Whatever Happened to Heel Commentators?

[C.Msupporter]

The Heel Commentator , the Guy who backs people no matter what they do to pick up a win, everyone knows them, a list of examples includes
Bobby Heenan
Jesse "the Body" ventura
Jonathan " the Coach" Coachman
JBL (but he sucked at it)
(When he first arrived at TNA) Taz
Don West
(sometimes) Jim Ross
(sometimes) Jerry Lawler
These types of Commentators made wrestling good to listen to what the Commentators actually said but latley I've being Seeing Less and less of these types of people, and the ones who were the good part of the Commentary Team has decided to turn Face so that people will like them.

I think that this needs to be sorted otherwise people are just going to Mute their TV sets so that they can Watch the Action in the Ring instead of listening to the Commentators supporting Just one Guy no Matter how much talent he has.

 

[Via Armbar]

The lack of heel commentators has stemmed from the fact that they are trying to limit the characterization of anyone that isn't a wrestler. They have stopped calling referees by their names and the commentators have little to no say in what they comment on at all. They have moved away from the heel commentators to stress the focus on the money makers, the performers. Commentators aren't going to sell seats or merchandise, the performers have those duties. The last real character that a commentator had was JBL, and he had that gimmick before he retired and joined the announce table.

Perhaps it's that there are no commentators worthy of a gimmick or persona, but more or less I believe it's an effort to minimalize their parts in weekly shows. You can argue that Striker has somewhat of a character, but it's certainly toned down in relation to the Jerry Lawler of old. Minimalizing the commentators involvement and voice is allowing more character development for the wrestlers. Not that I agree with the down playing and underusage of such commentators, simply saying that this is why they have chosen to do it I believe.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I'm really not sure WHY heel commentators are gone...but they are. And I don't like it. I agree with Armbar that they are trying to seperate the entertainers from the commentators, but I always found (some) commentators to be entertaining. Bobby Heenan was the most entertaining character on a microphone in WWE during the early 90's. He called a show like he was cutting one big promo, and made the least interesting match you could think of worth watching.

What I don't buy is the fact that they don't have anyone who could be entertaining as a heel commentator. Cut the King loose. Let him actually be funny. No one is going to convince me that the man cannot be funny at this stage in his life. He was very funny in the mid-late 90's, and into the early part of the 2000's.

I think there a few guys who have a real future as heel commentators, if given the opportunity. They are basically doing nothing with WIlliam Regal (outside of NXT). Put him in the booth. The guy is a natural talker, and has a HUGE wealth of knowledge pertaining to pro wrestling. Keep King around for a while, but when his career is all said and done, bring in Jericho. I don't see Jericho wrestling for more than another 5 years, and by that time, King should be ready to leave (if not, make him leave). Jericho is hilarious. Outside of Regal, I couldn't think of a more entertaining, experienced guy to put in the color guys chair.