Promo (professional wrestling)
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In professional wrestling, a promo is short for "promotional interview", a dialogue or monologue used to advance a storyline. The act of delivering such an interview is known in the business and by fans as cutting a promo. A promo targeted to denigrate or insult another individual, stable, or a rival promotion is said to be cut on the target (e.g., "Triple H cut a promo on Batista"). A promo is designed to help the audience identify or dislike a wrestling persona. The term "promo" can also refer to a vignette, particularly those which introduce a wrestler or gimmick.
Some wrestlers have made careers off of their ability to cut good promos. They are said to be "good on the mic." Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dusty Rhodes, The Rock, Jim Cornette, Sunny, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Mick Foley, Jesse Ventura, Jake Roberts, Chris Jericho, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Randy Savage, and Roddy Piper's careers were made on their ability to cut good promos, some in conjunction with their excellent ringwork (Flair,Race,Michaels). Talent on the mic is a valuable commodity for a pro wrestler because they can still get work despite an injury or diminishing ring skills. Many wrestlers become well known for promos due to their generally humorous nature. The Rock, Chris Jericho, Christian Cage, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Trish Stratus, Carlito, Santino Marella, and Scott Hall are good examples of this. John Bradshaw Layfield, Edge, Raven, Ken Kennedy and Booker T are also known to give engaging heel promos, Raven has been commended on multiple occasions, by fans, for his skills at delivering promos.
However, some wrestlers have became popular by in-ring skills (e.g. Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, Bryan Danielson, A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, Rey Mysterio, Lita), physical attributes (e.g. Big Show, Sable, Chyna, Stacey Keibler), or gimmick (e.g. Kane, Eugene) alone. In many cases, these wrestlers either have bad promo skills, the wrong kind of voice for promos, (e.g. Bobby Lashley), spoke a foreign language (either in kayfabe or reality) (e.g. The Great Khali, Daivari), or just never did them as part of the gimmick (e.g. Sabu, Umaga).