Who will/can replace The King?

[uguess94]

It is more than obvious at this point the Jerry Lawler will not be returning anytime soon, as he shouldn't anyway. He should stay at home and take a break from this brutal schedule and to be honest I think he should end his in-ring career immediately for his health.

But the question is who will replace him at the table?

Jim Ross
Matt Striker
Josh Matthews
The Miz
Joey Styles
etc.

Those are just some names but I am very curious to see what will go on with the commentary table. Leave your thoughts on it please.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

I'd love to see the last person that replaced the King when he was fired for a year or so around 2000: Paul Heyman.

Paul puts over talent remarkably and would keep viewers interested particularly in Lesnar and Punk as they are both his guys. That would be the best replacement....meaning we'll probably get Josh Matthews. Nothing against Josh he's just too similar to Cole for my tastes.

 

[rge2010]

The King is a 'colour commentator'. Jim Ross, Joey Styles are 'play by play' just like Michael Cole. Not sure what Josh Matthews is.

Striker is a possiblity, as is Booker T (not sure what his SD GM situation is). I would certainly like The Miz but my vote goes to PAUL HEYMAN. He could really put over Punk in the commentating like Heenan did with Flair.

 

[harrythem]

In all fairness to King he's been phoning it in for years now behind the desk and replacing him won't be that hard (although people don't like change so that'll be the hardest part).

JR's an obvious choice but, a 2 man play-by-play booth? Cole never has a chance in that scenario (so I guess that rules Josh and Joey out too).

Miz is a wrestler so he could make a good stop-gap, but not full-time. Striker's a penis, he's a smug shite who doesn't fill the colour guy role well enough.

I'm hoping they can find someone with the energy level the King used to have a few years ago, and run with that.

Taz doesn't seem to care in TNA, get him back, at least it'd be a colour option.

Fuck it, Heyman's signed a deal with them....why not use him on commentary until you can sort something out, that's my wish

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

JBL

JBL did a great job with Michael Cole during 2006-2007 when he was the commentator of Smackdown.

It would be great to have him back as a heel commentator.

 

[Paul Bunyan's Axe]

I agree with you that King shouldn't be wrestling anymore.

As for his replacement, I'd like to see William Regal be the one to step up to Raw. I've always liked Regal's commentary, and I think he'd fit well with Cole. JBL would be a great choice as well.

 

[matman8540]

The best choices to replace The King would be either JBL or William Regal. That would mean Cole would have to go back to being unbiased/middle of the road. I think William Regal would be the better choice right now, especially since he's been currently working as the color guy on NXT.

 

[slothmister]

Regal or JBL imo.

Both are ex wrestlers, both have great experience as comentators, and both pull to the "bad guy" side. Kind of like how Bobby The Brain was back in the day with Gorilla Monsoon.

OFC the easier option is Paul Heyman. And a good option that would be too, but he is more a fight comentator than a wrestling comentator and that just does not fit too well with the PG era (ofc I know the attitude era was not "real" fighting - stop the hate!).

 

[KoC417]

Too damn bad Bobby the Brain isn't in any capacity....
Matt Striker- No way the guy is such a tool and the announce booth only has room for 1 tool...
We could have a revolving door where WWE just has wrestlers who are relevant to the superstars in the ring providing commentary/helping to further their feuds.
Outside of that I believe the best choices are:
JBL- Knows the wrestling scene, and is a great speaker
William Regal- Probably the best choice out of everyone. Very knowledgeable of all wrestling holds but he is also very witty.

How about this one for ya though:

Arn Anderson

Horsemen and the guy is notorious for having cat like reflexes when it comes to wit.

Or....

Jimmy Hart

Another guy who could serve as a temporary as he is also very skilled with speaking and wouldn't fumble around at the announce booth.

 

[Ding_Dong_#2]

I would love to see Steven Regal - he is astute, intelligent and hilarious but not quite suited to RAW I think. You need someone who is a loud, strong character - Heyman is a very good call indeed. My ultimate short-term fix would be Jessie "The Body" Ventura.

Jerry is 63 years old and probably one of the most athletic 60+ wrestlers I have ever seen, save possibly Jimmy Snuka - who else can throw a drop kick at that age. He has had an incredibly proud career and can still do it - if he retires from the ring now, he will have done so as near to the top as possible, and not many with long careers can say that.

He's looked after himself very well and has been straight-edge all the way through but no-one is superhuman - all the travel, indies and committments from someone who never really has to work again but wants to because he loves this business. But everyone has a stopping point and Jerry needs to take a well earned, maybe permanent rest. Health is Wealth as they say...

 

[Meatsim009]

Plenty of options there. I think Miz would be good, but he's still an active wrestler. If it was 10 years down the track for him, then maybe he could do it full-time. Heyman - seems like the stars are aligned, if he wants to do it. Depends on if there was any heat between him and The King. I can see this easily turning real life into storyline - CMPunk causes Lawler to have a heart attack, bla bla bla...

Hey, remember how VKM made fun of JR's bell palsey and colonoscopy? You don't think...?

 

[Ethelion]

Who will/can replace The King?

Jim Ross
Matt Striker
Josh Matthews
The Miz
Joey Styles
etc.

Let's dissect the names that you threw at the table (get it, table?):

Jim Ross: Ross already said it himself, he's "happy with where he is right now" in the WWE. He COULD replace King, since Cole barely does play-by-play anyway and may be better off doing color commentating, but WON'T.

Matt Striker: Based on his commentary during ECW, I'd say that Striker's a great play-by-play commentator. He could replace King and do play-by-play while Cole does color commentating, but I don't think they're gonna go with him.

The Miz: The Miz has proven me right that he can be an AWESOME color commentator, but I prefer him calling the wrestlers' moves since he's a wrestler himself. He could even do commentating when his career ends if he wants to. He DEFINITELY CAN'T replace King since he's still wrestling and he definitely won't. And like what Jerichoholic8894 has said in his post in The Miz as a Commentator Thread:

I don't want him going on commentary full time until he's finished wrestling because I enjoy his ring work too much.

Joey Styles: I'm not familiar with Joey's commentating skills, so he doesn't apply to me.

Now for names that you didn't throw at the table:

William Regal: Regal is a WAY better play-by-play commentator than Cole. His calls on wrestling moves have been perfect - based on what I've been hearing from him. He could also replace King and replace Cole's play-by-play while the latter does color commentating, but he also won't.

JBL: JBL and Cole had a great chemistry when the former replaced Tazz, so I don't see why the former can't replace King. It would be nice to see their roles reversed, with JBL doing play-by-play and Cole doing color commentating. And although his allegiance is with the WWE, JBL's currently his own man right now - meaning that he'll be WWE's special guest at best.

With all of these being said, the only known person who WOULD replace King is Josh Matthews. Hell, Josh has been taking over King whenever the latter's not around, even at PPVs, which implies that the WWE has faith enough for Josh to hang around with the main commentating team. I'm not saying that I enjoy Josh's commentating skills though. In all fairness, he just sounds too much like his mentor, Michael Cole himself: Bland.

Jim Ross and Joey Styles are 'play-by-play', just like Michael Cole.

Again, Michael Cole barely does play-by-play these days. Does a play-by-play commentator say "vintage" or "off the skull"? For shame Michael, for shame.

 

[Greydon]

Honestly, I can see the WWE using Punk or Heyman in the fill in role. Why? To build the storyline. Granted it would be inconsiderate, but the WWE will want to further their stories. So it is possible one of these two will fill in.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

It's too bad that the best option just went to tour with his rock band.

For right now, while we wait to see if Jerry wants to/can come back, I would go with a "Special Guest Commentator" to wait out whether or not Jerry will be back. Pick a legend to fill in each week, a different one. Sure we'll get some lame-asses like Kevin Nash, but we could also get some really cool cats too.

Or they could get Michael PS Hayes to do it. That would own. Regal too.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I am personally pretty appalled that this kind of stuff is being talked about this soon, the guy is not out of the woods!!! If this was your family member or friend and people were talking about his replacement before they even knew he was properly ok you'd be annoyed to say the least!

"too bad the Brain isn't in any capacity..." too bad your feelings aren't in any capacity!

Sure "the show must go on" but come on, it's also 9/11... some respect should be shown, these discussions can wait till we at least know Jerry is going to pull through... and if this is "spamming" then too bad!

 

[The Jeff]

what does 9/11 have to do with anything? Keep that shit out of a wrestling forum. Anyways, King should be replaced by JBL. When he and Cole were on SD, SD was enjoyable

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It means it's not a day for trolling for the sake of it or disrespecting other people. Sure it's your "right of free speech", but it's mine to say that you're out of order for doing it on ANY forum today, wrestling related or otherwise.

I get that people will talk about it, but my point is show a little decorum till the guy is at least out of surgery and we know a little more that he will pull through, to wait a day wouldn't hurt anyone. 9/11 might not mean the same to you as it does to many people, but most people would not tolerate trolling of any form today, without this happening and the seeming "grave dancing" that a lot of people are doing.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

JBL probably would be my best pick, but he's busy right now trying to climb the world's tallest mountains. So I don't know if he's available to call Raw every week.

I think Gertner or Cyrus from the old ECW would be great on colour commentary. I really don't know how well they'd be at the PG rating, but I think they'd be great. Especially Gertner, he's hilarious. Also, the fatman himself Dusty Rhodes would be great on a temporary basis if King could ever make a return to the announcing table.

 

[MWRedskins]

if King is out for a long period of time (which i think he could), then they likely go Josh Matthews, BUT if it were me, i move up Regal. i know many will want JBL, but i rather JBL be the next GM of RAW. what i would like to see is AJ as GM quit to go back to being an active wrestler, then have JBL take over. as for commentator. just until he's healthy, let Regal who's actually underrated announce. i like how he's done his job on NXT, BUT with that said, they likely go to Matthews who's usually replaced King when he's been kayfabe hurt anyways. and good luck to King.

 

[Ethelion]

What does 9/11 have to do with anything? Keep that sh*t out of a wrestling forum.

In THTRobtaylor's defense, he WAS emphasizing to respect Jerry "The King" Lawler since we ARE discussing who would/could replace him behind his back - and I'm one of the guys who gave my opinion on this said discussion. You ARE out of order for doing it on any forum today. WE ALL ARE.

Anyway THTRobtaylor, what you've said really made me feel bad about my previous post. I'm man enough to say in this forum that I'm not being sensitive enough with this issue. At the very least, I could've said it all in a "What If" Scenario. While I literally can't take back what I've posted prior to this, I WILL say that I'll be praying for Jerry's quick recovery. He was definitely the best color commentator that I've ever heard in my entire life and I was wrong in giving my opinions on who'll be replacing him.

Get well soon, Jerry.

I'll be making it an effort not to comment about this issue any longer out of respect for The King.

 

[LynchCats]

I am personally pretty appalled that this kind of stuff is being talked about this soon, the guy is not out of the woods!!! If this was your family member or friend and people were talking about his replacement before they even knew he was properly ok you'd be annoyed to say the least!

"too bad the Brain isn't in any capacity..." too bad your feelings aren't in any capacity!

Sure "the show must go on" but come on, it's also 9/11... some respect should be shown, these discussions can wait till we at least know Jerry is going to pull through... and if this is "spamming" then too bad!

Shut up. This is all speculative banter amongst fans, which we ALL know Lawler isn't going to be around RAW for a while so this IS a very relevant topic to be discussing. And there is absolutely NO reason to be throwing 9/11 into the discussion.

Now to the topic at hand. While the options that have been thrown out there are good ones (especially JBL - He was gold when he was paired with Cole), how about a name that no one has mentioned yet - Road Dogg Jesse James? He does well with his "Are You Serious" series on Youtube, and he was one of the best talkers during the Attitude Era when he was with DX. And could you imagine the back and forth that he would have with Cole?

 

[mesl]

Given the situation surrounding the vacancy I cannot see the WWE to turning it into an exciting or memorable 'wow' moment.. So no JBL, no Punk, no Heyman etc.

The most obvious answer for the next RAW is Jim Ross. He can call it straight down the line, you know he's worked with King before, he's worked on RAW before. Bell to bell, no gimic or storyline required to give him the roll.

The second option is Vince McMahon himself. Make it more of a tribute to King, keeping it simple they would have Vince play an old school play by play roll with Michael Cole. Then once everyone gets back into a rythm they could start to work in an angle with Vince & Heyman etc. to move Vince out of the roll.

Third option is to just have Josh Matthews and The Miz join the team. Have Miz be a neutral persona color commentator then let Josh Matthews and Cole be the two butting heads occasionally.

This all being said.. This horrible situation does show the value of Michael Cole to RAW, love or hate him. He is RAW and hopefully he himself is capable of going ahead in the same manor without Jerry The King sitting next to him..

 

[donfryeismyhero]

JBL

JBL did a great job with Michael Cole during 2006-2007 when he was the commentator of Smackdown.

It would be great to have him back as a heel commentator.

JBL is the correct answer. He was great when he had the job during that period. I doubt WWE will be having Cole play the heel play by play man now so bring back JBL & have him do his thang.

 

[Pedigree1]

First and foremost god speed Jerry Lawler! He should call it a career as of right now! I read reports he was what clinically dead for 20 minutes that to me means he suffered a major heartattack.

As far as who replaces him taht choice to me is an obvious one! JBL! JBL is a terrific color commentator IMO. He can engage,knows the wrestling scene very well,and will bring out the A game in michael Cole every time! Jerry Lawler needs to retire asap for his health he almost fucking died on tv last night!

 

[IT Factor]

I'm thinking that Jim Ross will return to replace Lawler simply because of the nostalgic factor. He was Lawler's closest friend and it would make sense to bring someone who has some connection with The King to fill his shoes. If that happens, it may mean the end of Michael Cole's RAW announcing career. Which I'm not opposed to, btw. It'd be nice to have JR/King on RAW again and Cole/JBL on Smackdown. The banter between King & JR was much better than King/Cole and JBL/Cole had more chemistry as well. At least JBL attempted witty and sarcastic comebacks with Cole instead of remaining silent and not answering. Both of those changes would be win-win for the WWE universe.