primarily, everybody talked every week on TV in the 80s, even if they were just local promos. when i started watching wrestling i was watching TBS when it was still a JCP show, and Ric Flair, Dusty, Road Warriors, Midnight Express etc etc etc never wrestled (well the tag teams sometimes did)...but they always talked. *always*. sometimes Tully and JJ might do 2 promos on the same show wrapped around a 3-4 minute jabroni match.

there were definitely a ton of midcard guys wrestling all the time, but i even cared about them. the first angle i remember was Kevin Sullivan smashing a "cinder block" over Jimmy Garvin's knee. i was completely horrified. those people werent main event caliber talent by then, but the show was good, because people could make me care about who they were. the realest thing anyone has ever said on Dynamite was MJF last week saying that he knows how to make us *feel* without anyone falling on their heads.

for a good example, lets take Swerve Strickland. i dont care if hes ever a champion, but he managed to make himself important in that ridiculous battle royale with one elimination, one facial expression, and one logical reason for stabbing his friend in the back. i want to hear what he has to say about that. i want to hear what he has to say about everything tbh. its a nice plus that he seems to be an extremely fluid athlete with impressive physical ability, but if all he did was holds, throws, and pinning combos i would still want to hear him talk, and now i want to see him on TV every week doing *something*. thats why EVERYONE LOVES THE ACCLAIMED lol. bc Max Caster built a promo into every single appearance he makes on camera. FTR doesnt have to wrestle every week, but its sacrilege for them to disappear for weeks.

i think its slightly disingenuous to frame it the way youre framing it without acknowledging that none of these people know how to be real on camera. could you imagine if some of these clowns had to do local market promos? it would be a disaster.