WWE commentators ... not what they used to be

[wrestlingfan2]

I've been used to great and at least decent announcers for WWE programming. The announce team of Lawler and Cole is fine with me. Micheal Cole in my opinion was better on Smackdown because they can edit some of his commentary but it's MUCH better than the team of Grisham and Striker. Don't get me wrong, Matt Striker is great color guy but Todd Grisham is awful play by play guy. He should be kept backstage where he belongs. In saying this, Todd Grisham is the only announcer they have. They have no other alternatives. I'm not even going to talk about the ECW team. No need too.

So what should the WWE do? Hopefully Jim Ross can come back sooner than later and restore some respect to the announce teams. Obviously, he won't be there forever and for that matter too many more years. Maybe they'll get lucky and find someone who is more talented than Grisham and Matthews. God knows they can't do any worse.

Don't you miss the good ole days of Monsoon, Heenan, Ventura, and even McMahon? WWE is going through change both from a wrestler and announcer standpoint. Let's hope both get better sooner rather than later.

 

[Schizophrenic]

I miss the days of Monsoon & Heenan. Best team ever. I honestly think RAW's commentary is one of the reasons I am so bored with the show. These guys are supposed to be professionals and you have one coming off sounding like a wannabe teenager (Lawler) and a guy who makes the dumbest mistakes in Cole. Who can forget the "Vintage Bragging Rights!" line at the FIRST TIME EVER PPV! That's not the first and it wont be the last. Hell this site every week puts up a post of another mistkae that Cole made that week. SmackDowns commentary may even be worse. Striker is good and will get better but Im confused as if he's trying to be a face or a heel commentator. Grisham needs to go away. ECW has, in my mind, the best team of them all. most people dont watch so they dont hear them but Saxton and Mathews play off each other very well. Mathews sounds like a fan (which is a nice change to the guy sounding like they know everything and make stupid mistakes) and Saxton who comes off as an arogant little prick but does it well.

 

[thepalaceprince]

Honestly after hearing christian just kill matthews and saxton a couple of weeks ago on ecw hes got my vote he can take ovr the anouncers chair at any time I wont complain. Id like to see them bring jbl back another guy I think has a future as a commentator is jericho whenever he decides to retire Im sure he could find his way on to raw as a commentator which would be great because you can never have enough jericho

 

[jstroud14]

i am liking king and cole better..anyone else notice king had some very "heel-ish" comments last week??? if they can "turn" him heel, that would be a great improvement! not a fan of grisham, but he is on the C show afterall...striker is ok with me, just needs to tone down some of the 10 dollar words he tries to use wayyyyy too much!

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Personally, I miss "Monsoon/Heenan or Monsoon/Jesse Ventura". Let me explain. I like the heel/face commentators and how they interact with witty dialog. Having 2 face commentators gives no banter; no discussion; and no character build up that the stars could use. Cole and Lawler are getting there as a team...but you have to admit when Lawler was a heel commentator and JR was face, that's what brought the chemistry; that's what brought audience investment with the announcers. WWE has been lacking this and as thepalaceprince just mentioned how Christian stole the show on ECW, it was because he had charisma...attitude. That's what's lacking and needs to be addressed.

 

[SHAYAN_CENA_Y2J]

I really missed JBL.He was a great heel commentator.I can recall No Way Out 2007 where Cole lost his vice and JBL handled Main Event very well.I think he shouldn't return to wrestling and stay as a ring announcer.

Taz was also a huge one that I'm so happy now he is in TNA helping Tenay crap.

But I have recently find sth about WWE announcers.It's something wrong with them.Specially with the ones at RAW.They have lack of energy.Lawler is no more what he was.I think Lawler is uncomfortable working with Cole.

They are making horrible mistakes.Lawler Said Randy Savage instead of Orton some weeks ago.Needless to mention countless Cole's mistakes.

So what do you think guys?Do you see sth strange in Raw announce team?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I tend to like to like Monsoon/Ventura more than Monsoon/Heenan because Ventura was just so great at being a heel commentator, and he just had perfect chemistry with Monsoon.Anyway, I really don't care for much of WWE's announce teams now a days. I absolutely can't stand Todd Grisham. He sounds very awkward, and rigid. Also, when he tries to bring some excitement to the table(like in the TLC match between Hardy and Punk) it just comes off very bad. I think he works well with Matt Striker, but I also think that has a lot to do with Striker because he's so good at commentating. He has great voice,and a very nice flow to his speech. He also is able to throw in some good punchlines and analogies every now and then.

Lawler and Cole just don't do it for me. King is really just boring now. He doesn't have that excitement and passion he used to have during the attitude era, and to a certain extent after it ended. Also, a lot of what he says has been restricted due to the PG era. Cole is just bad."Vintage" has been said so many times now. It's not anything special like a catch phrase or something he made up, it's just another word.

 

[Guyzwitgunz]

Well the only current commentator that doesn't belong is Todd Grisham. he just doesn't suit announcing and did a much better job interviewing backstage.
On Raw Cole and Lawler are getting better together but a heel turn for Lawler would be good for the chemistry of that team and make them less dull. I wouldn't call Cole a 'crappy' announcer, I mean he has been announcing for over 10 years but he needs to stop making his announcing sound so scripted and needs to modify his words a bit and put in a lot more emphasis into his announcing an maybe have some more arguments with Jerry.
The ECW team actually work well together considering they only joined forces not so long ago. Josh Matthews actually works well with whoever he hes been with and Byron Saxton is the perfect match to team with him. As Schizophrenic said Matthews sounds like a fan and goes perfectly with the arrogant Saxton who should transition into a full heel. They both have highly impressed me seeing as the have both been on the main roster for less than a year.
SmackDown at the moment I have to say would be the worst. As I said before Grisham doesn't belong in announcing and should go back to being the main interviewer as he did a better job of that than Matthews does. The team of Striker/Grisham can work well sometimes when Striker is being arrogant but I still don't know whether Striker is a face or a heel but he should transition into a full heel.
So when JR returns he should just return to SmackDown and team with a heel Striker as JR works well with heel color guys as seen in Lawler. The other two teams should stay together and continue to develop but Lawler really needs to turn heel to get that team going. However if JR insists on going to Raw then i guess they'll put the 'band' back together and Cole could return to SmackDown to work with Striker but they should just keep ECW and Raw as is.

By the way I do actually see Jericho becoming a color commentator when he retires and he'd probably do a hell of a great job at it.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I think there are several problems with WWE commentators today.

Play-by-Play Guys: Zero intensity. Cole has got to be the least interesting, and more importantly, the least entertaining play by play guy I have ever seen on a WWF/WWE show. The man has zero energy, and takes energy away from matches. Other guys who have sat in his seat (Monsoon, Shiavone, McMahon, Jim Ross) added so much energy to the matches they called. While those guys all made mistakes, they were very good at covering them up and moving on from those mistakes. Michael Cole is a lazy, lazy commentator, plain and simple. The play by play guys on Smackdown and ECW are better, but are not on the level of any of the guys mentioned before. Come on guys, get exciting, turn it up a notch. Stop being so boring, you take away from matches.

Color Commentators: First and foremost, Jim Ross is a play by play guy, and should never have been forced into a stupid color role, terrible idea whoever thought that up. Way to take away your best play by play guy, maybe the best of all time. I agree that without a heel you lose so much of the entertainment aspect. It seems like all three shows have a total of six play by play guys, and no real opinion type commentators (Striker sucks; stop talking about yourself, Matt). I agree they need to try and bring back JBL. He was great as a heel commentator, and having a heel commentator brings so much more excitement to matches, and adds to storylines and feuds as well. I would really love to see William Regal as a color guy someday (might as well be now, seeing they are not using him well anyhow over on ECW). He is dynamite on the mic and would give you that evil, entertaining presence they are lacking. Lawler CAN be good, if he can go back to his heel ways. He was hilarious in the late 90's.

The commentary is horrible at this point in time, and adds nothing positive to the show. As a matter of fact, I think, currently, it is taking away from the show because of how bad it is compared to how great it USED to be.

 

[arun_is_wrestling]

Here is what i think should happen. Bring back J.r on raw. Having to hear j.r saying "Welcome to monday night raw!" would kick off the show in a classic way. They have awesome chemistry and raw would be a little better. Smackdown: Keep Striker - he is great as a commentator. Its like he knows his stuff and he has a lil attitude to him. He has awesome reactions to moves e.g hbk sweet chin music to mysterio on this week's smackdown. For todd grisham - i dnt know. either keep him or replace him with michael cole. i duno who is worse. Todd says some silly lines. cole is a douche. Ecw is preet good. So smackdown and ecw have the best team. raw is ok, as i know there is a lot of pressure on live tv

 

[SickJames]

I like the idea of Jesse Ventura and McMahon on Raw permanently, but since that wont happen a dream for me would be

Jim Ross and King back on Raw because it works, but they need to do it with King as a heel like in the Attitude Era and let the man say "Puppies" again, damn.

Michael Cole is Smackdown's best commentator he should go back and really I'd have Stephanie be color commentator (if she doesnt GM for a show again, that's just cause I love Steph and want her back on my TV screen. I mean she should be back on WWE period and we havent really seen her go at the commentator table other than a guest watching a single match, worth a try) JBL wont come back [I know Shane's gone, but I'd enjoy seeing more of he & Steph on WWE, hopefully Shane comes back in the next 6 years]

ECW- Why not have Tommy Dreamer as the color commentator and for Play by Play bring back Joey Styles, but if they cant do that then go with Grisham, Striker & Tommy



just my opinion for saving it

 

[InterestingDrug]

Jesse Ventura is the best color guy in wrestling ever. Every match regardless of how great or poor, Jesse made it exciting and funny. His heel persona was the first of it's kind in a broadcast booth. Nobody ever rooted for the heel, but Jesse did. It was something different. When he first started, he was on the B shows with Monsoon, but Jesse was so good, they elevated him to the Superstars show with McMahon. McMahon knew Jesse could elevate his play by play and it did. Even when he came back to guest host a couple months ago, the main event was the best called show by a color guy in a long long time. Bring back Jesse!! Pay him truckloads.

 

[Travaje]

I just think it's a different time. The wrestlers spend so much time talking nowadays that I think it's kind of diminished the role of the broadcast teams need to entertain.

I miss guys like Joey Styles and his "OMG" calls and Jim Ross and his "he's been broken in half" calls, but how many of those moments are there these days?

I agree though that they can drag down a show....my solution...instead of finding better guys, just have them talk less.

 

[Thorion]

The commentators are not the worst ever. Now I remember hearing a match being called by Lord Alfred Hayes and Tony Schiavone. Now that is what I call bad. The current group of guys do need some work though.

I miss the days of Monsoon/Ventura, Monsoon/Heenan, and McMahon/Ventura. Those are the ones I grew up with and the only ones that make a run with them are the early Ross/Lawler.

I think a great team that you will never see would have been Ross/Ventura. Ventura always made anyone he worked with better and the arguments during the matches would be priceless.

 

[Stuntz]

If Vince stayed the hell out of their ears and let them be themselves then there wouldn't be a problem like there is. Back in the old days they called it how they saw it. And if you look back they didnt wear them god-aweful headsets, which is a tell-tale sign someone is telling them what to say. Let them call the match how they see it at that time. It shows more emotion and reality, which will bring more to the show. Yet another reason the old days are better than today.

 

[Guilty]

J.R and King should be back on RAW. To me they are the voices of RAW. I cant stand Cole at all. On any show hes hot garbage. BUT..hes not going to be released. So him and Striker on SD would work. I like Matthews and Saxton on ECW. ECW is the place for young talent to develop. Young announcers works, too. Been pleasantly surprised with their work.

 

[avi01]

I agree, commentators are boring and over dramatic now. Michael Cole-King make a horrible duo...king used to be one of the best ever but now,I don`t think he is anything special. Being face doesn`t mean you have to be so dull. I like Cole-Tazz on Smack Down but he Cole is just out of place. I mean just take Bret Hart`s return for example, just image how much more intense this would have been with ol JR and ol King.

I understand Vince commentators to be more like analysts and less WWE characters,well he is wrong, commentators used to bring a lot to the shows.

 

[cm ben]

Ugh, the announcing teams company-wide are cringe-worthy now--I feel awkward watching, because I feel like the announcers are struggling so hard. And frankly, I'm surprised that the ECW announcers are so well-regarded on these forums... to me, Striker just sounds like a smarmy middle-schooler desperately trying to come up with something contrary to say all the time.

For the biggest wrestling company in the world, it seems like finding a few decent announcers shouldn't be a hard thing to do... pick up some announcer from the NBA and teach them some wrestling vocabs. Do something. It's so bad right now!

 

[Tastycles]

It's not about heels and faces in commentary its about chemistry. If it was down to how heelish the color commentator could be, then Jonathon Coachman would be perceived as the greatest commentator of all time, but he isn't, nor should he be. I do believe that the WWE has shit commentary now, but I think that much of that is to do with the teams having an utter lack of chemistry rather than the announcers themselves.

Michael Cole is a lot worse on live television, and he should probably head back to Smackdown, and Todd Grisham needs to have a heel partner, because he's too much of a pussy not to, basically, but other than that, it is more to do with finding a balance than with making people officially heel and face.

As for the cliches and mistakes, there is absolutely no worse for that than JR, but he is revered because the rest of his performance is believable, and he always strikes a rapport with whoever he is in the booth with. Gorilla Monsoon was a fucking attrocious commentator, but he had, in Ventura and Heenan the two best colour commentators ever. This chemistry is what needs to be found, and I would argue that Cole and Striker are probably likely to be able to find this. Grisham needs someone to bully him, and I'd say Regal is the best man for that, as he must be looking at retirement now anyway. JR and King are old, and stale as they might be, they're probably better than any of the current duos. The only thing is finding someone to become the next lead commentator, because right now, I'm not seeing that potential in anyone.

 

[GetsHeat]

Really the biggest problem is that Raw has two face announcers and it's not fun.. especially when one of them is King who can be a great weasel heel announcer. When King is on his game he can elevate a heel. During the Rock's heel reign in 2003 he absolutely elevated him, some of the comments he made about it.. he even repeated or reemphasized what was important in the promo to stick it in the audiences mind and more importantly it was just hilarious. The Rock was finished with his promo and told everyone to "back up" because he was about to "If Ya smell" and King goes "Back up JR, Back up"!

Speaking of which, announcers don't talk during most promos now.. and part of me thinks it's because they are more scripted and have less pauses in them for crowd reaction... but I'm not really sure.

 

[rko102]

My favorite announce teams were always J.R. and The King on RAW, Michael cole & JBL on Smackdown, and Taz and Joey Styles on ECW. When they reversed Cole and JR at the Draft in '08 I was super pissed and I don't think RAW has ever been the same since. Half of the reason I loved that show so much was because of how well JR and King worked together, and Michael Cole is absolutely the worst substitute as the main commentator on RAW. He's extremely repetitive, he makes dumb mistakes and his 'you are watching the longest weekly episodic television show in history, this is Monday night raw' line is getting so old. i don't know what Vince was thinking when he started fucking with the announce teams, but things definitely need to change. Todd Grisham and Josh Matthews should stick to interviewing guys backstage, and Michael Cole needs to go back to smackdown. Thats it thats all.

 

[MrPerfect316]

I miss the old days of commentary like you wouldnt believe. Ive always wanted Vince to go back to it for years, im so tired of his run...i just loved Vinny so much doing commentary.

But yea, Monsoon, Heenan and Ventura....3 voices that are etched into my mind forever, their word usage, excitement...was all priceless. Even JR i miss alot too.

I also miss the days of how they kinda had heel/face commentary, that all seems to be pretty long gone as well.

 

[supaman5279]

after watching the terrible announcing at the royal rumble i have to agree. idk if that was supposed to be their all star team of what but they just completely destroyed the orton/sheamus match. im not saying that the match was 5 star quality, but the job they did most of the night really didnt do any of the matches justice. i honestly think that they should let injured guys do it like how they let hbk do it while he was hurt.

raw's team is alright. king goes back and forth between being a face announcer and cracking mvp jokes. but i think everybody else is too inexperienced to commentate on raw which is why they stuck him with michael cole.

i really dont like matt stryker. he talks way too much and half of the things he says is either irrelevant, makes no sense, or not even true at all. todd grisham was better off when the rock used to make jokes at him. i understand jr is still sick and taz wants to "cross the line" but they really couldve chose someone else. send stryker back to ecw and give grisham josh mathews.....didnt they always do velocity together....

no comment for ecw....or wwe nxt....

 

[proofinlife]

Oh, it's no doubt Announce teams aren't what they used to be. The best team of all time (imo), Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan, second to them Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura, showed EXACTLY what it is to be the best of the best behind the commentator's table.

The problem with today's announcers is they don't have enough banter between one another. Some people see it as taking away from the match at hand, I see it as adding a great deal of color to needed rest breaks in a long match.

Guys like Cole, Striker, Mathews, and that other dude on ECW (sorry, don't watch ECW because of my satellite provider not having SyFy) still have a fair ways to go. Cole, not so much, in the last 5 years he's really learned, and sure he isn't any J.R., but he still does his job just fine.

Striker is still a little green behind the headsets, but I personally find him entertaining to listen to when I have the chance to listen to him during a PPV or when he's called in to replace a beaten down Jerry Lawler. He does a good job with his bantering, and I'd like to personally see a Cole/Striker team down the line.

But, like I said, there aren't any Gorilla Monsoon's, that's for sure, and until they learn to cross that fine line between ring action and banter, they just won't have that same pizazz Heenan or Monsoon could do for us the way they did.

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

Theres no doubt that the present day announce teams aren't up to past standards. In fact I find the current announce teams flat out mediocre and simply not up the job. There are currently six announcers and quite frankly only three are anywhere near good enough and two of those are being used incorrectly. Matt Striker is the only announcer I really like at the moment and even he gets on my nerves from time to time when he overdoes the school teacher gimmick. However, he is a heel commentator and he does it well so he's fine in my book. I don't like Cole but I could tollerate him on Smackdown. I'm a fan of King but think his recent work has been pretty bad. Grisham, Matthews and Saxton just aren't good enough.

Like many others some of my favourite announce teams are Monsoon/Heenan, Monsoon/Ventura and Jr/Heel King. Although I wasn't a fan in times of Monsoon, Heenan and Ventura, I've watched many hours of old footage since I became a fan and one of the highlights of watching that footage is the great commentary. Why is it so great? Well partly because they are all talented but mostly because of the face/heel dynamic.

So, here's what I suggest after JR gets better. The classic announce team of JR and heel King on RAW. JR is so much better as play by play and I feel King would vastly improve by turning heel. Move Cole over to Smackdown and pay what you have to to bring back JBL. Thats a good partnership right there. Finally move Striker over to ECW or NXT or whatever its going to be called. I'm not sure who should do play by play on that show. Maybe they should look for some new blood as that would be the theme of NXT anyway.