A Lion's Tale_ Around the World in Spandex - Chris Jericho [150]
“Listen up, Menomonee Falls, WCW is coming to town Monday, August 30, and I’m going to kick Clint Bobski’s ass,” or what-have-you.
I hadn’t done a promo in WCW yet, but that was where the money definitely was. You had to be able to sell yourself. You had to have the ability to connect with the crowd. Scott Hall was great at it and that’s what made him a superstar...even though he didn’t know how to do a small package. I’d learned two major lessons regarding promos from Bob Brown and Jim Cornette, but I was going to have to rock the mike at a higher level if I wanted to take my career to a higher ground.
So one afternoon, after a useless debate with Disco Inferno about whether or not Martin Short was funny (he is), I asked around if anyone would mind me hanging out in the Box. I sat in the corner and watched some of the greatest talkers in the history of wrestling sell themselves.
Flair, Anderson, Piper, Raven, Savage, Sting, Glacier—they all issued threats, boasted about themselves, insulted the fans, told jokes, and did whatever was necessary to entice the fans to buy a ticket. The promos were conducted by Gene Okerlund, the master of his craft. I learned just as much from watching him because he always knew how to get the point across, no matter what the skill level of his interviewee.
Like an Oscar-winning actor, the best talkers became their characters completely and lost all inhibitions. That’s when it started clicking for me and it was the third major lesson I learned about delivering promos.
One afternoon Lex Luger refused to do promos because he had to go tanning. Since I was hanging around, I was asked if I wanted to give it a try. I jumped at the chance and my first official WCW promo was for Peoria, Illinois.
Would Jericho play in Peoria?
Not very well unfortunately—the promo wasn’t very good. I was as wooden as a stake and didn’t have much to say, but it was a start. From then on, whenever someone didn’t show up or flat-out refused to do interviews, I filled in.
Pretty soon I was able to cut a decent forty-five-second promo. Shortly after that I was added to the weekly promo list and believe me I never turned down a chance to do one because I had to go tanning or eat a PB&J. I treated the Box as promo boot camp and it’s where I finally developed into a good talker.
Doing interviews added an extra feeling of anticipation about going to work. I literally sat by the phone every week hoping to get the call to go to Nitro. When it finally came, I’d hang up the phone and do the Nitro Dance. If you want to see the Nitro Dance just ask me and I’ll be happy to show it to you.
CHAPTER 48
CONSPIRACY VICTIM
I took Eric’s advice about waiting things out but my patience was wearing thin, until I ran into Terry at a Nitro taping in Macon, Georgia.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Just your career. We’re going to turn you heel.”
It was music to my ears because I’d been lobbying to turn heel for months. I’d even asked to become a member of Raven’s flock of misfits, but Eric had shot down the idea.
But he had finally decided that it was time for me to become eeeeeeevil and he was right. I’d achieved my greatest success as a heel and I knew I wouldn’t be so handcuffed if I could act like the asshole that I was. It’s much easier to make people hate you than it is to make them like you.
The plan was for me to go on a losing streak (I was already on one anyway), and after each loss I would snap and have a temper tantrum that would make a five-year-old proud. Terry was specific in his direction.
“Don’t play it for laughs. Play it seriously like you just lost control.”
So I pitched fits, smashed chairs against the ring post, and ripped the suit jacket right off of ring announcer David Penzer’s back. Then I calmed myself down and, filled with remorse, apologized to him and