Does Mike Tenay's awful lead commentary affect you while watching TNA programming?

[It's...Baylariat!]

I've noticed the consensus here is that many just tolerate the bad commentary from Tenay and from Cole in the WWE, too. I don't know about you, but when I watch a sporting event, the commentary is key in evoking the emotions of the game and what's taking place. Someone like Gus Johnson calling a regular basketball game makes it feel like a Final Four game. Same goes for Jim Ross. JR had the gift of making you feel the moment as it happens. Schiavone was great at evoking the emotional part of it, too. Tenay just seems to fake everything. Like he doesn't care about the match and is going through the motions. Same goes for Cole.

Commentary can make a product much better than it really is. Even in WCW's dying days, the commentary was still leagues above TNA and even better than the WWE at this point. The lost art of the commentator is beginning to rear its ugly head.

 

[Schizophrenic]

Doesn't bother me really at all. He's very easy to tune out cause (as someone else pointed out) he really doesn't have enthusiasm. Now if he was doing what Cole does and being loud and obnoxious then it would bother me but as of now? No. Does TNA need a change and get a new lead commentator? Of course. It's time for a change.

 

[gd]

Meh, he's not really that terrible. Lightyears ahead of that fucker Cole. Tenay is a little on the boring side, but he does a fine enough job for me. Thought he was much better during the whole Don West heel turn thing, which was quite interesting. If they would've stuck with that instead of the Tazz direction I think the commentary would've benifitted enourmously.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Meh, he's not really that terrible. Lightyears ahead of that fucker Cole. Tenay is a little on the boring side, but he does a fine enough job for me. Thought he was much better during the whole Don West heel turn thing, which was quite interesting. If they would've stuck with that instead of the Tazz direction I think the commentary would've benifitted enourmously.

I agree, I found Tenay and heel Don West as a great team that kept me entertained even during the shittiest TNA matches. I wouldn't of said that before but Tenay and West were a great team when they were bickering between each other. Before Tenay would actually be excited about stuff and now with Taz it seems they are both just sitting there telling more corny jokes then anything.

I guess we have all grown used to such bad commentary from both sides in WWE and TNA that we just drown them out. Jim Ross made the commentary better because he got people excited. However, even when Ross wasn't on Raw there was still a lot of great matches and talent that carried the product such as Austin, Rock, etc.

When TNA had Joe, Daniels, and AJ in the ring in 2005 and in 2009 the last thing we thought about was commentary. I think since we haven't seen so many 5 star matches lately that we focus more on the commentary to try to place the blame. A great play by play man like Ross or Bobby Heenan really adds to the program, but if there is great talent and great matches then commentary isn't really that important.

Tenay isn't great but there are a lot worst things going on in TNA right now then Mike Tenay's commentary.

 

[shattered dreams]

It depends if we are talking about how good Tenay is relative to what announcing is today or what it should be in general. IMO, generally speaking he is average. I find nothing that exciting about him or nothing terrible. The sad thing is that makes him above average for this era when practically everyone sucks. I have to agree with those taking greater issue with Tazz. Backstage I bet he is bringing a lot of good things to the company but his announcing is reaching new lows.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Tenay doesn't bother me that much, to be honest, but his propensity to make really idiotic faces and over-react to seemingly ordinary and uneventful situations can be pretty taxing on the patience of anyone who struggles otherwise with the program (through it's various faults).

That said, Tony Schiavone would most certainly be an adequate replacement, but he'd also carry the stigma of "WCW 2.0" with him seeing as they'd have then hired two-thirds of the WCW broadcasting team had they brought him in to begin with.

I'm not entirely sure TNA really needs a "lead" announcer so long as they also happened to have a permanent third – preferably a heel. Don West might have been an OK choice there, but I can't imagine how he'd mix very well with Taz and Tenay already there.

With JR off the table of suitable options, I'm not really sure there is one left.

 

[MancMark]

He never used to do my head in that much. However, recently both Tenay and Taz are really grinding on me. They don't plug the right things at the rights times and it lets the company down. I often think new viewers wouldn't know what the fuck is going on because those 2 can't carry a show. Had JR actually made the move, it could have been the best thing TNA had ever done.

 

[CobraVenom]

My thoughts on Tenay are pain and a lot of it. I still remember how he would get tough with the wrestlers. I wanted to see one of them snap and take him down. Then Tenay would just go away. Back then, when it came to wrestling broadcasters, nothing would have made me happier. I still feel that way. Also, Tony sucks too. This isn't the greatest night in wrestling history folks.

 

[jccool420]

Didn't TNA try a couple years ago to bring Tony in? I remember him showing up in a big ass Hawian shirt on and he looked like a fat slob now... I think it was a backstage announcing gig and he wasn't too good... I think he's lost his passion for the business...

I really would like to see someone with passion and experience in the booth... Hell, maybe they'll sign Heyman and get him to do it... I still think DDP would be a great option though...

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Heyman was always a fantastic heel announcer, and DDP I'd imagine could bring a lot of the same. A lot of people might not realize that DDP broke in as a manager and worked as one for years before being the late bloomer he was – that's a guy I'd certainly not cast away too quickly, either.

I still stand by my earlier statement though –*if they're going to bring someone in, I'm not entirely sold on the idea that it needs to be a lead play-by-play. I think Tenay does an OK job there. I just think the buddy-buddy thing with Taz has gotten to the point of annoyance for a lot of people, which is why a heel commentator (third) would probably spark things quite a bit.

 

[shattered dreams]

Heyman was always a fantastic heel announcer, and DDP I'd imagine could bring a lot of the same. A lot of people might not realize that DDP broke in as a manager and worked as one for years before being the late bloomer he was – that's a guy I'd certainly not cast away too quickly, either.

I still stand by my earlier statement though –*if they're going to bring someone in, I'm not entirely sold on the idea that it needs to be a lead play-by-play. I think Tenay does an OK job there. I just think the buddy-buddy thing with Taz has gotten to the point of annoyance for a lot of people, which is why a heel commentator (third) would probably spark things quite a bit.

The real problem is the dynamic between the two like you are saying. They need to turn Tazz into at least a little bit more of a heel announcer although I am not entirely sold he can handle it. The thing that Tazz does that annoys me the most presently is the way he "supports" the heels methods with throwaway half-assed comments that he contradicts two seconds later. Lawler used to be great at that riding both sides of the fence thing but it does not work with Tazz because he does not put the proper emotion into it. Maybe they run an "ECW" invasion angle and Tazz can finally go heel with them. If not I am not sure a 3-man booth is going to help much because it would be more confusing than helpful probably.

 

[Superstar77]

Like I said in my earlier post Mike isn't necessarily the problem on commentary it's Taz. He's the one that's dragging Mike down IMO.

Taz really got on my damn nerves this week especially during the KOs match. He didn't even attempt to call the match and him and Puppet were just making dumb jokes. I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the women honestly.

So IMO Taz needs to go. Please bring back Don West!

 

[THE_UNCARING1]

I vote we just give up on this subject. I really don't think commentary will ever be as good as it once was. Especially w/ how they're produced. Back in the day they didn't have a bunch of people screaming at them all the time. Give up on the commentary it's all down hill from here. I actually miss the Coach.

 

[MancMark]

DDP is an interesting suggestion. A lot of people seem to hate him genuinely so he'd be an instant heel. Although you can imagine the laughter from WWE fans should another ex-WCW guy show up in TNA.

I'm still very much on the Scott Hall line of thinking. If he keeps it together for long enough within TNA (excluding his occasional arrests outside of it) then I'd seriously consider giving him a go alongside Tenay. Or even alongside Tenay and Taz. I mentioned on another thread that TNA will soon have to expand and get another proper show. When that happens I'd start grooming the likes of Hall for the job.

 

[Suneeboy]

I've noticed the consensus here is that many just tolerate the bad commentary from Tenay and from Cole in the WWE, too. I don't know about you, but when I watch a sporting event, the commentary is key in evoking the emotions of the game and what's taking place. Someone like Gus Johnson calling a regular basketball game makes it feel like a Final Four game. Same goes for Jim Ross. JR had the gift of making you feel the moment as it happens. Schiavone was great at evoking the emotional part of it, too. Tenay just seems to fake everything. Like he doesn't care about the match and is going through the motions. Same goes for Cole.

Commentary can make a product much better than it really is. Even in WCW's dying days, the commentary was still leagues above TNA and even better than the WWE at this point. The lost art of the commentator is beginning to rear its ugly head.

Exactly. Props on the Gus Johnson reference, because that guy can call a fucking game like none other right now. He gives me the emotion of a 90s Marv Albert...but back to wrestling commentary and Tenay.

Tenay is for the most part fine, and he can get emotional. It's his color analyst, the semi-primate bumbling goof Taz that throws him off his game and keeps him from giving us memorable calls. You are only as strong as your weakest link, and when your weakest link is the weakest in the business, you'll be shit right along with him.

Get rid of Taz, and bring back Don West, or an energetic equivalent, and you'll see Tenay's performances improve. As long as Taz is in the booth, any show will suffer. Taz is by far the worst commentator in the business, and is actually worse now than he ever was in his career. I REQURE good commentary on any sporting event, unless I'm there live. If the commentary is poor, the program suffers, and the viewers tunes out.

 

[Slapjack3k]

I don't mind Tenay and even Taz (he made me laugh when he would rip into Cole because Cole couldn't get a suplex name right) However I think there needs to be more face/heel tension between the two. When I listen to them they're either both sorta-face or just come across as detached from the events unfolding.

Failing that, get Stevie Ray in!

Stevie Ray: "I hate being here in Canada."
Tony S: "Canada is a great nation, Stevie."
Stevie Ray: "Your opinion only."

and my personal fave:

"Hook the leg for Gods sake!"

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

Not in the slightest. Commentary gets blown WAY out of proportion when it comes to how important it is. At the end of the day, a good match is a good match. I would think that the commentary goes along with the product. Tenay likely is annoying because he's calling stuff like Abyss and the magic ring of funness. JR got really good at what he did because he was calling really good wrestling matches. Same with Solie or any other great commentator. Yes Tenay is bad, but I'm not sure how much of that you can really put on him rather than the product itself. It's a silly product and therefore the commentary comes off as silly.

As someone who watches matches where the commentary is a language I don't understand, I can say with full confidence that commentary means nothing in actual matches. A good match will be a good match whether you put your TV on mute or not. The only good commentators do is when they have to describe a situation that is happening, such as Tenay talking about the HOF ring, and even then, the actions should be good enough to speak for itself. Commentary enhances the product, it cannot, unless truly terrible, detract from the product. Tenay is not that bad.

 

[The Main Event]

i don't think tenay's commentary is aweful .. matter of the fact i like it ...
but Schiovane was something esle .. he was God in commentary ..
his voice was very freindly and he had a persponality that u like it ..

but again i think its good .. if taz is not make anything serouisly .. i think u maybe forget jerry lawler .. and his in divas matches .

 

[Reddannihilation]

I'd rate TNA's commentary far above that of the WWE's various pairings. Lawler and Cole are a combination of phoned in remarks and dull play-by-play, Grisham and Striker are Cole Jr. and a guy who thinks he's funny but isn't, respectivley, the best of the WWE lot is Cole and Matthews and that's only because Cole plays a heel.

Granted I do think TNA's commentary team would be better if it were Tenay, Taz and Don West(heel) because Tenay is the sort of neutral party guy who just describes the match, Taz can be your colour guy with in-ring experience who can show slight favour to faces and West could be your ignorant heel supporting jackass. It'd add a little more depth to the TNA commentary team and it'd help make Tenay seem less monotonous as he's better at being neutral instead of pro-face.