An Opinion

[Torgo]

OK.

WWE has had some pretty good matches lately. The recent IC Triple Threat comes to mind. In that department, WWE is pretty well off.

But...with matches comes commentary.

WWE's commentary...sucks...major...donkey....gonads....

It is literally unlisten-to-able. JBL, Cole, and Lawler are pretty much the three stooges. They talk about everything BUT the match going on, whether its some bullshit "argument" between them over something that happened earlier, or its sucking some cheesy gimmick's gonads (e.g. Ole Mahggle!!!), the team can't seem to focus on the match on hand.

I get that it seems boring at times, especially Usos vs Dust Bros Round 249124579154.

But, my God, they pay you to call matches; CALL MATCHES. Don't talk about Mtn. Dew, dont make stupid arguments. And even when you do pay attention, dont just go "ooh" or "Oh my God!". Whatever happened to yelling, "Bah Gawd, what a Fisherman's Suplex" or "Great Boston Crab here". If WWE wants to keep what little kayfabe they have left, and make it real-ish, why not call out the moves? Make it seem a little more real?

I can't really tell what the root of this is. I remember the leaked, unfiltered smackdown taping that seemed to invite the notion that Vince gave commands to the guys (or at least Cole) to plug the network or Sheamus or something. That could be the case; I wouldn't doubt it as Vince is a control monster. It could also be that Cole, Jerry, and JBL have lost their touch. In that case, retirement is the only option. I've seen Cole and Jerry better, they called the Mankind title win over rock back in 1999, for example, so I think it is door #1

How can this be fixed? I know...#1-Jerry Lawler needs to go away. He offers nothing but pitiful jokes and on-screen heart attacks. #2-Vince needs to stop giving "suggestions" to Cole (if he even is, im not sure). #3- the guys need to actually call the damn match. No product plugging (for at least 30 minutes at a time). You are not a commercial slot, you are a WRESTLING SHOW.

If you read to the bottom, thanks. I doubt WWE is really going to read my little rant.

In short-WWE has great matches. They just need someone to call them.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Well you have every right to feel the way you do about the commentary team. They are all pretty awful. Most of what they say is fed to them via in-ear. But when they just call the match they are so repetitive and are so lifeless that it just turns you off of the show. Especially when they start arguing - which they do too frequently - they make the worst jokes, or attempts at jokes and all they do is scream in your ear about BS that nobody cares about.

They plugg 9.99 and social media all day long yet the numbers have been dwindling. I'm really interested as to why Vince hasn't gotten a clue yet and realise that a better product will attract more viewers than constantly plugging social media and literally begging people to sign up for their damned network; insulting your fans straight out doesn't help much either.

JBL when he first joined the announce team I thought was a good addition but then I quickly changed my opinion as he is as bad as both Jerry and Cole. Jerry is just cruising along getting a prolly good paycheck and legends deal on top of that so you can't fault the guy, he aint gonna quit. Cole poor guy he's awful, tho he CAN do a bit better than he usually does, he just does it very rarely.

They really need new blood on RAW. Someone with actual personality that knows wrestling. The guys on NXT didnt even start as announcers in their search for a career and they still do a better job. It was foolish of them to release Matt Striker imo.

If I wasnt torrenting RAW I wouldnt watch it at this point. 80% of it is bad and then to have to sit through commercials AND this announce team for 3 hours? No way.

 

[HeroForHire]

They are awful. Cole and JBl were good on Smackdown together, and Cole was good with Taz. Cole and King don't work well if you ask me. Adding JBL did nothing as well.

Who knows why they are so bad at the job. Maybe the higher ups like what they do? They could be receiving praise for what they do when they go back there.

I think if people are so upset with him they should take a page out of the Daniel Bryan saga...Boo the hell out of those three anytime their name is brought up or they have a segment and send a message.

 

[MERPER]

The guy on Smackdown between Cole and JBL is the worst announcer in any sport ever... voice is awful, delivery is boring, he is completely and utterly useless.

I want Renee Young behind the booth soon.

Also, while I know you need a heel announcer and face announcer, JBL is dreadful... and he repeats himself week after week

 

[Fillet Club]

I remember really enjoying Cole's work with Tazz back in the day, they seemed to just bounce off of each very well. But I do feel sorry for the guy, don't get me wrong he never was or never will be a Monsoon or J.R but he's held back by just plugging some nonsense and saying what he's told to say. The three of them have become so boring and annoying to listen to that it just sometimes takes me out of a potentially good match.

And when they start 'bickering'? I either just mute the sound or skip ahead, they argue over so many silly little things that it just becomes impossible to listen to. Also this could very well just be me but I absolutely hate it when we've just experience a massive spot (for example Ambrose and Rollins falling onto the announce tables at HITC) and instead of a "BAH GAWD! THEY ARE BROKEN IN HALF!" reaction or any kind of reaction with energy behind it, we get a quiet and almost whispered "oh...oh god guys...Ambrose...oh no. He fell off the thing onto the other thing and...oh".

I suppose it could be worse though, at least they haven't been actively insulting people that have been paying full price for PPV's-OH WAIT.

 

[Brushfire]

It's strange because I used to have a lot of time for all three of those announcers but as time as gone on I've become more and more frustrated by them. I used to like JBL as a heel commentator a few years back on SD!, and King has always been an old favourite for his partnership with JR. Michael Cole I always feel like got a lot of stick just because he came after JR and it was always going to be impossible to compare.

In the current circumstances I'd love to see Michael Cole/Alex Riley/Renee Young as the three commentators. But I think it will be some time before that is ever even close to happening.

 

[Satanhhh]

I remember really enjoying Cole's work with Tazz back in the day, they seemed to just bounce off of each very well. But I do feel sorry for the guy, don't get me wrong he never was or never will be a Monsoon or J.R but he's held back by just plugging some nonsense and saying what he's told to say.

You're not the only one, as I do remember a time back when Cole actually had energy and really wasn't that bad back in his earlier Smackdown days. Him and Tazz didn't make that bad of a team, in my opinion.

But I do feel sorry for the guy, don't get me wrong he never was or never will be a Monsoon or J.R but he's held back by just plugging some nonsense and saying what he's told to say.

I really don't knock Michael Cole for his overall performance as an announcer, but there were always such unfair comparisons to J.R., which continue to this day by the way, that he was never really given much of a chance. No, he's not a Monsoon or J.R., but there have defiantly been way worse::

Todd Grisham - Heat back in 2004
Jonathan Coachman - Eww. Yeah, he wasn't good at commentary.
Charlie Minn - Does anyone even remember this? It lasted a few weeks I think

 

[Fillet Club]

You're not the only one, as I do remember a time back when Cole actually had energy and really wasn't that bad back in his earlier Smackdown days. Him and Tazz didn't make that bad of a team, in my opinion.

Definitely, the guy was absolutely full of energy back in the day. I can't remember which match it was (possibly the infamous Raw match between Mankind and The Rock) but he was getting so worked up he almost lost it's voice and because he cared so much it seeped through to the TV audience (although almost everyone liked Mankind at that point anyway).

Todd Grisham - Heat back in 2004
Jonathan Coachman - Eww. Yeah, he wasn't good at commentary.
Charlie Minn - Does anyone even remember this? It lasted a few weeks I think

*SHUDDER* Oh why would you remind me of Coachman on commentary, dark days indeed. But let us not forget the master himself, the man that replaced Joey Styles...

MIKE ADAMLE.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If you prefer commentary in which said commentators are totally focused on the action, hyping the wrestlers in the ring and promoting the product as a whole, you'll be more likely to find what you're looking for with ROH or NXT.

Commentary can detract from a match if the commentators are out there goofing around or telling stupid jokes. Personally, I view it as being insulting to the people who're in there wrestling, but they're ultimately doing what their boss, AKA Vince McMahon, tells them and wants them to do.

Most of the time, when you hear Lawler, Cole & JBL joking or playfully bickering instead of calling a match, it's during a low level mid-card, Diva or tag team match. They usually do pretty well, at least most of the time, when it comes to title matches. They always stay focused during matches featuring John Cena or the main event itself.

I've learned to pretty much tune out to the commentators when I feel I have to, though I do prefer consistently good commentary like what we hear in NXT.

 

[CyberPunk]

As Jack said, NXT commentary is way better than RAW or SD. But I don't think it's because commentary team on these shows are bad. It's more to do with advertisement and the 'Sports Entertainment' aspect of these shows.

NXT doesn't have pressure from advertisers or Vince in general. It's a wrestling heavy show. RAW, on the other hand is 'entertainment'. Also, Lawler seems to be coasting along for a long time. Cole is not as bad as some say. I mean he does show energy and dynamic approach at times. Those times are few and far between though. And JBL? OK.

It's more about freedom of expression than skill in my opinion. NXT offers that freedom. Other shows don't.