**Merged** Bitch about commentary here

[Low_Ki]

I have been thinking about this for the last few weeks now, but I just cannot deal with Michael Cole's ridiculous voice anymore.

Its bad enough that he plays a face character until The Miz turns up and then licks his ass before trying really hard to put down Bryan Danielson. The guy is a complete waste of space on the commentary table, and lets face it, he doesn't have any idea about technical moves, and shows absolutely zero emotion.

Now I know he gets an earful from the guerrilla position, but come on, his voice is horribly monotone, and the constant repetition of 'vintage' and 'longest running weekly episodic TV show' and of course the new line 'can I have your attention please, I have received an email from the GM'.

For the love of God, I wish so badly that they would put JR back on the road in the commentary position. Now I know the WWE are moving towards younger guys on the commentary table, but JR has always been, and will always be the best, and, although his health concerns are what lead to him being removed from the position in the first place, I would love for him to come back.

I may be a dreamer here, but surely they could find a way back for JR?

 

[daniel bryan mark]

I want JR back as much as the next guy, but Michael Cole is exceptional at his job. WWE wants you to hate him (when he's rooting for Miz and hating Danielson). Yes, his catchphrases are annoying, but that's his "gimmick".

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

As next week is the 900th edition, I do think that JR'll get to do some of the commentating - after all he and the King are both in the HoF for being the voices of said show.

However, there's no chance of this being more long term - the reason the whole contract fiasco between Ross and WWe occured was that the E wouldn't have commentory as part of the negotiations, so rumours of going to TNA and an appearance at UFC was utilized to try and pressurize Vinnie Mac who remained unmoveable.

The end result? As always, JR took his medicine and is now being a good wee WWe back stage employee.

 

[Thephenominal1]

JR is without a doubt the greatest commentator this business has ever had. Yes he has medical problems but so does everyone else. Not to the extent of his but everyone has them. Raw was so much better with Lawler and Jr together than Lawler and cole. Michael Cole is decent at being out there but he doesn't have the support of the fans like JR does. Lawler and Jr are like the horsemen of announcing. They are fan favorites. Even though people didn't like the horseman they always cheered. The people love Lawler and JR and there needs to be a change made in JR and Cole's positions.

 

[cchriswake31]

I want JR back as much as the next guy, but Michael Cole is exceptional at his job. WWE wants you to hate him (when he's rooting for Miz and hating Danielson). Yes, his catchphrases are annoying, but that's his "gimmick".

I don't think WWE ever established that, because either they're writing him inconsistently by being face for about 95% of the broadcast or Michael Cole doesn't know what the hell he's doing. It's not that he's "exceptional" at his job... people can't stand the guy because he tries to shove everything down our throats despite what's happening on the screen. JR will always be the best play by play man for treating the viewers as spectators and playing along with what's happening on the screen... Michael Cole talks to the viewers as though they're easy to manipulate. That being said, you can't blame the whole thing on Cole, as said before Vince is probably in his ear chewing him up.

Here's a random vid from 2001 showcasing how good Michael Cole was for Smackdown.


we can only look back and thank Stone Cold for foreshadowing the future

 

[CarlSinclair]

Meh I don't really mind him.

I actually think his little heel attempt thing he has going is kinda funny. I esp love the "Ladies and gentleman I have received another email from the general manager" slowly walks up and puts on his glasses (lol) then "and I quote" .. that part gets me.

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I don't like hating on the guy personally, because it's just his job and his gimmick. I'll have to admit, Michael Cole is extremely annoying and he doesn't let his colleagues have their say, no matter what's going on in the ring. At the end of the day, he IS actually good at his job, it's just that most of us are narked by his constant forcing of his own opinion down our throats, without even caring. He might be a heel, but really.. JR was never like that when he was a heel.

Yeah, I'd love to see Jim Ross return to the announcing team, but I don't think he will. His health issues are a major hazzard and he's on his THIRD stroke now. He's quite an ill man. He isn't young anymore either, he's in his 60s? (forgive me if I'm mistaken).

He is the greatest announcer I've ever witnessed, along with Jerry Lawler. Since I started watching WWF back in 1999, I've never been bored of Lawler and JR, their voices are phenomenal and they never get old. Whereas Michael Cole on the other hand, sometimes I feel like I have to mute the television when I'm watching. He never talks about anything that goes on in the ring and forces opinions down peoples throats.

 

[Bud78]

I'm not going to say I love the guy but he gets a bad rap. His heel character is becoming more prevalent though as he went on a tirade about how shitty R-Truth's rapping was this week. Couple that with his hatred of Bryan and him ripping Cena for picking Bryan, as well as his cock licking of the Miz and his newfound hatred of Truth's rapping and he is on his way to becoming a real life heel announcer. I am interested in having the play by play man be the heel while the King plays the sympathetic face. I could enjoy this.

 

[twentytwo]

No. I used to support "Good Ol' JR" as much as the next guy but that support has completely done a 180.

JR has become an old, bitter man with an axe to grind. I'm sick of hearing him talk. I'm sick of hearing him toot the horn for his own pity party about blaming his looks and disease on being taken off of TV (whether true or not, I'm sick of hearing him bitch about it.) I'm sick of hearing him cry about wanting to be at Wrestlemania and bitch about not getting that gig. I'm tired of hearing him question WWE story-lines like Cena surviving a DDT outside of the ring. I'm sick of everything he does and says.

Go the fuck away Jim.

Just like wrestlers get old and need to move on so does JR. The world is full of passed by, bitter, old men and that's all JR is nowadays. There's no point in JR being in the WWE at his age and in the condition he is. He doesn't have a long shelf-life, and I'm sorry but he lost his touch a long, long time ago. 2010 is the time to build new faces including the announcers. JR's time is up. He needs to deal with it and move on with his life.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

There is no need to bring back Jim Ross. J.R was at the top of his game for ten years and was damn good after that as well, but if we want to progress, we have to let go of the past. WWE is letting go of Jim Ross as an on screen character, and it's the right thing to do. Right now WWE is in a state of flux, it's current era is 3 years old and it's promoting new stars as it bids farewell to older ones (like HBK).

The WWE will have to bring up new commentators sooner or later and there doing it now. Michael Cole is improving as a tweener character, Grisham & Striker provide solid analysis on SmackDown and Josh Matthews is doing a tremendous job on NXT. J.R. had a good run, but all good things must come to an end.

 

[Chicago1989]

I hear you with this. Commentary without JR in any wrestling company just doesn't feel the same anymore. The WWE just suddenly and abbruptly ended JR's full-time status as an announcer and I also feel that JR didn't deserve that but that's typical WWE.

And I believe that the only reason why Michael Cole has had his job for the past 12-13 years is because he's from up north and that he's a stooge. Supposedly, Vince doesn't like guys from the south so that obviously is one of the reasons as to why JR's been disrespected and humiliated by the WWE time and time again. Michael Cole is another Cena; You can hate him all you want but the WWE won't care and they'll keep pushing him. Ridiculous...

 

[A**hole]

As much as I would probably hate it in this way I'd like to see Cole named as the GM just to get him off the announce table, I've never rated him above mid-card as a play by play commentator.
JR is a HoF for announcing and so is the King, 3 others I have thought should be included as announcers are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura, they both deserve dual entries as does Vince McMahon before he was known as the owner

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

I hate Cole too. I know half of his lines are fed to him, but eventually, they all get repetitive and absolutely annoying to listen to. I'm sick of him always trashing people like Kaval and Bryan Danielson in the same way that he does every single week. Then, I'm sick of listening to him kiss the asses of Alex Riley and The Miz. Both are great competitors, but I'm sick of hearing Cole drool over them. As for JR, he cant come back as he is still suffering from that Bells Palsy attack, and more importantly, Vince has pretty much forced him to retire from the announcing booth. He now works as a scout at FCW. So as much as I would love to see JR back, it's just not going to happen.

You Just Got Stung!

 

[ashcjtw]

we all love good ol jr but with constant health issues and age its hard to bring him in again...cole annoys me his voice his catchphrases the way he gets all quiet when john cena is beat up...that "oh my god...cena is ... hes' down...it's...oh my god" vintage and that weekly episodic bs is annoying but who knows maybe he'll grow on you....lawler did and i know i'm not the only one that was annoyed when a 45 yrold man would act like a teenage when sable walks out "hee hee PUPPIES ha ha ho ho hee hee PUPPIES!!!" that was some annoying ish

 

[The Idiot]

I rarely watch wrestling nowadays...in fact I haven't watched Raw since way before Wrestlemania.

My question: When did Michael Cole become a heel announcer? I tuned in this last Monday and he was talking crap about R-truth for saying "what's up" on his way to the ring. Then after Miz got attacked by that one dude Cole was getting mad and defending Miz (the heel).

Just wondering when this all happened? Honestly..I think it's pretty bad. Lawler has always made the best heel and now they're trying to put Cole in that spot. I miss the old days.

 

[bmcatelccw]

When Daniel Bryan was in NXT season 1, Cole just started riping on him randomly, and ever since he's been hating on guys like Daniel Bryan, Kaval and R-Truth

 

[b3zy]

Funny because I said this monday night to my girlfriend, sure wish she knew what i was talking bout tho, i need more wrestling friends.. lol

 

[King_of_Swing1520]

sometimes he's a heel and smetimes he's a face. yes he hates on daniel bryan, kaval, and now all of the sudden r-truth. but he is still very against nexus. still supports cena most of the time. always supports orton, although he has not been as against sheamus as he used to be. the thing is that cole is supposed to be a play-by-play guy. he's jst supposed to call the action right now the middle (like jr did) and the color guy should have the character (heel like king used to or face like he does now. if they are going to give cole a character they need to decide heel or face. not loving one heel then hating the next. it dont make sence.

 

[Joup7]

Cole didn't quite start attacking Daniel Bryan randomly. I believe i've read on this site before that Michael Cole lives in a bubble where the WWE is the universe and the Independents don't matter. so Vince decided to put reality into story by having Cole's on-air character have the same feelings. Naturally, Daniel Bryan was an immediate target.

In my opinion, what started as a joke on Cole turned into a goldmine as people really responded to Cole's attacks by loving Daniel Bryan even more. Vince realized that people love to hate Cole (in no small part probably to him replacing Jim Ross) and started a full fledged heel turn. R-Truth was a former TNA wrestler and Kaval as well (and his character is billed as having wrestled all over the world) so these two are natural targets for Cole's character. Until he starts hating on a wrestler that was WWE born and bred, i'm not gonna quite say he's gone heel as much as his character is "Anti-Outsiders", guys who developed elsewhere.

 

[CyDeez]

I rarely watch wrestling nowadays...in fact I haven't watched Raw since way before Wrestlemania.

My question: When did Michael Cole become a heel announcer? I tuned in this last Monday and he was talking crap about R-truth for saying "what's up" on his way to the ring. Then after Miz got attacked by that one dude Cole was getting mad and defending Miz (the heel).

Just wondering when this all happened? Honestly..I think it's pretty bad. Lawler has always made the best heel and now they're trying to put Cole in that spot. I miss the old days.

For you to say it's pretty bad, after not watching it for months, is pretty bad on your part.

Cole is on the verge of turning into a full Heel. It basically started with his feud with Daniel Bryan on NXT. He makes little comments here and there on random guys.

At Summerslam, during SD's WHC Match with Rey Vs Kane. Cole was saying that he believes that Rey was the one that attacked Undertaker and put him in a vegetable like state.

Cole draws natural heat anyway. People just don't like him. The smartest thing to do would be to gradually turn him like they have been. Then in one final moment, have him be the leader of Nexus or The Raw GM.

BOOM! With that big moment his turn is complete.

To be honest, I am looking forward to it. Cole is a corny bastard and like I said earlier, people just don't like him. To help him lose some of that corny edge, turning him Heel is genius!

 

[ForzaItalia]

I don't think WWE ever established that, because either they're writing him inconsistently by being face for about 95% of the broadcast or Michael Cole doesn't know what the hell he's doing. It's not that he's "exceptional" at his job... people can't stand the guy because he tries to shove everything down our throats despite what's happening on the screen. JR will always be the best play by play man for treating the viewers as spectators and playing along with what's happening on the screen... Michael Cole talks to the viewers as though they're easy to manipulate. That being said, you can't blame the whole thing on Cole, as said before Vince is probably in his ear chewing him up.

Here's a random vid from 2001 showcasing how good Michael Cole was for Smackdown.


we can only look back and thank Stone Cold for foreshadowing the future

Haha Jericho vs. Lance Strom was such a damn good match that I did not even know Cole was in that video. Well anyways, Cole is no where as good as JR like Daniel Bryan said time and time again "Cole is just a poor man's replacement for JR and nothing more". But, even if JR was to make a commentator appearance here and there it would be great. JR is happy now because he does not have to work full-time, he can see his family more often, and the door is always open for him to come back to announcing if he wants to. You have to respect JR for all the work he has done and all the nights he has called countless matches. Yeah Cole really has no idea what he is talking about, but you have to live with that. Personally, I really do not think Cole and King go well together. This is another reason Cole is boring because he just cannot connect with the King. I like Josh and Cole better because they can connect and argue and I find that entertaining. I think Josh Matthews should be given a top announcing spot because I think he has the potential to learn from JR and become an all-time great. Cole is not bad, all he needs is a new partner like Matthews and I look forward to watching Cole and Josh argue every match.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine.

That is the consensus I have gotten so far. JR wasn't even that good when he was there for the last two or three years. He messed up moves all the time and just rambled on half the time. I'm not a huge fan of Cole but I prefer him now to the JR of the late 2000's especially when he takes jabs at Danielson.

 

[CyDeez]

JR hasn't been on TV in quite a while. It is time to move on. Hands down, Jim Ross is the BEST Commentator/Announcer in the history of Pro Wrestling.

But the guy can't go forever. He has been in this business for over 4 decades. We have to move on sometime. Of course compared to JR, Cole isn't good. But compared to most other guys that do his job, Cole is great. LOL...

Cole has what it takes to get guys over and also now is trashing certain guys, making a slow Heel turn. I think it is time we get over JR and move on.

 

[adamisme]

I don't think I would want JR back full time, it would have been nice to have him call the Bret v Vince match and the HBK v Taker at Mania though. I think I would like to have him back for one more match at the next Mania as a kind of goodbye to the fans and just to have him break out the old catchphrases he uses or used

 

[hatehabsforever]

Actually, for the love of God, please don't bring back JR. Perhaps for an occasional commentary/announcer gig, if there is some special match planned for a special occasion or something, but in terms of everyday broadcasting, as the voice of RAW, please don't.

With all due respect to good ole JR, his time has come and gone. He's too old now for a regular RAW appearance, from his own personal perspective as well as from the fans' standpoint. His health precludes him from being as effective as an announcer anymore, and that's likely going to progress and get worse before it gets better. During his last announcing run, he was making more mistakes than ever, and, dare I say it, was getting a little stale.

Everyone's time comes and goes, and you need to know when it's time to move on. Too bad Hogan, Flair, and guys like this don't realize this either, but I think even Ross himself realizes his day has passed.

Time for new blood to take over, and I think Cole takes way too much crap for what he does. He's not nearly as bad as people make it sound. The things he does which annoy people are by design. He's about to undergo a heel turn, and his commentary reflects this. His man crush on the Miz and his derision of Bryan, that's by design and on purpose, and apparently it's working really well. His repetition of catchphrases is not his fault, he's being told what to say and when to say it. The e-mails from the mystery GM are extremely annoying, but that's not his fault either. I love it when he goes to the podium and everyone, in the arenas and in the IWC, just cringes (much like Vicki Guerrero's "excuse me!"). Working perfectly, doing exactly what he's trying to do and getting exactly the response they're after.

Enough with the JR infatuation already, just let the poor man ride off comfortably into the sunset. And cut Cole some slack, because like it or not, he's not going anywhere any time soon. In fact, when he's revealed to be the mastermind of the Nexus, expect to see and hear a lot more of him, like it or not. It could be worse, you know.

It could be Tazz.