephanie McMahon has recently become one of the best heels in the business. She's the queen of condescension and miles better at acting than the majority of the roster.

In a single promo, she can go from shivering coward to a beast bearing her teeth. Fans have seen that aplenty during the Daniel Bryan storyline and the current angle involving The Bellas. She hammers home her lines and allows the audience to forget that they are witnessing theater.

It's easy to buy into her being a cold shrew even with as charming as she in real life.

She also apparently inherited great charisma from her father. When she's in the ring, there's a magnetic pull toward her.

Only longer or more varied resumes from three all-time great mic workers keep her out of the top three.

3. Chris Jericho

It's not surprising in the least that Chris Jericho has been an actor and a frontman for a band. He has the charisma required of both jobs.

From the moment he first stepped onto WWE's stage, badgering The Rock, fans knew that they would be experiencing greatness again and again. In fact, it was well before that when Jericho began to display how entertaining he was.

His 1,004 Holds promo and whining about conspiracies were some of WCW Nitro's best moments ever. 

At WWE, he has continued to show off his skills, playing a vengeful warrior, a callous heel or anything in between. A recent rival, however, has quickly established himself as being even more captivating.

2. Bray Wyatt

Jake Roberts has to smile every time Bray Wyatt speaks. It must be like looking at himself in a way. There hasn't been a figure as haunting and moving as The Snake until Wyatt arrived.

Wyatt delivers his lines with precision and passion, seeming to believe every word, no matter how insane.

When he tells you that he's already dead or that he's boxcar and a pack of matches, you can't help but be convinced. He has the kind of charisma that propels real-life cult leaders to positions of power. He's the Pied Piper, the devil and a dark preacher.

In a short time, he has amassed an impressive set of stellar performances.

That's because his batting average for greatness is unreal right now. Every promo is a hit.

He hasn't shown that he can do humor or play two distinct roles like Cody Rhodes, but with his current character, he has given fans glimpses of a variety of emotions. At times, he's giddy with the thought of destruction. At others, he's fiery, enraged at the world itself. 

How does someone top him? The roster features a man with an even bigger stock of greatness.

Beethoven had to compete with Mozart, and Wyatt has to compete with Paul Heyman. 

1. Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman is busy making his case that he is the greatest manager of all time. A huge part of that is his wizardry on a microphone.

No one on the roster makes every word can't-miss like Heyman. No one on the roster weaves such glorious stories in the ring.

Heyman plays a slimeball who talks up his clients as well as a snake-oil salesman talks up his wares. 

He doesn't read or recite his lines; they slither out of him. His speeches sound genuine; his words are consistently precise.

Trying to remember a bad Heyman promo is like trying to remember a morning when the sun didn't rise.

His work this year with Brock Lesnar has elevated an already lofty resume. If one compiled the 10 best promos of 2014, it would likely feature eight or nine of Heyman's works. He brags, whines, gloats and scoffs at a level where only he resides.

He's the current king of the microphone, outdoing all the monsters, jokesters and mad men surrounding him.