The worst and best WWE/WWF announcers of all time

[Matisyahu]

The title says it all! Plain and simple who do you consider the greatest and on the other hand, most god awful announcer in the history of the wwe/wwf?

For me the all time greatest announcer is Good Ol J.R. Jim Ross. Nobody in the history of the business captivated me more at the table than JR because he made each and every match seem like the main event. He always brought excitement and emotion no matter what. On top of that, he could make a great team with whoever they stuck him with at the table be it The King, Tazz, The Coach, Mick Foley, and even Matt Striker (just threw up in my mouth a bit)

And no one has ever had the catchphrases like him such as "running like a scalded dog," "beat like a government mule," "tougher than a $2 steak" etc.

Honorable mention goes to Bobby The Brain Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon as the greatest announce team of all time as they had by far the greatest chemistry of even team I ever saw. Gorilla Monsoon just had the voice that when I was a kid really pulled me into the match and Heenan was probably the funniest man to ever commentate and that saying something considering some of the shit The King has come up with over the years.
But these two together were by far the best with Heenan always pulling for the bad guys and saying stuff about the baby faces that made Monsoon say "COME ON BRAIN! Thats enough!" Classic classic stuff!


Worst announcer ever besides Mike Adamle is probably a tie between Matt Striker and Todd Grisham. Striker says the dumbest shit ever to sound like he is intelligent I am so glad they took him out of the booth because you could tell the other announcers were even annoyed by him. I mean sure if he was a commentator who pulled for the heels or was doing it as some sort of persona that would be one thing but even on the dvds like the 50 Greatest he still says random and useless crap! Grisham just bores the living shit out of me and maybe I just didn't give him enough of a chance but still from what I saw I just couldn't get sucked into the matches that he commentated on.

 

[Decarow]

I think Stryker just tries too hard. He's not bad, but he is forcing the fact that he used to be a smark down our throats.

I personally think Grisham is great. He's a play-by-play guy, not a color commentator. He's not supposed to be amazingly fun. He calls things as he sees them, and he does a great job at it.

Now on to JR. It's almost a sin to say he's bad. But honestly the best part about him was his emotion. STONE COLD STONE COLD. He used the same catchphrases over and over, but who else hasn't.

I think you should have put names of all the past WWE announcers in your post though. You left off JBL, Booker T, CM Punk, Michael Cole, Paul Heyman, and even Joey Styles. Feel free to add people I left off.

So my pick for best anouncer is JBL. He only did it for about a year. But he had a natural talent as an announcer. Had he stuck with it, he would be noted as such.

Worst has to go to Stryker. I think he's a good talker. But he needs to learn to shut the fuck up sometimes. Like at TLC last year when he tried calling CM Punk, Charles Montgomery Punk or something stupid like that.

 

[Hawkeye]

Two posts in and I could already tell this was gonna be the official shit on Striker thread. The guy is great at what he does, sure he gets overly excited sometimes but hell who doesn't? It's professional wrestling, you're supposed to have energy if you're going to be in the booth calling matches. He knows what he's talking about and he loves what he's talking about, so what's the problem?

 

[AwesomeRko]

My favourite announcers are Jerry Lawaler as i think hs an excellent colour commentator and adds great comedy to the show although he was better before wwe pent PG 'PUPPIES'

I know im gna get heat for this but i don't care i also really like Michael Cole, i think he has a clear, concise manner of running play by play and he is probably the most eloquent speaker out of any of the announcers.

Although i do agree his heel turn compromises this i think hes doing a great job with that and will utilise it away from the announce table as a manager or GM in some way.

Josh Mathews is another I like i think he shows great enthusiasm for wrestling and has great knowledge being a former wrestler himself. He is also quite geeky which is a quality i like in a play by play is another good speaker and overall has great potential.

I also loved Mick Foley on the announce table just coz its Mick Foley an aweosme character and a great talker. Granted he never had enough time to smooth some rough edges but given more time he couldve made a great funny colour commentator.

My least favourite and i know this is like sacrilege but iv never liked Jim Ross, his texan redneck like catchprases irritate me and whilst i agree he displays great passion i feel he stumbles too much in his speech to be deemed an effective play by play.

 

[krazyd]

i personally like stryker he has inside information and i appreciate the little bits of information cuz i also give off uselsess info ahah but my fav announcer is TAZZ just thought he was funny although hes not the best..JR has to be the best who can forget 'slobber knocker' i mean really...my least favorite is adamle hes just terrible jeff harvey really seriously dude at least learn the names what a way to waist 500,000 bills haah

 

[conici]

For me the worst ever is mike adamle just terrible everytime he was on commentating he would fuck up and I mean EVERY time another one that comes to mind is todd girsham he just sounds really bland

In my opinion the best commentators are and there are a few
Good 'ol Jr the best commentator ever in the wwe dont deny it
JBL Just a funny commentator
CM Punk why are all the wrestlers good commentators
Mick Foley agian with the wrestlers but still a very good commentator
Bobby the brain heemen I loved his bit of commentating with the HBK heel turn "ohh I knew he was gona do that"
So thats my opinion

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

ooh... this actually is harder than i thought it would be, on both ends. I have enjoyed a lot of commentators from Bobby and Gorilla to Vince Randy and Bobby and JR/King, Joey Styles, Paul Heyman, even Bischoff Schiavonne, and Brain were good and got me into the matches. If this wasn't just WWE I'd say Joey Styles because on ECW he carried the show by himself and made the matches, but as for WWE I'm going to have to go with Heenan and Gorilla, they were fun to listen to and were able to show emotion at the right times, they were as integral to the matches as the men in the ring.

As for the worst, obvious choice is Mike Adamle, i'm guessing you were looking for a real announcer so next choice is dun dun dun.... matt striker and whoever else is on smackdown or was on ecw... Sorry I'm not as up to date on who was announcing what, all i know is on both of those shows so many big moments were ruined to me by boring announcing. They just couldn't show proper emotion when big things happened or when surprise returns happened and it made the return or moment come off bland.

 

[reed214]

"Will You Be Serious!!"--The Brain & Monsoon were so good, and my favorite of all time. close 2nd is the King And J.R, then Jesse Ventura and Monsoon. the worst is mick foley b/c i hated to hear him because he was as exciting and telling as his sweat pants,and even the macho man brought something that didnt make sense so he was entertaining. the worst combo ever is striker/mathews, but i suppose they havnt been around for years and years so i'll givee them a break.

 

[dashing]

JR to go without saying (but saying it anyway). He just says the right things which add to the drama going on in the ring; "BAH GAWD, THAT BASTARD JUST BROKE HIM IN HALF" "HOW'DYA LEARN TO FALL FROM A 20FT LADDER?!" an absolute legend and can really add gravitas to a match, be it an opener on the lower card on Smackdown or a main event at Mania. It's an outrage he isn't still on the announce team, I can understand how perhaps the schedule might be a bit much for him nowadays, but at the very least put him on the big 4 ppvs a year.

Also has no one mentioned Jesse Ventura yet? One of the all time great heel colour commentators without being sycophantic, and could add insight to moves and tactics used in the ring. Very witty as well.

Also I really like Striker, enthusiastic and one thing that made me really love him was his Smiths songs references one time on Smackdown a year or two back. 95% of the audience wouldn't have got that but I thought it was pretty cool. Also I like how he analyses tactics and his encyclopaedic knowledge of moves. I can totally see why a lot of people hate him though

One for the future without a doubt is CM Punk. When he hangs up his tights (which hopefully won't be for a decade at least) he's got a great career in announcing in front of him, that time on Raw behind the announce desk proved that; insightful, funny and fresh.

Oh and also for the sheer enthusiasm and crazyness Booker T has made me laugh so much, he's literally the black Dusty Rhodes. A fun drinking game would be to drink everytime he says "unbelievable" or "I can't believe it", you'll be wasted half way through a diva's match.

 

[Jackal960]

The worst for me, if anyone remembers i am happy to take the heat, is Lord Alfred Hayes. He would make the most exciting match boring as hell. He was too "gentleman" to be a WWF announcer. His accent, his voice, simply anything about his commentary was plain BORING. Also VKM when he was commentating like a horse race announcer was bad, although he had his good years as well.

The best for me, was Mansoon & Ventura. They were so great in building heel&face commentator duo. After that, WWE tried to keep commentating that way due to their great success.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

In my time as a wrestling fan, you cannot say anybody other than Jim Ross was the best. In his prime he added so much to every segment, every match, every spot. He helped to move the stories along, build the characters and get the wrestlers over as either a face or a heel. His partnership with Jerry Lawler was perfect, they complimented each other so well.

Some of JR's lines during the Mankind v Undertaker HIAC match are iconic!

"Oh My God, They've Killed Him!!!"
"With God As My Witness, He Is Broken In Half!"
"Would Somebody Stop The Damm Match!"

That last one is a legitimate plea for sanity, and he is urging someone to make the call to end the match as he is worried for Foley's safety. However, it still made the match commentary better.

Other classic JR lines include

"The Billion Dollar Princess Has Just Become The Dairy Queen!"
"Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!"
"Tyson & Austin! Tyson & Austin!"
"Eric Bischoff Is A Boil On The Ass Of Life!" (a personal favourite)
"Don't Do It Jeff!"

He is in a class of his own, and WWE is not the same without JR at the announcers desk.

Other great commentators are Joey Styles (very underrated!), The King (although during the Attitude Era he was by far better), and I was always a big fan of Tazz, Mick Foley and JBL at the desk too, they were excellent. Michael Cole is also very good, and brilliant in his new heel role.

As for the worst? Two names jump to mind- Todd Grisham and Mike Adamle. Grisham is one of the most irritating men I have ever seen, and Adamle was a disgrace. To begin a job as a wrestling commentator and not know ANYTHING about the business is appalling. Even if you have no prior knowledge of the industry, you should have done your homework, even just on the WWE roster....and LEARN the business, learn who the wrestlers are, their moves, their characters.

Adamle was an embarassment to the WWE and himself. He was on national TV making the billion-dollar company look 2nd rate. He was fucking rubbish and had no business being behind the WWE announcers desk.

 

[byrnside]

Gorilla Monsoon. Gorilla Monsoon was the best ever, end of story. However, you can't have Gorilla without Bobby Heenan or Jesse Ventura. Catch phrases like "Would you be serious!?" "What a beauty!?" Granted this is just my opinion, but I'm not entirely convinced Gorrila didn't coin the phrase "The irresistable force meeting the immovable object." I remember a period in 1993-1994 when they were using a Gorilla/JR combination that just wasn't as good, for either commentator.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Classic comedy when he was teaming with Gorilla or Vince or even Tony Schiavone or Mike Tenay from his WCW days. Bobby added a flash of personality unlike any other heel commentator ever has.

Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Another perfect combination with Gorilla who takes the heel commentator to a whole new level. I can't even seem to find the words to describe Jesse's commentating.. If you've never experienced it, you need to do yourself a favor as a wrestling fan and check out some of his work from the 80s.

Vince McMahon. Yeah, that's right, I said it. I loved Vince in the booth. The combination of his "lack" of wrestling hold names and intensity for business is something that is probably indescribable. The phrase "What a maneouver!" echoes throughout my mind to this day. Not to mention, "BAAAAAAACK BODY DROP!" It was so awesome how Vince could be seemingly gasping for air because of how much he yelled and in an instant be as calm as ever.

Jim Ross. Last but certainly not least, Good Ol' JR. He brought an intensity to the booth that was missing from the transition between Gorilla to him. There's not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said about him, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Well of course you got some winners and some stinkers.

Winners:

JR/King: Self-explanatory for both. They've already been beaten to death, so I see no need to go on any further.

Cole: I hate the bastard, but DAMN! he did his job beautifully

McMahon: "Fahgeddaboutit!" "Oh no!"... His drooling over Tony Atlas' body back in the 80s.

Tazz: That New York, gangsta accent did wonders for the commentary and added entertainment

Stinkers:

Adamle: Again, he's already been explained multiple times. Really no need to explain

JBL/Foley: JBL was great on the stick but just not that comfortable behind the desk. Foley.... eh, I never liked him on the mic or behind the desk. Just too uncomfortable.

Stanford/Korpela: I really just don't like their voice. They have a voice for sports but not for pro wrestling. Just saying. Stanford is a dumb version of Stryker and Korpela has nil in the personality department.

 

[Mr. HD]

I may be biased, but Im goin with King & JR as the best announcing duo. I grew up with their commentating in the Attitude Era and there was never a dull moment between the two. They jus gelled so well with each other. JR being the best play by play guy and King being the funniest color commentator Ive ever heard. He would say the funniest things and I would die laughing everytime he'd argue wit JR.

I suggest the match between Booker and HHH at WrestleMania 19. Their commentary was so hilarious.

 

[steveh0481]

I'm glad that someone remembered "Lord" Alfred Hayes. He was awful when he would be commentating on WWF Wrestling Challenge on Saturday mornings. Always was annoying to hear him.

I think the best duo of announcers ever was Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. They had the best chemistry of any group of announcers the WWF has ever put together.

2nd place: JR and The King
3rd place: Jesse Ventura and Vince McMahon

It was tough for me to put the JR/King over Ventura/McMahon because I loved the chemistry between McMahon and Ventura.

I believe that Michael Cole has been one of the best commentators the WWE has had in a long time. He flat out calls out people when they dont know what they are talking out of their a** (see Booker T on Smackdown). I dont care who bashes me on this... Cole has been phenominal since the WWE turned him into the heel commentator.

 

[harrythem]

For me the best was Gorilla Monsoon and Jessie The Body Ventura. Actually, even Vince with The Body was great because he seemed to bring out the best in those that he worked with and made every match he called better then it would've been had he not called it. (would've loved to see The Body and JR in WWE, because The Body only cared about himself by the time he got to WCW)

As for the worst....ART DONOVAN! I can't believe he's not had a mention. He was brought in for King of The Ring 94 but, by the 4th match, it was clear he didn't know shit about wrestling (worse then Adamle) and Gorilla and Macho stopped trying to cover for him and just ignored him instead. Was the worst car crash announcing I've ever seen!