Who had the better promo game during the Attitude Era,Austin or Rock?

[LastEmperor2k2]

Rock was a cut and paste promo dude.

Relied too heavily on catchphrases and crowd participation.

Also, his shyt was corny. The humor doesn't stand the test of time like Austin's did

 

[StatUS]

Austin was a better serious money promo, Rock shined with how he handled the crowd.

 

[R=G]

Let's go by years
1997....Austin
1998...Austin started off strong, Rock was killing everyone by mid 98
1999...Rock was the MVP of pro wrestling and was untouchable on the mic. Seemed to definitely hold back during the Mania 15 build not to overshadow Austin...once he turned face, he was MUCH more vicious on the mic and the fans knew he was on some next level shyt(he decimated Foley/Cripple H/Taker/Billy Gunn/Road Dogg/Austin/Kane/JerichoVince/Shane)...Smackdown Era was born
2000...Rock was practically god...got fans into every feud he touched....made them give a damn about all of his opponents..from Cripple H to Benoit to Jericho to even Rikishi..Austin was rolling by November on the mic again
2001...They were equal with Rock usually getting the upper hand until WM 17, which ironically was his break..Austin did comedy and tried different shyt as heel..some hated it..some loved it. Rock came back with legendary shyt like Who in the Blu heel...which his haters on this very site use to create threads to critique guys. Basically they were both on fire but no one got the last word on the Rock really at any juncture.
2002...WHAT was on fire with Austin and those kind of promos were entertaining. Rock was just a master at this point..the way he set up the Hogan challenge..the way he picked apart the NwO...the WWE Draft promo with Vince? You'll never see anything like that again.
2003...well basically the Rock proved he was superior to anyone in history at this point. Kind of goes without saying.

And oh yeah..Austin has already said over and over again that the Rock is the best promo man of all time. So the thread is moot.

 

[jackswstd]

 

[dbp]

96-97 tweener Austin was some of the best promo work in WWE history. When he still had that edge and wasn't pandering to the crowd with the gimmie a hell yeah stuff.

 

[luckyse7enz]

I can see arguments either way, but my childhood voted for me. Austin convinced you that he was going to beat that ass because he sounded like he was going to beat that ass, looked like he was going to beat that ass, and once he got in the ring...he beat that ass.....

....BUT promos & salesmanship go hand-in-hand and a young luckyse7enz genuinely believed all those shirts cost $500...

...I was genuinely sold into believing that an elbow drop with theatrics was the most electrifying move in sports entertainment....

I popped for the raising of an eyebrow.

I was in middle school with my homies talking in 3rd person and it didn't matter what any of these jabronis' names were outchea.

Sunglasses Rock with the Elvis chops was that dude on the mic. Him and Austin were just tossing 1 and 1a back & forth like a hot potato back then.

That's my era.

 

[Tide Run This]

Austin

 

[Mr. Manhattan]

Austin easily

 

[krackdagawd]

*views poll results*

 

[CM_Burns]

If it's just 97-99 it's closer but I still say Rock. I was 9 or 10 years old at the time and still not convinced Austin was that tough by his promos.

Rock wins clearly when you look at their overall career. The promo with Hogan is as good a promo as I've ever seen, that's how you build a match into something the fans are dying to see.

 

[QueensEnglish]

Austin overall.. but Corporate Rock is my favorite.

 

[Silkk]

Yall really hate R=G that much huh?

 

[krackdagawd]

Yall really hate R=G that much huh?

tempted to neg you.


No one mentioned that nikka everyone is on topic.

 

[Silkk]

tempted to neg you.


No one mentioned that nikka everyone is on topic.

Sure :ppvbro:

 

[TNC]

From 1996-98 Austin was the best on the mic, but Rock was close. The thing is as the years went on Rock actually evolved on the mic and got better whereas Austin got kind of stagnant and regressed with the WHAT? shyt.

Comparing their absolute peaks, I'd probably roll with The Rock but overall Austin was probably consistently better