A new Raw announce team

[Mr. Artistic guy]

It is my opinion, and I'm sure many share it, that 'the king' jerry lawler has been as good as useless as an announcer in WWE for some time now, amplified even more greatly since he stopped being heel. He has very little to add to a now vastly superior michael cole (never thought we'd see that eh?) and is pretty much limited to a position of ommitting short funny phrases with little relevance. If I'm perfectly honest, he never matched up to his old partner J.R. and certainly was never close as a heel commentator and being a funny guy as bobby heenan.

Now I've just been watching smackdown and as you will have noticed the commentators now consist of now michael cole, matt striker and todd grisham. And it is so obvious to me the chemistry there is between cole and striker that this really had to be brought up. They bounce off each other so well that it has even raised todd's game up, a little. In short smackdown is far better to LISTEN to than raw now at least.

So as a big company you would think that on their 'A' show they would try to have the best combination of announcers they can. Putting two and two together and hopefully making four this should mean that a combination of at least cole and striker, or even better (because both cole and striker have heel tendancies) striker, cole and grisham should call raw instead. This would mean king is demoted to smackdown or retires, you have to acknowledge when someone is no longer good enough to do their job hence why WWE has a pretty good record of releasing guys like flair and hbk and others when the time is right and I'm sure they'll be leaning towards pushing taker out as soon as he complies. And this pattern should not be exempt from applying to the non-wrestling staff. Jerry lawler is no longer worthy of calling the flagship show, and thats not disrespecting him but just being honest and looking out for business, which is what its all about.

So I'm just interested to see if you people agree about they success of smackdown's announce team and who you think could come in to fill the void if those guys transitioned to Raw.

 

[Pepperami]

Lawler has been a bore for the past couple of years and it's no surprise really. He was great in his hay-day as a heel. He and JR had a chemistry that is unmatched and it's difficult to recreate that.
The Smackdown announce team has been marginally better than Raw, but I wouldn't say it's any good. It's overkill having 3 announcers, 2 who don't shut up and one who you barely notice. Striker and Cole are doing great together and I would like to see them call together without the inadequate Grisham. On Raw? Maybe.

A few weeks ago we got a slight taste of CM Punk at the announce desk and I thought he filled a certain gap that was missing. He has a voice that would fit well on a Monday Night, and I'd personally like to see him call Raw for a few weeks with a face Cole, but I am rather attached to Cole's heel role at the moment.

 

[BREAKitDxOWN]

yeah, i gotta agree that Cole and Stryker would be the best announce team wwe could throw together at the moment. Cole can be a pretty good asshole when he wants to be and Stryker is surprisingly very knowledgeable. anybody else catch CM Punk on commentary asking King "whats this move called? Whats this one?" to which king really could never answer. haha, i thought that to be pretty funny. I kind of wish punk could be out there full time.

 

[tna38]

are you kidding me cole is horrible and annoying to listen to the way he comes off with miz is like a love fest half the time i trn volume down so i dont listen to cole wwe raw team should be lawler stryker because stryker can be a sorta heel but still be partial not like cole who is straight heel

 

[Degenerate4ever]

While I agree that the Raw announce team is not as good as it used to be I find fault in Michael Cole not Jerry Lawler. Lawler tries to carry on with the style that Raw had when he and JR would be the announcers but there's only so much you can do with a prude like Cole. Cole was better in Smackdown because his "style"
of commentating is bland. He is most often the biggest annoyance on Raw. On the other hand I do agree that CM Punk offered something better. Punk was so good at commentating that I actually liked what he and Cole had. If it was with Punk I would actually like to see Cole on Raw. Cole/Punk Yes; Cole/Lawler NO. Now a question to you guys. What about someone like Tony Schiavone? I don't remember if that's how his last name was spelled, sorry if I'm wrong. I liked the way he would call matches back in WCW. Why not him? Options for other announcers?

 

[KitInaka]

The only problem I see with Michael Cole and Striker is that both are technically heel announcers. This is really and truthfully a big no-no with the fans in mind because no matter how much you love there announcing it gets really tired of hearing nothing but the Miz's praise or how R-truth sucks.

Personally what would be awesome at this point is if JR and Cole were the announcers as that could be amazing as duo, even during the short stint they did as the announcers during the Attitude Era. Only problem is that Jr is too busy making loads of money off of BBQ and he's said WWE has to approach him about it not the other way around.

While I agree that the Raw announce team is not as good as it used to be I find fault in Michael Cole not Jerry Lawler. Lawler tries to carry on with the style that Raw had when he and JR would be the announcers but there's only so much you can do with a prude like Cole.

Now see that is the exact point as why this is the King's fault and not Cole's. Cole has evolved into this New PG Era. He knew he was getting annoying, so what does he do? Embraces the boos and became a heel. In reality, he did the exact opposite thing that Orton did. And I have to say. It's AWESOME!!!

 

[ocwrestler23]

Yall also have to think Lawler best Annocing was before the WWE went PG.I think the PG Limits Lawler as some of his best commentary was a little crude or Rude and he's not allowed to do that anymore.

 

[sTyLnK]

I don't think it's the PG rating. Personally I think it's because his good friend JR isn't by his side anymore. He fed off him very well and with Cole it seems like he struggles at times to find that chemistry. I still think Lawler is great though and I really don't care what anyone thinks. Cole is the one that I can't stand. His whole heel turn or whatever you want to call it where he's always mad is just getting flat out annoying. JR won't be back and that's such a shame. You can tell Lawler really misses him by his side at times.

 

[Funkydr79]

I agree that the announcing teams need to be changed, but first I would like to see a change in the announcing style. I miss having clear play-by-play vs. color commentators. Gorilla, JR, Gordon Solie, even Vince McMahon were all great play-by-play guys. They interject comments somewhat, when it made sense, but also highlighted what was going on IN THE RING!!

I hate that the announcers spend most of the time hyping the main event or other storylines that have nothing to do with what is happening on the TV screen. This is the one problem with Cole, Grisham, and Striker on Smackdown, they will spend ten minutes talking about marvel comic characters such as Spiderwoman instead of actually calling an 8-woman tag match.

The other problem I have is that the Play-by-Play guy shouldn't be heel. While I can appreciate the heel Cole, it doesn't work for me. If one character is going to be heel, it should be the color commentator. They can interject their opinions and biases, but it doesn't affect the overall calling of the match. The play-by-play guy should be focusing on what is happening in the ring, and not trying to "sell" their own heel character.

If they are going to change the Raw announce team, have it be Cole and Striker with Striker as the play-by-play guy. He has the announcing chops to do it and it would leave Cole the time to be the "heel" cole. The only problem with that scenario is that a "normal" color commentator is someone who has spent time as a wrestler. They are supposed to be there to give that "insider perspective," I think Cole has established himself enough though to ignore that general guideline. Plus, it would be funny for Striker to rag on Cole for making color comments when he has no in ring experience to speak of.

Seth

 

[Trill Co$by]

Josh Matthews fills in for Lawler one time and everyone's starting to call him a bad commentator and want him gone? Why? Raw, without Lawler, is boring... unless you put Heyman there but even then, he couldn't carry Cole like Lawler could. Hell, Heyman wouldn't hesitate to slap the shit out of Cole.

Seriously, there's not really anything wrong with the announcing team in the WWE at the moment. Lawler has the most experience out of any of the announcers and even many of the people in the back, if not all (including Undertaker). So moving him would be a huge slap in the face. Jerry Lawler can play in well to the color commentator and does a way better job than Striker could (btw, there's two Strykers so check your spellings). Striker has had what, four matches in WWE?

Cole is the best pbp guy they have in WWE and that can be shown by the fact that he's been put on Raw. JR's gone because he just can't travel anymore, but even still, having King and Cole together isn't that bad of a thing because those two have a strong chemistry.

Taking King away from the raw booth permanently would be a heinous crime in my opinion... however, it wouldn't hurt to add a third person to give it the old WWF feel when McMahon, Monsoon (i think), and Savage were commentators (Or even Coach, Styles, and Lawler)... I think having a neutral, a face, and a heel could really work wonders...

And besides, Cole's not as heel as one would think. He usually only cheers the miz and the heel that faces Daniel Bryan... even still, he's not that bad on commentary... and I don't think there could be a better team for Raw.




Also, a tad bit to the OP... Raw's not the A show anymore in Vince's eyes.

 

[WeAreLasers9097]

RAW is not in dire need of a new broadcast team. But it is in terms of more fresh voices calling the show. The King has been broadcasting on Raw for just about 8 years now, but I would not get rid of him. What I would propose, is rotating the commentators around. Have The King, Striker, and Cole call Smackdown for a week. Then maybe Mathews and Cole, seeing their chemistry, call Raw. Have Grisham and King call Raw the next week. Commentary is a very important aspect of each show, and always brings more excitement.

 

[KitInaka]

I have to say that it would be awesome to see Josh Matthews in as a third announcer on Monday night. Personally, It makes a ton of sense...The Raw team gets new talent in Josh Matthews, which can only help Lawler, and a great chemistry between between Josh and Michael will continue to rise which will be awesome when The King decides to finally hang it up.

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

Jerry Lawler has been quite dry recently whilst he's been commentating, but by no means would I replace him. He's one of the most talented commentators in the Wrestling industry and he has one of the most unique voices to date.

I like Lawler, but given he has been abit dry. If I were to change any commentators then I'd change Todd Grisham on Smackdown. I don't like his commentary nor do I like his voice. It's monotone and it wasn't great on Bottom Line in the early 00s. I'd replace Todd, preferably with somebody like William Regal.

There's talk that William Regal is retiring from in ring work, so why not throw him onto the announcers team? He's always been a RAW guy and a SmackDown move would make a great change. Matt Striker is an excellent play-by-play commentator, and I can't think of anybody that'd be a perfect match along side him than William Regal. Both men are incredibly intelligent and have such a witty sense of humour, amazing vocabulary and both have distinct voices. Todd can go back to backstage interviewing and hosting Afterburn and Bottom Line. He isn't cut out to be an announcer.

 

[rge2010]

How can people get tired of Coles praise for the Miz. Its so funny!!!! He's playing the heel brilliantly, sucking up to the bad guy, worshipping the ground that he walks on and his hug with Alex Riley this week was great viewing!!!

King is a bore. He should of retired years ago! He seems lost and it was great that Punk showed him up the other week. How people compare King to Heenan is beyond me. Bobby was the King of colour commentating. The Body was better than King aswell!