Thank God There's No More Gorilla Monsoon

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm not glad he's dead. I'm just glad he's no longer on TV. Boy did he suck. The guy never once said anything insightful. He's like the Michale Cole of his day. But he get's nothing negative said about him becasuse most of use grew up watching wrestling with the guy talking shit over it. It's nothing more than a nostalgia trip.

Does anyone reallyy need it pointing out to them that Jim Duggan has just performed what looked like a Double Ax Handle? Or that Demolition have studs all over their panties? No, it's there for all to see. You can expect comments like that from Ventura & Heenan. But Monsoon was the lead, and he was shit at it.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I honestly didn't like his announcing, but I guess I can't judge or comment too much about whether it was awful or not. I tuned out a lot of the older stuff, mainly because compared to today.. it's foolish sounding.

I mean, the heels do something heelish, and they're bad mouthed for it. The faces do something heelish (mind you before the heels do anything of the sort) and it's all fair and well.

One match pops into mind, that being the Bushwackers against the Nature Disasters. I'm pretty sure Heenan was trying to defend how the Legion of Doom had cost the Disasters the match, or something along those lines.. and all Monsoon could do and say was.. "Well, what comes around goes around Brain". What the shit does that mean?! The Disasters didn't DO anything to warrant outside interference to cost them the match.

Again, I just wasn't really into old-school announcing.

 

[jpfizzle]

Gorrila Monsoons announcing was as good as TNA's announcing today. Quit honestly compared to most sports all Wrestling announcing is awful, not always, but more often than not it's below average. I can't think of a definitive reason why that is but it's true. Take JR for example, he is in most people opinion the best announcer in profesional wrestling, yet even JR is average at best. In the attitude era the guy was amazing but somwhere along the way (around 2001 - 2002) he became stale. He did nothing to add to the action and quite rightly, that's not his job as the play by play man, but he did nothing to add to the feel of the show at all, I will never understand why there was so much uproar when he got moved to Smackdown, quite frankly it was long overdue.

Back on topic with Gorilla Monsoon though, he was terrible, but not the worst. To be below average in a role that hasn't been notoriously good ever is testimony to the fact that he really wasn't very good.

 

[klunderbunker]

The more I listen to him, the more I realize he was little more than a place holder. He was the foil for Ventura and Heenan. When you think back, other than WM, he didn't do much that was special. He was there to have a veteran as the commentator, and that's fine. His voice was fine, but he was just there. Not good, not bad. The main annoying thing was when he'd kiss Hogan's ass more than anyone, and secondary was his constant criticism of the abdominal stretch. Never was happy with one.

 

[MachoManiac]

The reason he came across sounding like he was kissing Hogan's ass is because back then, that's the way the announcers talked about the babyface stars. If you watch some old NWA footage, you'll here Tony Schiavone doing the same thing for Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. As for Gorilla Monsoon, yeah, he was a bad announcer, but I don't think he was nearly as bad as Bruno Sammartino.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Wrong, wrong, wrong. You're all wrong. Gorilla Monsoon was masterful at what he did, and I for one wish he was still doing it.

Monsoon and Heenan was fantastic as the objective / subjective announce team, and while Heenan was the funny one, Monsoon played off of Heenan (and vice versa) very well.

Monsoon got the term "Excellence of Execution" over for Bret Hart.

Monsoon coined the term "tonnage" while talking about the Natural Disasters, and painted the picture of the WWF having to "reinforce the ring" when they wrestled, really selling the size of these two men by creating - in the minds of the fans - the very real possibility that the ring may collapse mid-match.

While Curt Henning may have coined the term "Heartbreak Kid," Monsoon truly worked to get it over in his announcing, and he was successful.

I always go back to WrestleMania 8 - among the best announced PPV's of all time - and the banter between the two over Ric Flair losing his championship, and Monsoon yelling "Will you STOP!?" about 7 times before urging Bobby Heenan "Don't Jump." Classic work.

I will always look fondly back on Monsoon's announce work, and there are few announcers I'd prefer to listen to - and that includes Jim Ross.

 

[agentsmith22]

Well, i for one learned quite a plethora of vocabulary watching Gorilla Monsoon. Whether someone had suffered maybe a "crushed larnyx" or injured their "patella", or perhaps even got the blood flow stopped at the carotid artery, it was like science listening to him call a match.

 

[joejoe]

Normally I agree with Jake on most of his topic threads. This one not so much.
Gorilla Monson was the perfect announcer for his time. A classic baby face who always loved the good guys and hated the heels no matter what.

He coined a key phrase that is in wrestling imortality.
"The irresistable force meeting the imovable object."

You point out how he shouldn't be calling moves, and describing wrestlers attire, again you have to remember that was protocol for the WWF at the time. It wasn't about having the announcers tell stories for feuds. In fact most PPV matches didn't have much of a fued. They were just thrown on there to fill time in between the main events.

I rarely heard him make a mistake while calling a match and his chemistry with both Bobby the Brain and Jesse Ventura was amazing. He was able to work smooth with them and make the broadcast come across like what we were watching was a real fight and not a scripted one.

Gorillia was great.

Now Vince McMahon...THAT is a horrible announcer.

 

[DMan23]

Wow....what's the age group in here? Gorilla Monsoon was one of the best announcers out there, if not the best. He enhanced storylines, put over the good guys (which was his job), and called great matches. The idea of announce teams back then was to have one guy defend the face and the other the heel. It made for entertaining commentary. The two best announce teams in history are Monsoon-Ventura and Monsoon-Heenan. Of course some of the stuff said back then sounds foolish today. You had old school guys calling the matches.

I know everyone who posts in here thinks Jim Ross is the standard by which all others are measured but he doesn't even hold a candle to Monsoon.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Im not the biggest Monsoon fan but overall I was watching some old 80s matches the other day and I must say that I do kinda miss the announcing. They analyzed the matches and what an opponent should and shouldnt do and strategy like it was a true sport particularly Ventura. Instead of just describing the match or talking about some random things like they do now.

For example I was watching Hogan vs. Warrior from WM6 and Venturas commenting about Warrior's entrance. He was like "I think its a big mistake for Warrior to be running down the ring like that, he needs all his energy for this match." Yeah it sounds kinda stupid but I liked how he gave some insight into the match. Another example is I liked how he gave the tale of tape in the Hogan Andre match even though some of numbers were exaggerations it was still cool because it made the match seem that much more legit and meaningful. Then there were several other examples of things like this but I cant think of off the top of my head though. It was particularly good during tag matches, they would talk about cutting off the ring and making quick tags so you're always fresh and things of that nature. These type of things the WWE have drifted away from the past several years or so.

 

[-John-]

Gorrilla Monsoon is a fantastic and legendary Commentator. The fact he was the best commentator before Jim Ross' time makes him stand out. Back in the 80's they weren't all One Commentator and One Colour guy who talk randomly, Gorrilla talked passionately about the business and knew his stuff.

He was apart of a great team, Working alongside several partners for many years. Gorrilla is a great commentator. He Rules!

 

[golden miz]

While I worked in the WWF, I have to say that he was the best anouncer there ever was, even better then JR. Back when he was an announcer it was code to treat heels and babyfaces (now faces) with diffrent codes then today. Pre-additude era wrestling was a diffrent business, money then became a major issue and wrestlers had a say about how their announced, the entire business started to change. JR is not burned out he's still good but when you concider tazz or stryker he's not the best announcer

 

[Kyphael]

Not to stray off topic here but Tazz is a pretty awful announcer. He stutters a lot and often makes up words that don't even exist. If you're going to broadcast a show, you better be a good speaker. All he can do is indentify wrestling maneuvers. That's where it stops and he only had chemistry with Michael Cole who is a pretty shitty announcer in his own right.

Matt Stryker is becoming a good story-teller and analyst, however. I just wish he would play the heel part, as he often sides with Todd Grisham like a boy scout to defend faces and bash on heels like The Miz. I know The Miz is like the most detested guy on the roster because he came from reality TV but come on; the guy has improved leaps and bounds in the ring and he's great at playing a stuck up jerk to garner heat. Stryker should be kissing his feet but instead he's making little lame jokes like "look at The Miz's hat. does it come in MEN'S?" I'm sure he said that joke twice and neither Todd, nor J.R. laughed.

I still stand by my opinion that JBL is the single, greatest announcer to ever sit behind a WWE booth. Better than Jr. and most certainly better than Gorilla Monsoon. He was a great analyst, played the heel role but still respected the faces. He acknowledged his hate for Rey Mysterio but still admired his aerial prowess. He could tell stories, call moves in an articulate way and he was totally new to the job, yet within two years he stood out and people are imploring that he go back to announcing already.

My thoughts on Gorilla Moonsoon? He was before my time. I only heard him call matches through some Wrestlemanias I have on VHS. The man was from a different time and there is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. Good announcer for his time.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Gorilla Monsoon was a pretty good PBP guy, but Jesse Ventura just MADE that announce team. Ventura is the best colour commentator of all time in my opinion. He just had that something...you can't complain about Gorilla Monsoon's work after having heard Adamle or Coachman, anyway.

 

[Miko]

In my opinion Gorrilla Monsoon is the greatest play-by-play guy I have ever heard, they guy just had a wealth of knowledge and could sell the baby faces as being hero's and the heels as being complete bastards better than any other.

I'll be honest though, he could say stupid things as said in this thread before, but if you can find me one announcer that hasnt (just listen to JR sometimes) then I'll be impressed. Not to do JR an injustice the guy is brilliant at what he does, and comparing him to Gorrilla Monsoon may not be the best idea because they come from a different age, with completely different styles.

Still for my money, I'll listen to Gorrilla & Ventura/Gorrilla & Heenan anytime of the week.

I still stand by my opinion that JBL is the single, greatest announcer to ever sit behind a WWE booth. Better than Jr. and most certainly better than Gorilla Monsoon. He was a great analyst, played the heel role but still respected the faces. He acknowledged his hate for Rey Mysterio but still admired his aerial prowess. He could tell stories, call moves in an articulate way and he was totally new to the job, yet within two years he stood out and people are imploring that he go back to announcing already.

JBL was quality no doubt, this is the guy who's commentary skills made bad Kane matches watchable, simply because he could sell Kane as a bad ass monster.

 

[Big Sexy]

Gorilla Monsoon is a legend and he did his job very well. How are you going to be hating on a legend. Ask any current announcer who they think are some of the greatest announcers ever. Every single one of them will have Monsoon near the top of their list. He was very entertaining and he was THE voice of the WWE for a long time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I think you are all blinded by nostalgia. He's total shit. If his job is to talk and act and say things as if he's clueless then he's doing a great job. But he's not. He's the lead announcer. Look at all of the others from the past weather you like them or not, and it's easy to come to the conclusion that he's about as informative as a death and dumb person.

 

[DMan23]

I think you are all blinded by nostalgia. He's total shit. If his job is to talk and act and say things as if he's clueless then he's doing a great job. But he's not. He's the lead announcer. Look at all of the others from the past weather you like them or not, and it's easy to come to the conclusion that he's about as informative as a death and dumb person.

How old are you seriously? Your post sounds like someone who didn't actually watch the WWF back then but instead just recently heard Monsoon call a few matches on 24/7. Monsoon did exactly what he was supposed to do as a commentator back then. As has been mentioned, he played the perfect straight guy for Bobby Heenan and the perfect face opposite Ventura's heel.

Mitchell Cole must be your number one guy.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

No. I grew up watching Monsoon, and listening to him. But it's watching wrestling now that makes me come to the conclusion that he's shit. At the time I didn't care, but now it's obvious.

IC25 mentioned that he coined lots of terms for certain wrestlers. Did he really? I hear that McMahon is always on the other end of the headphones telling commentators what to say. So while he might have come up with certain terms, he also might not have.

 

[golden miz]

Working with him for as long as I did I have to disagree with you, yeah he wasn't the best announcer, but if you put lets say JBL or Lawyer in the 80's as the lead announcer they will be exactly the same. Mannerisms and sayings were allot diffrent back then, back then you couldn't be as risky with the content. In the 80's the major audience we were gearing our shows to were under 13, back in the additude everyone said the announcers were at their best, the only reason people come to this reasoning is because they were talking about womens breast and sex half the time. Now a days the programing is back down to a rating were its appropiate for the under 13 audience so the anouncers arent as good again, you have to compare periods and what audience wwf/e were producing its shows too.

No. I grew up watching Monsoon, and listening to him. But it's watching wrestling now that makes me come to the conclusion that he's shit. At the time I didn't care, but now it's obvious.

IC25 mentioned that he coined lots of terms for certain wrestlers. Did he really? I hear that McMahon is always on the other end of the headphones telling commentators what to say. So while he might have come up with certain terms, he also might not have.

 

[chatterx]

Gorilla was a excellent announcer.... in his time. The guy always seemed thrilled to call matches and his excitement in his voice to say "good evening everybody and welcome to wrestlemania" was true. I enjoyed his commentary and he had me looking up some of the complex medical terms he used when someone got hit in a area LOL.

not to go off topic but some of my fav announcers of all time are gorilla, jesse, alfred hayes, bobby heenan, vince, j.r. and king (attitude era)

 

[Oldschoolersrule]

When Gorilla Monsoon was an announcer, wether or not they were being directed over the headsets, there was a sense that the entire illusion of wrestling was REAL. It was the World WRESTLING Federation, not World Wide ENTERTAINMENT. There were no behind the scene movies or tough enough reality shows or tell all books that took the mystery away from the show. You watched the matches and listened to the announcers just knowing a legitimate contest was taking place.

It was Monsoon's job to do that. He would put such details into the match so that the viewers at home literally FELT Hogan's leg drop, or Savage's off the top rope elbow, you were caught up in the emotions of wrestlers and the stroylines. He made you FEEL the same hatred Piper had for pretty much anyone standing across the ring, or the shock, confusion, dismay, and betrayal when a wrestler turned on a friend. It was his job to not only grab and hold your attention for the show but to get you to believe in it.

Today's product is completly different from all of that. Video promo's, sound effects and replays have replaced all that. Today, all the announcer has to do is tell you to watch the replay. One could use the analogy that Monsoon's style was like reading a good book, where as JR's style is like watching a decent movie about it. Today there is nothing left to the imagination. The technology of today takes all the imagination out of it, and the style of calling the matches shows. Monsoon made you understand what it is you were seeing, JR just shows you over and over on the replay. JR tells you its an armbar, Monsoon told you what hurts when the armbar is applied. JR tells you a its a sleeper hold, Monsoon told you what it did in detail to make it work. Monsoon told you once what JR and video replay has to tell you over and over and over.... Monsoon had to sell you the entire package in a limited ammount of time. There were no replay's of what happened during the commercial break or last week or in the back moments ago.

Lets also not forget that the attention span of todays fans is way shorter than it was back then. Longer matches allowed for more details of the action taking place. Today matches don't last as near as long. back then, Monsoon and partner's details of the action kept you watching the whole show. Today JR and partner use fluff and gimmicks to try to get you to turn them on. Monsoon and partner called only the action, JR and partner talk about everything from the weather at the areana to what they had for dinner during a match so as to keep you interested.

There is much more I could go on about but this is long enough.

 

[gleamx]

i think a lot of people on here truly miss the point on the classic years of wrestling. it wasn't always about calling the match, the announcers were there to bring the characters to life. the wrestlers were in the ring to tell a story, announcers helped further the story. as i look at a lot of the names in here and avatars, i notice a lot of the one's stating that gorilla was horrible at announcing are the same that think stone cold is the second coming of christ. face facts, the attitude era brought wrestling back to the forefront, but wrestling was really made popular by the true legends of the business. i'm not a flair mark, but watch some of his classic matches w/ ricky steamboat, find out what a match is.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

No. I grew up watching Monsoon, and listening to him. But it's watching wrestling now that makes me come to the conclusion that he's shit. At the time I didn't care, but now it's obvious.

IC25 mentioned that he coined lots of terms for certain wrestlers. Did he really? I hear that McMahon is always on the other end of the headphones telling commentators what to say. So while he might have come up with certain terms, he also might not have.

So by your own admission in this post Gorilla is not the one who sucks Vince is.

Gorilla was one of the best and is missed badly today. You can't compare the work he did back then to the work that goes on now because it's totally different. Different time, different era. it's like comparing a Bruno Sammartino match to last weeks Raw main event. Can't do it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

So by your own admission in this post Gorilla is not the one who sucks Vince is.

Depends. It's all in the delivery. While they might be Vince's words, they came out of Monsoons mouth.

Gorilla was one of the best and is missed badly today. You can't compare the work he did back then to the work that goes on now because it's totally different. Different time, different era. it's like comparing a Bruno Sammartino match to last weeks Raw main event. Can't do it.

But you can, because a lot of wrestling from that era still stands up today, as does commentary. Wrestling could use a Bobby Heenan behind the announce desk today.