Can You Hear Me Now?

[TheOneBigWill]

On last nights ECW broadcast, Mike Adamle left the broadcast position right before the main event. Tazz followed him, and there was no commentary during the event. WWE.com has a story on the situation. According to the article, Adamle and Tazz exited the arena and went to the parking lot. The WWE site plans on having a further update on the situation soon. The article also acknowledges the fans that haven't been too happy with him so far in his role as the play-by-play man for ECW. The article also deems his commentary as "lackluster." They wrote: "It has been no secret that our traditional ECW fans have not been satisfied with Adamle’s lackluster commentary. Speculation is this could have led to the play by play and color commentator walking off during a WWE broadcast. Did Adamle and Tazz leave of their own volition or were they asked to leave?" Of course, this is pure storyline.

So it looks as if W.W.E. as a whole could be rather upset with its viewing audience and especially those sitting directly near the announcers. Apparently several in-attendence fans who sit near the likes of guys like Adamle, would banter him pretty harshly for being unworthy of being there.. and repeatedly bash him, verbally.

As a result, assuming this whole thing is indeed a work and Adamle didn't get his feelings truly hurt and just walk off set unprofessionally like a little baby.. it looks like W.W.E. is trying to figure out what people want more?

SOME commentary, regardless of how good or bad, or NONE at all.

Honestly, in my opinion I normally filter out the announcing. Be it JR & the King, Cole & Coach, or Adamle & Tazz. However, that being said, I like listening to people talk for some unknown reason more than blank silence.. so last night's Main Event to me sucked even worse without hearing anyone say anything.

If this is indeed the message they're trying to send to the W.W.E. fans. What would you want more? Please explain why you feel the way you do, and add plenty of detail.

 

[Papa Shango]

I voted for some commentary. Even though Adamle is bad, it's still an integral part of the show. In fact, Adamle's performance could become part of the show. I actually was just thinking the other day that it would be smart of WWE to make an angle out of how bad Adamle is. I thought it would be funny to make Adamle a heel announcer, who only has his job because he's friends with Armando Estrada. That way, with Adamle playing a heel, it would be funny for him to screw up, AND it would be okay for a face Tazz to make fun of Adamle's poor performance. tuesday wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'm glad WWE is doing something. You know this is the second creative, unorthodox swerve in WWE television this week. Is this a sign of change within WWE? Is WWE moving back towards edgier attention-grabbing TV?

 

[Rizza]

I voted for Comentary,but a couple days ago i would have voted for no comentary but after watching the main event on ECW i realized good or bad they have to have somthing. I found the match to be incredibly boring and half of that is soley of the silence that followed it,But i do like that maybe WWE is getting a little bit edgier with the Blackout on RAW first,then the walk out on ECW, maybe they looked at Mondays ratings and decided that it was time for a change.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm split on this one. Commentary can be very nice to have to help the match flow, but it isn't really a must have. The other night during ECW, it was a really nice break to not hear it. I wouldn't like having it that way all the time though. Hearing the voices of JR and the King on Raw is a huge part of the show, the same with Styles in ECW. Someone on here said that ECW was three parts: the fans, Heyman, and most importantly, Styles. Commentators are the glue that holds the show together, but they have to sink in over time. I've always thought this is one of the reasons Coach was so hated. While he was pretty awful, he was yet another change to the commentary team. Tazz and Cole had the longest run there, and to me they are the best Smackdown has had yet. The commentary makes things better, but unless it's given time to develop, I can go without it.

 

[hhhfan11]

Dude the WWE without commentary is like like a hamburger without all the fixings. It is gonna be hard to adjust if this is to happen. I remember sitting at Wrestlemania 23 talking to my friend talking about how it was weird when Jeff Hardy jumped off the ladder onto Edge, to not hear Good Ole' Jr and King (THe Best Commentaters in all of Sports) not giving their input. Also why would u take the only one of two still remaining origianls on ECW off the air. This is gonna be weird. ANd if it is a storyline, where could it be going??

 

[HBK-aholic]

Commentary is a big part of wrestling, and regardless of how good or bad, it's a plus. I don't like watching wrestling without it, especially live. When you've been to a live show where you can't hear the commentary you realise exactly how much you enjoy it. Too watch wrestling, you have to enjoy the show, and I wouldn't stop watching wrestling without it. However I enjoy it a lot more with commentary.

Sometimes, a match needs commentary. Everyone can think of at least one bad match which has been made better with commentary. It excites the audience, and to many viewers, when they see announcers getting excited about certain moves it can rub off on them. It can make viewers really get into a match they wouldn't usually.

Announcers are great at seeling things to the audience, regardless of what it is. They're funny, and keep viewers entertained throughout an entire show. If you got rid of the announcers, you get rid of some of the essence of a show.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I do feel like i need commentary, if there wasn't any i wouldn't know the names of any of the moves, or who certain talent was trained by etc. If the commentary isn't great i can tune it out if i have to.

I do however get annoyed with commentators getting their facts wrong. Adamle can't even seem to get anybody's names right, on ECW b4 Backlash Taz had to point out that Adamle got the ref's name wrong. Also Michael Cole gets the moves wrong all the time, which thankfully Taz wud correct him on. He REPEATEDLY calls Batista's spinebuster a powerbomb, and remember at Royal Rumble this year, Cole said the only person to win it from the number 2 position was Rey Mysterio. Errrr WHAT ABOUT VINCE MCMAHON? Cole was actually the commentator at that year which makes it even worse.

JR and Joey Styles r my favourite commentators due to JRs genuine concern for the talents well being, and Styles focusing on the wrestling and not the crap surrounding it.

 

[HellBoundPower]

I think commentary is VERY important in wrestling. People wouldn't know anything about the people, or the names of the moves. And people that didn't catch the beginning and are coming in in the middle of the show wouldn't be able to get an update without going on the net. Also the commentators can make certain moments special. Can you imagine Stone Cold driving the Zamboni down to the ring without J.R. yelling, "Austin's driving the Zamboni! Austin's got McMahon!" Moments like that are priceless.

 

[Gelgarin]

Silence can play a part in the boradcast; big angles can often be sold much more convincingly be JR keeping his trap shut for a few minuits than by... for the sake or argument... Don West shouting all the time.

Similarly I liked the angle on ECW this tuesday, allthough I will say that I think the night after the Regal shenanigans was the wrong time to do it (two creative but similar angles on consecutive nights hurts the impact of both of them), I didn't think it hurt the boradcast and I'm very interested to see what happens next week.

Overall however, commentery is a necessity. As I recall RoH tried bringing out a couple of DVDs which lacked commentery and they were bloody horrible.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

From what I heard last night WWE appear to be capitalizing on how poor he is, making him heel. The only problem I see with this is that he's no worse than most of the commentators in WWE. Yet unlike the others he's new and fresh. He talks total shit, but if you listen you can deliberately misenterpret what he's saying and it adds a whole other layer of enjoyment. At least you can't predict what he's going to say next like you do the Raw commentators, and at least he doesn't claim to know a lot like the Smackown ones.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

From what I heard last night WWE appear to be capitalizing on how poor he is, making him heel. The only problem I see with this is that he's no worse than most of the commentators in WWE. Yet unlike the others he's new and fresh. He talks total shit, but if you listen you can deliberately misenterpret what he's saying and it adds a whole other layer of enjoyment. At least you can't predict what he's going to say next like you do the Raw commentators, and at least he doesn't claim to know a lot like the Smackown ones.

After last night's Monday Night Raw, and Mike Adamle's heel turn, I'm 100% sold on this guy.

The sad thing is, it was never officially a problem that he "sucked." It was a problem that the people didn't want to accept that Adamle was replacing Joey Styles, the unofficial 'voice' of E.C.W. As a result, noone ever gave Adamle a chance and when he instantly screwed up his first time.. people jumped down his throat, as if even the great Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross have never screwed up from time to time.

Adamle is my new favorite announcer with this heel turn, because it reminds me of the days of J.R. from 1996, bringing back the Fake Razor Ramon and Fake Diesel.. then arguing with Mr. McMahon at the announce table. I can see it now, Tazz will end up arguing more with Adamle, and we'll have more entertainment and action AT the announcer's table, then in the ring.

 

[Rated K for Kennedy... Kennedy!]

I admit this Adamale storyline has me interested, its fresh and new and thats rare nowadys, I do think they should let it develop on ECW and not over rush it by being on RAW too. But fi I had my way, I'd have Umaga squash Adamale in 7 seconds and bring Joey back to ECW!

 

[Danmen001]

Commentating is a very important part of wrestling for me, and most people. If you ever have the volume low on the TV, or if you have ever been to a show where you can't hear the commentating, or even if the commentators walk off teh screen..... but anyway. It is great to see the voices of those who are there, what they think of the matches.

Personally I like hearing the comments and play by play.

Like many, my favourite announcer is JR and I much prefer good commentators. Joey may be better the Adamle by miles, but at least Adamle is there.

 

[chasingamy]

I do not necessarily HAVE to have commentary to enjoy a wrestling match. Anyone who’s been to a live event still gets into the matches yet there is no commentary in those situations. Watching wrestling without commentary allows you to focus just on what’s happening in the ring.

However watching wrestling in silence for an entire show or any extended time is not really practical from a business standpoint. New viewers would have a hard time getting to know the wrestlers, their moves, storylines, etc. The announcers’ job is an important one: they convey the excitement of the in-ring action, storylines, and wrestlers’ characters. No matter how great the superstar in the ring may be, it’s hard for the average viewer to pick up on all those things without some help from the announcers.

Also how many sports shows are on TV without some form of commentary during the game/match/race/etc.? I can’t think of any. Even golf has commentary albeit it’s a style and pace that fits the nature of the sport. Other than squashes, wrestling matches are generally fast-paced and dramatic, so they don’t easily lend themselves to such moments of silence very often. Wrestling without announcers would be like the circus without a ring master. No matter what you think of him or his role, he’s still an important part of the show and it just wouldn’t be the same without him.

I think they should use guest commentators more often like how ECW and Smackdown have done recently with The Miz, John Morrison, MVP, Matt Hardy, and Shelton Benjamin. I like it when wrestlers join the broadcast every now and then because it (1) is a nice change of pace from the regular announcers/announce style, (2) gives the announcers a ‘break’ from calling the match, (3) can add life into the match (esp. if it’s a match-up we’re seen a dozen times such as Miz/Morrison vs. Yang/Moore), and (4) is a way to show the wrestlers’ personalities. But as with anything, they shouldn’t overdo using guest announcers because the downside is they can take the focus away from the match itself too much at times.

 

[Mr. TM]

no announcers is equal to having no heart beat. The announcers help to tell the story, to help the match flow. The announcers have even helped out very poor wrestling matches and event become memorable. Wrestlemania 9 would be horrible if it were not for very good announcers. Without announcers we would not have classic legends like JR, Lawler, Monsoon, Heenan, Solie, or the character of Mr. McMahon. The announcers help create emotion, and keep you interested in slow portions. That is my thoughts on the matter