Could Bret Hart solve WWE's commentator problems? | WrestleZone Forums

Could Bret Hart solve WWE's commentator problems?

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Like many people, I think the current collection of commentators in WWE are, at best, a poor bunch.

Bret Hart has recently signed a deal with WWE, but it's difficult to see what he can offer to the product.

So I thought that maybe he could become a commentator, probably on Raw to join Jerry Lawler.

Hart's promo work never impressed me, but former wrestlers tend to make better commentators. He would know how to help tell the story of a match, know the moves, and, (based on his mic work before WrestleMania) he seems to have genuine enthusiasm and passion, unlike the rest of the curent lot.

Does anyone else think this could be a good idea?
 
I don't know really.

I must admit it's not necessarily always that a wrestler makes good commentators, it really requires that you should be able to cut a proper promo, guy's like Triple H, Chris Jericho, the rock could easily, without much trouble go out there and do it.

Bret Hart on the other hand, while I agree, his promo work has never really impressed me, especially not in the past few months, must be because his voice is kinda drying out if you ask me, it's always been otherwise dry, and I think it ruins a little bit with Bret's ability to cut a promo, also seeing as he's not the most versatile guy on the microphone as opposed to above mentioned guys.

I don't think Bret Hart should be put as a commentator on any of the WWE brands, if Bret was to do anything, I'd say sporadic appearances and backstage work, road agent if you will, like Dean Malenko, or some work in the creative department, seeing as it appears to me that Bret has a good mind for the business, and would probably be a good addition to the team, cause he seems to know what people want.

So no, not a good idea I think.
 
Honestly, NO! bret was never that great a promo man and since he returned he had a little problem with his promos. he had to correct himself on multiple occasions in order to avoid screwing up his promos. Personally I would rather see bret be restrained from becoming a full time character in the WWE and just have some occasional appearances every year. Kind of like they used to do with Austin.
 
In order to be a commentator, you need to be funny, quick, witty, and be able to multi-task Vince's yelling in your ear with your own thoughts, all while keeping the live show flowing. To be quite honest, Bret Hart might have been one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever step foot inside of a ring, but he could possibly be one of the worst main-event talkers in the history of the business. Not even his notoriety would carry the commentating team if he's fumbling over ever other word like he did in all of his promos leading up to Wrestlemania.
 
Yea I don't like many others would find Bret Hart as a good commentator. I've never seen him on wrestling except for the run with the company he's just had. He just doesn't really cut a great promo. Wrestlers that could be good commentators are guys that were said above, like Triple H, Jericho, etc.. Also like said above he has a great mind in wrestling and knows what people want, so he would make a great part of the creative team or something backstage. Possible he could be a manager for the Hart Dynasty. That would be really good for that team to get more over with the crowd, and bring the tag belts they deserve.
 
Whilst I would welcome some changes in WWE's commentary, I don't think Bret would be the answer at all. He just wouldn't improve the quality of the commentary because I can't see how he'd be any good at it. His promos as a whole have been pretty good since his return, but he just doesn't seem comfortable enough behind a mic to talk to millions of watching WWE fans for a two hour weekly show.

Striker is doing fine on Smackdown so the obvious way to fit him in would be in Lawler's place. However, despite Lawler seemingly not giving a shit anymore, he would still be a better commentator than Hart, simply because he has the voice and the skills for it. I think now his feud with McMahon is over, his involement on TV should be minimal. Maybe occasional promos or guest referee appearances, but not a full time commentator.

If WWE did want to use a former star to re-ignite the commentary, I would think someone like Dusty Rhodes would be a far more suitable choice than Bret Hart.
 
In order to be a commentator, you need to be funny, quick, witty,

Ok, well while I tend to agree with most of what you say in your post, this part kinda baffles me. I mean, maybe the quick and witty part can apply to a couple of the announcers around today, but the only time I find any of them to be funny is when Lawler spurts out one of his shoot comments that aren't suppose to be shoot comments.

be able to multi-task Vince's yelling in your ear with your own thoughts, all while keeping the live show flowing.

Yeah no argument here. Bret would be the last person I would expect to tolerate Vince yelling in his ear.

To be quite honest, Bret Hart might have been one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever step foot inside of a ring, but he could possibly be one of the worst main-event talkers in the history of the business.

And here, I'm only half with you. It's easy to classify Bret as a bad talker, unless you go over his heel promos. Back in the day when he was on the whole "Fuck America" schtick, his promos were ten times better than they ever were as a face.

Not even his notoriety would carry the commentating team if he's fumbling over ever other word like he did in all of his promos leading up to Wrestlemania.

And once again, no argument here. I don't really think he's the answer, nor can I say he would be good in a commentating role, I just don't think I am as down on the idea as everyone else. You don't have to have all the charisma in the world for it to translate into success at the announce table, see Tazz. But generally, if by some miracle it were to happen, I'm not gonna just outright say it's a bad idea.
 
Ok, well while I tend to agree with most of what you say in your post, this part kinda baffles me. I mean, maybe the quick and witty part can apply to a couple of the announcers around today, but the only time I find any of them to be funny is when Lawler spurts out one of his shoot comments that aren't suppose to be shoot comments.

Even Michael Cole comes up with a witty little quirk every once in a while. These guys are trained to think on their feet. While Vince is in the commentators' ears, they have to balance it all with communicating smoothly with each other. Some of that requires a joke or two, here and there.

And here, I'm only half with you. It's easy to classify Bret as a bad talker, unless you go over his heel promos. Back in the day when he was on the whole "Fuck America" schtick, his promos were ten times better than they ever were as a face.

You have a very good point. So, I take back my comment about him being one of the worst in history. But this is about him taking the mic right now, and he's FAR from capable. But good point, nonetheless.
 
i dont think bret would be a good commentator he was never known for his way with words but i do think they should bring in a name face and voice that were all familiar with
as someone mentioned earlier shawn michaels would be the perfect man for the job if he were willing to do it but i think pretty much any legend or wwe personality that everyone is familiar with and is good on the mike would be good for the job
 
That is not the guy for the job, although I think he's better than most current commentators. I agree with the Dusty Rhodes, Piper or even Ted DiBiasi (Sr.) as each are great and entertaining talkers.
 
I gotta disagree with much of the comments as I think Bret Hart would actually be a good commentator, is he good enough to fill the void that WWE Commentating currently has? Probably not, but I think he would be a good and coherent commentator.

We could talk about Bret's promo's and how bad they were until the cows come home, but the thing is commentating and promo's are 2 different things, one's night and one's day. Whenever I've heard Bret Hart in an actual sit-down interview I've found that he's a very good talker, an amazing storyteller, and can give very good insight to the topic at hand (whatever that may be). Not only that, Bret knows wrestling inside and out (which is a gimme since he's lived wrestling for 52 years now) and personally, I can see the guy being excellent as a play-by-play commentator (as opposed to a color commentator), the only thing that may hurt him in his commentary is there wouldn't be much emotion in his voice or actions, but with the way commentating currently is in the WWE I think it would be a nice and refreshing change of pace to hear someone who is very knowledgeable about the business and its history, someone who can talk coherently and give great play-by-play and insight to a match, and most of all someone who doesn't sound like a completely rehearsed drone like most of the commentators these days (seriously King, what have you done to yourself and your classic commentating?).

In closing I don't think Bret would be the be-all-end-all solution to the current commentating problems that plague WWE, but I think if given the chance he would do a pretty darn good job because he can talk (he can certainly talk in a cool and calm matter about anything and sound smart doing it), knows wrestling maybe even better than JR does (which could be impossible) and can talk fluently and tell a great story while doing it. Frankly I think Bret Hart would be a great commentator to someone like Lawler or someone who could do the color commentating part well.
 
Honestly, we all know Bret's mic work isn't brilliant but its not terrible either. He isn't all lively and energetic like say the rock and chris jericho, he is more calm when he speaks, but he still doesn't sound fake when he does a promo like say Pete Rose and John Morrisson. But commentating is much different to cutting a promo, it is not so scripted and lets the commentators be themselves more. I mean obviously they have to use some kayfabe and Vince does tell them to say some things but mostly they are themselves and lets face it would Vince really shout down the earpiece to Bret of all people after their history?...Yes he would but I'm sure they could work past it. My point is, I think Brets talking would be much more lively when hes commentating because he wouldn't be learning a script, he would be talking as himself. Plus he would know the moves and how to tell the story of a match, like you said. I really believe he would pleasantly surprise people.

Also I would try bring back JBL as a commentator. He was brilliant and lets face it, he made even boring Smackdown matches good to watch and made Michael Cole bearable! One of the best heel commentators I have ever heard, the guy was a natural. I'd like to see J.R and Jerry Lawler on RAW with JBL and Michael Cole on Smackdown if anything because those have been my favourite teams but if J.R definately doesn't return I would love to see Bret join the RAW announcing team, not necessarily with Lawler but still.
 
I agree with posters that don't think this would be a good idea. I've always been a huge Bret Hart fan. He's by far one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but he's not one of the better promo guys. I would like to see him stick around for a little while. As maybe a manager for the Hart Dynasty or Raw GM. Those roles would require him to talk some but not for 2 straight hours. After WrestleMania I definitely don't want to see him in a physical role either.
 
Oh god no. Bret Hart is terrible on the mic, especially recently.

Bring back JBL, he rocked. Matt Striker is awesome, so don't mess with him. Michael Cole really isn't that bad.. sure, he's corny as hell but his character calls for it. Lawler sucks balls right now.. I mean really, he's gotten so lazy these days.
 
Bret's my guy. One of my favorite things about him was he kept his talking short and handled business in the ring. That doesn't translate to being a commentator. But I'd ride with him regardless because THAT'S MY GUY!
 
I would not put Bret in a commentating position. To the person that listed Piper, Dusty or Dibiase as people to place in the role, I agree with those three! I dont think Dibiase would do it as it would interfere with the ministry. Piper has done commentating before so would probably fit right back in. I "think" Dusty has done it too for WCW back in the early/mid 90s but its been so long ago that it could have been a one off occasion he commentated. There are several other alternatives to Bret that would work better. I will admit the WWE needs to get rid of Lawler... nothing left in the tank there.
 
I would not put Bret in a commentating position. To the person that listed Piper, Dusty or Dibiase as people to place in the role, I agree with those three! I dont think Dibiase would do it as it would interfere with the ministry. Piper has done commentating before so would probably fit right back in. I "think" Dusty has done it too for WCW back in the early/mid 90s but its been so long ago that it could have been a one off occasion he commentated. There are several other alternatives to Bret that would work better. I will admit the WWE needs to get rid of Lawler... nothing left in the tank there.

Thats true about DiBiasi being a minister (or pastor) and he probably wouldn't want to interfere with that, but Raw is only once a week. I'd venture Lawler probably gets to the city of Raw the night before or the morning of, spends part of the day in production meetings, broadcasts Raw, and leaves the next morning. That's not a bad schedule!
 
Without reading any of the previous posts, I can assume that anyone with common sense said that Bret Hart on the announce table is a bad idea. Despite his accolades and the technical mastery he once possessed, the man was never in charge of amazing mic skills. Others and myself would say that outside of maybe Khali and Yokozuna, he has some of the worst mic skills of any former world champion in the WWE. Pile onto that the fact that he isn't is the same state of health any more. I don't mean to portray him as some beaten down old cripple, but my point is clear.

The job that the commentators have is not an easy one. Even though they are fed information through headphones from the gorilla position, they still need to make quick, on the fly calls. They need to be able to recall names, statistics and dates at the drop of a dime. No easy task to say the least. Even with the commentators we already have, some are not on par with the greats of the past *ahem* Michael Cole. Putting Hart in that position could only end in disaster. They are fine with the announcing roster they have for the time being. In the future, they still have guys like Jericho or maybe even Michaels that would do an infinitely better job than Hart could, even in his prime.
 
Thats true about DiBiasi being a minister (or pastor) and he probably wouldn't want to interfere with that, but Raw is only once a week. I'd venture Lawler probably gets to the city of Raw the night before or the morning of, spends part of the day in production meetings, broadcasts Raw, and leaves the next morning. That's not a bad schedule!

Yeah, I just wonder if Dibiase wants to be on the road. I think having Dibiase on the commentating team would be amazing. He was always a great talker and amazing on the mic. I am all for it if Dibiase is interested.
 
I would not put Bret in a commentating position. To the person that listed Piper, Dusty or Dibiase as people to place in the role, I agree with those three! I dont think Dibiase would do it as it would interfere with the ministry. Piper has done commentating before so would probably fit right back in. I "think" Dusty has done it too for WCW back in the early/mid 90s but its been so long ago that it could have been a one off occasion he commentated. There are several other alternatives to Bret that would work better. I will admit the WWE needs to get rid of Lawler... nothing left in the tank there.

If I remember correctly, Dusty recently has done (he might still do) commentating in the FCW territory. You can find some FCW youtube videos and hear him for yourself. He's terrible. Besides, I don't know if I could go from hearing Dusty for two hours then switch to TNA (I live on the west coast so TNA and WWE don't go head to head here) and hear Pope cut a promo...

I really liked JBL as a colour commentator. Imagine Joey Styles doing play by play and JBL doing colour? That has a JR/Lawler (attitude era) ring to it to me. They can then use Cole backstage to interview Danielson.
 
I would love to have Hart as a commentator. It would keep him in the buisiness, People will still get their hart fix, With out the fear of him dropping dead in the middle of the ring. The guy has had it wrestling wise, but He can still talk and would make an interesting companion to king or J.R
 

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