A Great Debut...Ruined By Awful Commentary.

[thesacredcow]

Ok so from reading other posts everyone seems in agreeance that the Uso's (or whateverthey're gonna be called now) debut was pretty impressive, great way to make an impact. Like most of you, I marked out when I sw it, initially at least. I kinda felt it was ruined by The King and Cole's commentary on it, in that they didn't say shit about it. In case you didn't see it here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ8NybUagQ8

Now this is just terrible announcing as far as I'm concerned and I was genuinely pissed off and frustrated at it. There's about 15 seconds of silence before Jerry Lawler asks 'whats this?' in fairly muted tones. Now I know this is the new style of announcing that WWE are going for, but it is fucking ******ed. Their job as announcers is to sell the drama and action in the ring, to help tell the story, and this sort of shit takes away from it. Surely the natural reaction to witnessing an attack like this is surprise and shock, and a loud, vocal reaction. In what way did they help build this debut? Especially seeing as how they seemed to forget about it 30 seconds after it happened.

So does anyone else hate this new muted announcing in WWE or am I alone?

 

[Via Armbar]

Great debut? It was an average, normal debut. There was absolutely nothing special about the debut. It's the same way countless of tag teams and singles wrestlers have debuted in the past. They run in, beat up the faces and look vicious and impressive. It was a successful debut I suppose but nothing more. What were the commentators supposed to say? They were confused as to who in the hell those guys were. They know nothing so that's about as far as the comments can go.

 

[steveh0481]

I couldnt be more in agreement with you on this. The King has definitely lost his touch on announcing and should know how to plug new superstars. Cole never had any clue on announcing so its no surprise he acted like a moron as usual. These guys were buried pretty much immediately. If the announcers are just going to sit there like idiots and not plug the new talent, we may as well not have announcing. King and Cole are pretty much useless these days though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I wouldn't say that the debut was ruined, but the announcing on Raw has been terrible for quite some time. I've gotten so used to hearing Lawler and Cole do such a shit job for so long that I've learned to pretty much tune them out when I want or need to.

They certainly didn't do the team any favors last night, that's for damned sure. And no, you're not the only one that hates what's happening on Raw. I actually don't mind Matt Striker and Todd Grisham on Smackdown. They're not great, but they're head and shoulders above Cole and Lawler. Announcing in pro wrestling is quickly becoming a dying art, at leasts its becoming that way as I'm not wild about the announcers in WWE or TNA at this point.

 

[Jedbo75]

Gotta disagree. I'm by no means a Cole fan and the King needs JR to be any good, but still, I liked the segement. What the announcers did was a time honored tradition. They acted confused. They acted shocked. They acted like this was NOT part of the planned show. That gave this new team a renegade feel that made them much more interesting than if they'd debuted on Superstars. Then they'd be just a coupla' green Sim Snukas. Think back to Scott Hall's Nitro debut. It had an element of realism that is missing in today's product. I'm actually interested in these guys now, not to mention the Tag division!

 

[vampirek]

Wouldn't have been a great debut, but again if JR was in the chair. You would have some sort of excitement, concern etc going on. It's getting to the point where Todd Grisham is now the best announcer the WWE has (ok minus JR and Styles in that). King, Cole and Striker are awful. The last PPV, much like every PPV they've done is mainly joking about and not having a clue on what role they play (By that you know Heenan was the heel, Monsoon was the face).
I have no idea what Michael Cole is anymore, he's a face with heel moments and it doesn't work. King has nothing to play on because the role of Cole isn't sorted and Striker just needs to shut up and just do his job rather than having a three way conversation.

Whoever said, commentary is becoming a lost art. It is an lost art already. I don't entirely blame Cole, King, Striker for it either. More down to Vince and the creative team. Cole did not become bad overnight, the man needs a direction and not just repeating what Vince tells him too. At times you can tell all three no longer take the job seriously

 

[steveh0481]

Vampirek, you are correct about Vince and creative being behind part of the "suckage" of the announce group. I think that if they let the guys call the match and build up the segments at hand it would be a little better. However, half the time King and Cole are talking about something that happened earlier (1st hour was just about Batista leaving... who gives a damn and move on). It ruins the action that is happening when all the announcing is doing is saying "well, Batista quit earlier, can you believe that?" And... "the WWE is going to change with Bret Hart as GM. Cole, didnt you say he should hang them up last week?" Nothing like hearing crap like that when you are watching R-Truth vs. Miz for the US Title. Glad there is such a piss poor commentary team as well as creative team.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Truth be told, muted reactions can be just as powerful as loud vocal reactions. However, King and Cole really can't be blamed for this one as the appearance was a "surprise". The Uso boys/Snuka's daughter told the fans all that needed to be known by jumping the Dynasty.

Honestly many of the fans at home are SPOILED and it shows in the many posts I've seen saying that commentary ruins matches. I may have said a few times that Michael Cole is incompetent but I don't let his foul commentary take away from the action. In fact, I turn the TV on MUTE during matches to force myself to pay attention to the ACTION and not the VOICES. I challenge people to do the same. Go one episode of Raw or Smackdown with the sound muted except for promos and see if you can get a feel for the IN-RING story without distractions.

 

[JJohns]

This was, by far, not a great debut. Anyone that thinks otherwise needs to take a look at MNMs debut back in the day for a great debut. How the Uso's and Tamina debuted doesn't do them any good, as it just makes them look like punks that can only attack from behind, and makes the Hart Dynasty look weak for not being able to give a decent fight back.

As far as the commentary goes, who watches wrestling for the commentary? I don't. If I wanted good commentary, I would pull out old tapes of Gordon Solie or Joey Styles....before he became a WWE announcer.

 

[RockFan89]

What do you expect the announcers to do for a debut like this? They just popped out of nowhere and only a handful of wwe fans would know who these guys are.

Debuts and returns are made great by the fans not the announcers (except when JR goes Stone Cold! Stone Cold!). Huge pops are what we remember. (Although when Christian returned to the WWE, the announcers completely ruined it)

 

[thesacredcow]

My point is not about how great the debut was. Yeah I know it was fairly run of the mill, but I really felt that it could have been more impactful if the announcers had shown even the slightest bit of interest or enthuiasm for it. Imagine if you were sitting at that announce table when something like that happened. You'd want to convey shock at what's gone on, and create interest and intrigue. They seemed momentarily shocked and then moved on and forgot about it. You'd ask questions about these mystery attackers, try to build interest in what just happened.

At the end of the day, good storytelling is all about immersion and the suspension of disbelief. The announcers' reaction to this attack was so unnatural that my ability to suspend disbelief was undercut. Just bad storytelling in my opinion

 

[Sean Valjean]

It wasn't the best, though keep in mind that it was supposed to be a surprise; King and Cole, kayfabe, don't know who these guys are. So they were just like "huh, what the...!" and then in awe at the carnage they were witnessing.

They were just trying to figure out who they were and what was happening. Who knows, maybe they were trying to figure out if the Snuka girl was Jazz or not; I know I was at first. Of course, that if you choose to be optimistic about it, which I am.

Besides, I've seen worse. Remember the commentary for Christian's WWE return?

 

[stilltippin]

Michael cole has to be one of the most underated announcers period!..

I cant believe no one heard him on raw (probably two months ago now) but king was absent for this segment of the show for some reason(forgot what he did) and he was calling the action nicely!, move by move play by play! i was like what!?

and guys, the announcing crap that happend during this debut would have been exactly the same if Jr was in coles seat!,

I know cole isnt the best, but i think hes second to jr! hes better than king and taz, i would have to say todd grisham is 3rd as well..

but serioulsy if u guys have time try and find the clip of coles announcing from that night i was talking about, you will see what i mean. if he was a one on one announcer, he be perfect.

o another memory of coles being a good annoucers was at mania during the brock lesnar v kurt angle main event, yeah he was trying to copy of Jr with the deep scratch voice(maybe he actually had a scruffy voice from annoucing all night) but he did good!

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

I think the Usos and Tammia (sp?) are going to make an impact. They were impressive in FCW and they've been in developmental for some time now. This team has a chance to shine and become something special with what it looks like to be the revamping of the Tag Division. Tammia could be an asset to the women's/diva's division also. They are thin on women that can actually wrestle right now. Beth is out, Melina is out, Mickie got canned and Michelle McCool, Eve, Maryse and Layla can't carry these awful divisions.

As for the announcing... what do you expect? Cole AND Lawler are poor JRs. WWE either got rid of the great announcers or have gave them something else to do (JR, Taz, Joey Styles and JBL). Hell, at this point, I wouldn't mind seeing Vince back at the table.

 

[JoonDaGr8One]

The announce team didn't ruin it for me as much as the guy who slipped on the ropes, you only one chance to make a first impression. The crowd was laughing they were supposed to be in shocked or scared for the hart dynasty, to alot of kids that were i attendance wrestling probably got a little less real to them.

 

[brainsuks1234]

I agree i just thought that cole would be saying whats going on here but instead everyones quiet its boring we want excitment whats the point of announcers if they dont talk

 

[Lady Sheamus]

Wouldn't have been a great debut, but again if JR was in the chair. You would have some sort of excitement, concern etc going on. It's getting to the point where Todd Grisham is now the best announcer the WWE has (ok minus JR and Styles in that). King, Cole and Striker are awful. The last PPV, much like every PPV they've done is mainly joking about and not having a clue on what role they play (By that you know Heenan was the heel, Monsoon was the face).
I have no idea what Michael Cole is anymore, he's a face with heel moments and it doesn't work. King has nothing to play on because the role of Cole isn't sorted and Striker just needs to shut up and just do his job rather than having a three way conversation.

Whoever said, commentary is becoming a lost art. It is an lost art already. I don't entirely blame Cole, King, Striker for it either. More down to Vince and the creative team. Cole did not become bad overnight, the man needs a direction and not just repeating what Vince tells him too. At times you can tell all three no longer take the job seriously

I'm in full agreement with this. Beyond that, I don't mind Michael Cole - the reason why he's still sitting there is probably because he does what he's supposed to backstage. Striker, however, I cannot stand. I have to watch PPVs muted at times because of him. But I think they should get rid of all of them except Todd. The King no longer has the spark and his character is just all confused.

Thanks very much for the link. It was altogether boring, the match and the commentating. I really didn't like how they were perched on the ropes forever before they hit. But they looked good. Thank goodness for another tag team. I'd like to see from them.

 

[hardy8778]

Great really they just can't come and attack them they need some sorta platform to have a reason like when scsa attacked Vince all them years they also need to have a better story line so they can use that to there advantage.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yeh..absolutely correct...i only hear one say 'whats this'...even when they jamp off the turnbuckles, no reaction..nuthing..you can only hear the audience...i have to ask the question...What the fuks that all about??

They could have at least said something....even when MNM debuted on Smackdown!, the announcers where commenting on Melina's body..lol

 

[3/4 Facelock]

It was a surprise ambush. Nobody was "prepared" for it so what do you expect the King & Cole to say? Comment on their hair? They just saw a 3x top rope bigsplash with a chick doing one of the splashes.

It sounds like mob mentality here. One person says something absurd and then another meathead hears it, repeats it, and pretty soon absurd thinking and fantasies become the norm.

You know who the finger should be pointed at? Jerry Lawler. For reals. Mike Cole has got the chops needed to sit at that table. Yeah, Mike Cole. He can do commentary as good as, if not better, than any other good announcer out there. It's Lawler that is the weakness.

The only time he seems to know what the fuck he's there for is when the Divas come out. He's a creepy uncle type. He sits there cracking shitty jokes. "PUPPIES!!! PUPPIES!!!" Please, I'd rather hear "VINTAGE!!!" every 10 minutes than hear Lawler doing D+ color commentary.

Whether you like it or not, Cole has become the most interesting announcer/character in the business right now. You hate Cole? Good. That means he's doing his job correctly.

So I guess what I am trying to say is nothing was ruined because of the commentary on the new tag team. It was "shock" and "disbelief" and a lot of dropped mouths at a new intimidating team.

Michale Cole. FTW. FYL.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I completely disagree, on both accounts.

• 1. This wasn't a great debut. It was a mediocre debut at best. They just kind of ran in and beat people up.

• 2. What do you expect them to say? Kayfabe, the announcers didn't know who these people were. Did you expect them to have a full biography on people they think just ran in from the crowd?

If anything, this was relatively GOOD announcing. It added to the mystery.

 

[maar130]

Well yes, I don't care that much about commentary, JR was great but truth be told, I have never watched a wrestling show for who is in the boot.

The debut was fine and all we needed was to see that, besides this is the way they are going for commentary these days, So the action in the ring is always the center stage.

 

[future admin]

yeah, it wasnt a great debut and the Commentators aren't going to mark out for a debut tag team, attacking the hart dynasty. and also, with them saying "what's this" generally means that they don't actually know what it is, so they wait, and talk about it after it happened. It is for the crowd to go cry about it, not the commentators.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

It was a surprise ambush. Nobody was "prepared" for it so what do you expect the King & Cole to say?

I'm not picking on you specifically Facelock, because loads of people have said the same thing, but yours was just the closest to quote.

Anyway..... what would i want them to say?

Something along the lines of 'Who are these guys? Why are they attacking the Hart Dynasty? Where the hell are security? We need some help out here. Our tag champions are being attacked!!!! No, don't do that! No! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! There's no need for this.....

and then when they've finished, they could say:

"I don't know who these three are, but they've certainly made an impact, and i guess we'll have to wait and see how the Hart Dynsaty respond to this horrific and cowardly attack from these three individuals...."

Ya know, like JR used to do? See how i've managed to come up with 20 seconds worth of dialogue without actaully saying anything about the debuting tag team, all I've done is hype the surprise factor, the fact that they are heels, whilst trying to maintain the audiences interest through this worn out, over-used method of debuting new wrestlers, and tried to keep their interest long enough that they'll actually care enough to watch Raw next week to find out who these guys are.

If the announcers don't seem to care, why would the audience?

You say it's sufficient for them to simply act surprised? They've both been in the wrestling business for over 10 years, they should recognise when new guys are making a name for themselves by doing a run in, especially Lawler as he's been both the perpertrator and victim of such run ins.

 

[M-Rey845]

i'm really linkin the oso's, the new tag team on raw

first off they look like a great tag team together, second they r getting good heel heat being that this is barely their second week, third i like the tag team samoan drop combo, fourth they got really good mic skills as far as i can tell, and finally i can picture them as multiple tag team champions, i can also picture them having great single careers but thats hopefully far down mab a year or 2 away so they can establish themselves first

also im hoping next week that the rock will have a promo with them being that its in miami and they r related