Could Matt Striker be the next Bobby Heenan?

[MattDaCripple24]

Well, this is my 3rd ever post and I think it's a great one since I've read a few about the current WWE announce teams. After watching TLC last night and tonight's RAW I am so happily refreshed with a real heel announcer. The way Matt Striker played off Cole and Lawler these last 2 nights as the heel was simply, in a word, great. The way he backed Sheamus, the way he picked on Mickie James, and my personal favorite, when he refused to repeat his error on TLC although he aknowledged it on RAW tonight. Seriously, when he threw out "Just put on an orange T-Shirt and some sweat bands", I was so happy.

IMO, the announce teams over the last few years have been just happy-go-lucky announcers with really no banter or opinion except siding with the faces, with the exception of a few Lawler to Cole jokes about "vintage", which is hilarious, don't get me wrong. It's just really a nice throwback to the "vintage" 80's and 90's of Bobby Heenan going at it with Vince or Gorilla. When Lawler stood up for Mickie against Striker, as Mark Madden so eloquently brought up in an editorial, I really felt time machined back to Gorilla Monsoon telling The Brain, "Will you stop!". Also the way Matt Striker really got into being angry about the Undertaker/Batista ending last night was a great throwback to when The Brain actually brought a Ref over to the table to show the replay in a HBK/Marty Jannety IC match back in the early days of RAW to show the ref Michaels leg was on the rope. I could see Striker doing that eventually.

Finally, his nickname was "The Teacher", I thnk even Bobby Heenan would enjoy that small similarity. Am I the alone being this optimistic that he could be the heel commentator we've needed at the announce table? Hell, I say keep him on RAW, bring Abraham Washington to Smackdown and see if he can heel it up. As for ECW, just add Gregory Helms to Josh Matthews and let them do, whatever they do.

I'd love some thoughts on this IWC.

 

[X]

I'm right there with you in the love of Matt Striker, don't get me wrong, but the Bobby Heenan comparison doesn't really fit in my opinion. They really aren't anything alike in their commentary styles. The Brain's name was always ironic, because Heenan would never know the names of any of the moves and was a pure color commentator through and through, whereas Striker is more of a hybrid of a play-by-play man and a color commentator. He'll crack a few jokes, but he'll also know the names of just about every move. It helps that Striker is legitimately an incredibly intelligent person.

I love it when he sides with the heels as well, but the one thing I love the most about the man is that he actually has PASSION when he calls a match! JR, King, Michael Cole, and every other faceless 20-something year old commentator in the WWE right now calls a wrestling match like they were watching croquet and not two men FIGHTING. Striker single-handedly saved the commentary on the PPV last night for sure, particularly when Sheamus won the tables match. Everyone else was calmly talking about how surprising this was while Striker was yelling about the insanity of the situation. He actually sounded interested to be there, reminiscent of a late 80s, early 90s Jim Ross.

I don't think he's the next Bobby Heenan, but I do think he's going to have a very long and successful career at the commentator's table if he's willing to do so.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

It's apples and oranges. Heenan was a man who was there to entertain and be a heel. That's all. His commentary was an extension of his ring character when he was a wrestler. Heenan is one of a kind. He makes any match better with his commentary, calling the jobbers, 'ham and eggers' and stuff. Priceless. He can make you excited for the match that was coming up, because he has that sound of him wanting to be there, doing commentary.

In that regard, Striker shares that similarity. He's passionate about what he's calling in the ring. He has a way with words. He can make anyone sound credible. He has a gift and the WWE's now experimenting with that. I think they should use Striker, Lawler, and Cole to offset the boring commentary as of late. Lawler's become a face, which is stupid. Striker needs to make the heel seem viable and make excuses and show favoritism toward the bad guy. It's what makes wrestling great.

The little things matter, and Striker's a great commentator, but he's no Heenan.

 

[Toroc102]

I'm sorry, but I don't see what everyone see's in Striker and to call him the next Heenan is ludicrous. Just because he plays the heel on the mic, doesn't mean he doesn't overuse the big words way too much to no effect(something like Deniis Miller and the Raw crowd), because the nicknames he gives superstars have no catch to them, and neither do any of his slogans.

I'm sorry I just don't see it.

 

[RavensFlock1990]

Striker was alright at first but I just can't stand him anymore. He just sees how many big words he can throw in even tho most people have no clue what he's talking about so its just pointless and useless.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Comparing Striker to Heenan is like comparing (using a Heenan line) "Prime rib to lunch meat".

In all seriousness, you are comparing 2 distinctly different commentators. Matt Striker is an Analyst (who hopefully will be edging towards being a heel again ... if Vince green lights this concept once again in the broadcast booth) ....

while Bobby Heenan was a traditional Heel Color Commentator. He was NEVER for the Faces, unless somehow that Face benefited him by doing something. He was an absolute master of one-liners. He was truly the most entertaining Color Commentator of all time, because of how absolutely funny the man was. There was nobody like Bobby Heenan, and there probably never will be again.

Striker is okay to listen to, given the type of toned down commentary Vince wants today. He wants it sounding like commentary more so of an actual sport, as opposed to the days of old ... which was extremely energetic, funny, witty, dramatic, etc.

Striker is the best Analyst they have, bar none. But I just know that Lawler could likely beat him in the entertainment department, if Vince only green-lit Lawler to turn Heel again, and be a Heel Commentator like he used to be.

 

[The Doctor]

It was extremely refreshing to hear MAtt Striker become more like his original character. He was a great commentator before, but now he's even better. I do not think he's comparable to Bobby Heenan, though, as they were two different characters.

Striker is a legitimately intelligent man, and that shines through in his commentary. He's also a "wrestling nerd" which also shows up. I hope he can stay on RAW, as he is probably the best commentator they have today. You can tell he's enjoying himself, and the commentary is great because of it.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I for one think Striker's fuckin shit. He tries to overcompensate with ridiculous bullshit, makes up new nicknames for talent that sound terrible. Did you hear him call the Undertaker 'the Minister of the Night' at TLC? He doesn't need more nicknames foo', let alone shit ones, and he tries to get guys over by talking absolute shite.

Here's a good example.

"Regal changed his first name from Steven to William, because he found out that he's related to William Wallace!" Sure he did Matt. It wasn't that Vince wanted him to have a posher sounding name, no, no, he changed it so people would think of William Wallace. Do people in the US even know who William Wallace was? A sentence that not only is bollocks information, but did nothing to make Regal look any better as a wrestler.

What was the other one he came out with on Sunday? Oh yeah, Cole and King were saying how sad it is that Michelle and Layla were picking on Mickie, and Striker said 'it's ok, it's entertainment. It's not what i say to you that matters, it's what i do to you, and that's why we're having the match.' No, ******, we're having the match because Mickie is the #1 contender. 'Piggie James' jokes are NOT the reason they're having a match, and neither is abuse in the workplace. Mickie won a title shot. The End.

Ok, yes it's refreshing to hear someone hyping the heels and celebrating their tactics, but when he's analysing stuff, i want him to simply shut his mouth. I'd rather listen to Cole say 'Vintage' for 3 hours than hear Striker speak once. Why does he have to keep saying 'a possible submission hold' all the time? That means that the wrestler might execute a submission hold, even though he locked it in before Striker started talking. THE GUY'S AN EX-TEACHER FOR FUCK'S SAKE! Yes it's a little thing to whine about, but i don't expect a character who bleats on about being so intelligent to make such a simple, basic error repeatedly on television.

And he is nowhere near the level of Heenan. Heenan would try to convince you that the heel was someone you should love and respect, but in a way that made you hate them more. Striker just sits there and basically says 'I like that he cheated!' LAME! No way he should be replacing J.R. and i don't think they deserved their Slammy last year either. I've never liked Striker and probably never will, but hey, that's one reason why i don't watch the TV shows anymore.

Oh yeah, can someone remind me when Big Show has EVER had a ladder match, because Striker said he has, and i don't remember it. He said HBK and HHH had one as well. I can only remember matches with ladders involved, not actual ladder matches so am i forgetting certain matches or did Striker make up some more bullshit to sound intelligent?

 

[mayhem]

Matt Striker talks in a very cocky manner for a new guy yet at TLC stated that an IC Title hadn't changed hands in the state of Texas for 20 years.

Really? This year it changed hands in Texas when Rey Mysterio beat JBL at WM 25. Embarrassing.

Matt Striker is their best new commentator though so i give him props for stepping up to the plate quickly and it helps that he was an ex wrestler so he knows the psychology of wrestling better.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Matt Striker is coming across as downright brilliant. He is such a breath of fresh air and a pure joy compared to the tired and stale commentary in both the WWE and TNA. Right now, Striker kind of reminds me a little of a mix of Gordon Solie, Lord Alfred Hayes with a dash of Bobby Heenan tossed in. He's really the sort of heel commentator in wrestling right now and he's pretty good at it.

 

[King Douche]

Matt Stryker would not only make a great commentator, but general manager of RAW and a manager of a wrestler. He has good mic skills and enjoyable everytime when he talks. He can even wrestle good too which is an added bonus. Nice to see someone like him working with the WWE cause they need more exciting guys like him. He needs to be on RAW with Lawler commentating and Cole demoted to ECW with that other lame commentator Josh Matthes or whatever his name is.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

In a word..no. Matt Striker tries to promote himself (and his underwhelming wrestling career) far too often. Bobby Heenan was teh funniest heel commentator of all time. His comic genius is underappreciated today, and in the past. His work with Monsoon was some of the funniest stuff I ahve ever heard, in and out of wrestling, and the way he used to shred the announcers on Nitro was amazing.

 

[Барбоса]

Is he as good as Bobby Heenan? No.

However, Striker definitely has potential. He saved several moments of TLC by actually showing some passion, especially Sheamus' title win when Lawler and Cole almost tried to play it down. He plays the knowledgeable heel commentator very well and in a way him being wrong at times with his "facts" almost makes him more interesting.

I think that his on-air chemistry with Lawler could provide something that has been missing since JR and Lawler were at their peak. Together in a three man team with Lawler and Cole/Grisham I think we have the makings of a great commentary team.

 

[VintageWWE]

I have to say that I do favor Striker over the other color commentators but then again it's because he has one thing the others don't, he's heel. I enjoy listening to Striker talk and enjoyed hearing JBL and Cole argue even more. Vince has to realize that this new announcing style just doesn't work. It's time to go back to face play by play and heel color. Vince also has to stop making fun of Cole and let him do his job. Let him call the match like a wrestling match and let the commentators be more serious about their jobs.