Favorite Wrestling Commentator

[Unrated Superstar]

The concept is simple, the title says it all. Who's your favorite commentator?

Mine is a newer one, the award goes to JBL. I was talking about this in another post, but in relation to a different subject. I generally am not a big fan of the former wrestlers doing commentary, I think Jerry Lawler is a big dork who's way too obsessed with...uhh...puppies...and Tazz...come on.

But JBL is different, he puts his first-hand knowledge of wrestling to good use and puts over the heels and faces just about equally. His commentary certainly does have a heel tint to it, but there's really nothing wrong with that.

Honorable mention goes to Joey Styles. I was thrilled when he came to WWE. He's just out and out entertaining to listen to. And when he says "OH MY GOD!" there's just this feeling of nostalgia...priceless...it's probably the only real thing left in ECW.

So who does everyone else like?

 

[Da Vinci's Nightmare]

You hit the nail on the head with the Joey Styles comment. The "OH MY GOD" aspect of him is the only thing left of the old ECW that hasn't been re-packaged as WWE userfriendly. JR is my favortie commentator though, he is brilliant. He has so much passion for the business and after going through the heath problems that he has had, its a mericle he is still doing the thing he loves!

 

[Unrated Superstar]

Nightmare, I agree with you whole-heartedly about JR, in fact when I was talking about commentary in another thread I used the same words you did about him..."passion for the business". And as I said in that thread, he just plain knows what he's talking about and he adds a lot of credibility to the announce position. Good call.

 

[Edgeh]

JBL of course..He's got a great sense of humour. and knows what its like to be in the ring. When he argues with cole.. It's funny. He's much better broadcasting than in the squared circle.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Though I feel JBL is the best choice, I want to throw a dark horse out there - Mike Tenay.

The reason I pick Tenay is two-fold. Unlike the idiot Tony Schiavone who started every episode of Nitro by saying it was "the biggest Nitro in history," Tenay treats every episode of Impact as though it's the biggest in history. He wears a tux and gives his all each week.

The thing I like most about Tenay is his honesty. Under the thumb of Vince McMahon, too many of the WWE announcers (JBL is the exception) commentate as though they live in a bubble. God forbid they reference a former superstar who works for the competition or left on bad terms. Tenay has NO PROBLEM showing proper respect to other wrestlers, no matter where they work. When referencing Sting, he often brought up "classic rivalries with the Great Ric Flair." He has mentioned Bret Hart on a few occassions. He does his research. Listening to Lawler and Ross, though entertaining, makes me wonder if they even watched the old matches or if they are told not to reference history.

Tenay talks about wrestling in a respectful, historical context. That's why he's my pick for #1.

 

[STATANANNI]

All are good choices..But I have to say that my favorite wrestling commentator is Gordon Solie..Second would be Joey Styles..OH MY GOD !!!!

 

[RVDgurl]

Greatest commentator of all time is Joey Styles. It pains me to watch the new ECW since he now has to read from a script and is not permitted to use his patent catch phrases. Back in the day, Styles was a one man show who was not in need of a color man. Joey's got is all- he's creative, enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable and has a style all his own.

 

[LadyFranchise]

Jim Ross: You can here the passion in his voice when he calls the matches. I think He makes some matches as good as everybody says they are. He is the best when it comes to bringing intensity to a high profiled match. Just don't piss him off or else you're "A no good some bitch!!"

JBL:He has the combination of humor and wrestling knowledge (unlike Jerry Lawler). He calls a match straight down the middle and knows who should be puts over anybody who can wrestler whether they are heel or a face. The highlight of his commentating is when he call's a match that involves The Miz. I hate that guy just as much as JBL does.

Joey Styles:The man has charisma and his own catchphrase. Nough said.

Worst Commentator

Don West: I can't stand him. He over exaggerates way too much. A guy will do a simple kick and it's "OMG DID YOU SEE THAT KICK!!?!? IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD!!"

 

[sincade20]

Greatest commentator of all time is Joey Styles. It pains me to watch the new ECW since he now has to read from a script and is not permitted to use his patent catch phrases. Back in the day, Styles was a one man show who was not in need of a color man. Joey's got is all- he's creative, enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable and has a style all his own.

i got to got with RVDgurl. back in the day he was a one man show. he was very knowledgeable about wrestiling. I love his promo when he left RAW... his catch phase was the best OH MY GOD!!!!

 

[Mad Metal]

Personally, the "OH MY GOD" from Joey Styles was as annoying as the ring announcer in WSX screaming while introducing wrestlers. But other than his "OH MY GOD", he has the voice, he has the passion, charisma and above all does a great job. Personally I don't praise an "ECW Original" for being in the original ECW as I see many people do and praise some awful guys that once was apart of the promotion, but Joey Styles one of the talented former employees that's not only talented but also is a great guy & warm hearted when it comes to the business.

I really like JBL. He can be very entertaining by picking on Michael Cole, making fun of other wrestlers but he acts as if he is having fun announcing matches and truly enjoys watching the matches in ringside as well as acknowledges actual good matches that he sees.

I like Jim Ross as well. He's been in the business for three decades and truly enjoys his job. Even though he's getting older and at times messes up his lines, he really does his job the best.

 

[Vote for CM Punk]

My favorite commentator is John "Bradshaw" Layfield because he tells it like it is. I also think he's the funniest commentator, but I do agree that Jim Ross has the most passion because you can truly hear it through his words. Cole is annoying at times and I love it when he fights with JBL. I have to go with JBL because he's just plain awesome. I think the WWE should consider moving him to Raw to swap places with Jerry "The King" Lawler; however, I think that's highly unlikely.

 

[Shocky]

God, I'm going to be sick with all of the love for possibly the worst commentator of all time, JBL. The guy sucks, he smells like smoke because he's been threw fire. I mean, it's the same shit each and every fucking match. He is loud, out of nowhere, and very un-entertaining.

Personally, Joey Styles maybe the best one currently, but even now his work is "extremely" limited, because he has to tell bad stories instead of call good matches. JR is just a shadow of his former self, and you can tell he has a hard enough time believing in putting Cena over, that it comes off just to damn rehearsed and choreographed to have any real impact.

Mike Tenay maybe the best as far as knowledge of teh business and correct names of moves. I like his stuff, but being with Don West almost has to put the whole show on mute.

Now for all time, people, open the history book a little bit and look past 2 years.

I love Bobby the Brain Heenan, his stuff on the mic is just legendary and what every color guy should dream to be. His one liners put the King to shame, and the King will admit that. Also, gotta go with Jesse Ventura, his stuff was so damn good.

As far as play by play, Gorilla Monsoon is the greatest of all time, without question, take that Gordon marks. Gorilla knew how to emphasize certain storyline aspects without going over the top like JR having a heart attack, or screaming oh my god a thousand times for emphasis.

So for me, I take the Pairing of Gorilla Monsoon with either the Brain or Ventura any day of the week over any combination anyone can think of on here. JBL Sucks.

 

[abyss1234]

jerry lawler i mean who doesnt like the king he rules with an iron fist and his commentating is funny and thats all i have to say

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Shock, I will go so far as to say the Monsoon / Heenan team was the best of all time. They were damn funny together. I do think, however, that in the case of those two the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. I don't find either of them remotely as memorable without each other.

If we want to open up the history books, let's not forget that Curt Henning and Scott Levy made respectable wrestler-turned-commentators for quite some time.

I stand by my Mike Tenay choice, but Don West is a waste of A LOT of space and it's a shame that Tenay's career will be overshadowed by the fact that his co-workers were so useless (West and Shiavone).

Shock, I disagree with you on JBL. I find him refreshing, and he doesn't come off remotely as scripted as Ross or Lawler.

I also find Joey Styles over rated. He has talent, but I have turned off DVD's of old ECW Pay Per Views because he screamed like a little bitch and I could not stand it. Shock, I agree with you that may be due to having to tell crap stories and not call good matches. But look at the trash on ECW's midcard.

 

[klunderbunker]

Shock you took the words right out of my mouth. Both Heenan and Ventura were great. In my opinion Heenan is the all time greatest. The way he'd always talk down about Hogan and get all pissed off when he kept winning. Then at Bash at the Beach when Hogan turned heenan in the background syaing I told you so for all these years was just priceless.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Ross, Lawler, and surprisingly, McMahon. Back before "Mr. McMahon" was a heel, I actually enjoyed his commentator days. I'm kind of tired of the evil McMahon gimmick...just once I'd like to see him turn face again, just for something fresh.

 

[lovegun101]

When JBL talks about Hornswoggle, it is the funniest thing ever. I actually laugh out loud sometimes with JBL. Like many said, JR has the passion but when I'm watching I don't care about passion. I want to see goopd matches with funny commentating. My favourite is JBL.

 

[SusieQ]

Greatest commentator of all time is Joey Styles. It pains me to watch the new ECW since he now has to read from a script and is not permitted to use his patent catch phrases. Back in the day, Styles was a one man show who was not in need of a color man. Joey's got is all- he's creative, enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable and has a style all his own.

Joey Styles is a genious! I know he doesn't carry with him the history that a JR does, but he was on the cutting edge of wrestling as it evolved through the influence of ECW. He called every second of every show by himself (until the last few years of the original ECW) and he did it all without a stupid script. Any man who can yell "Oh my God, it's the vaginal claw" off the top of his head is fantastic! Not to mention the fact that a lot of what Paul E. did was off the cuff or kept secret until the match evolved, Joey just had to roll with the chaos and he did it without missing a beat.

 

[Jack bruce]

ok im just gonna say it right off the batt, Styles and coach was golden together they took a boring match and made it good, coach will always make me laugh. I mean king was just there at the time but man they were golden together and when he came off the announce table i almost quit wrestling man i miss 2005.

 

[kenchoe]

I may get some heat from this, but for me, no one makes any match more exciting with their commentary than one Vince McMahon.

Funny, humourous, and a bit quirky at times, just listening to the old "Mr. McMahon was worth tuning in.

Second place? Actually...I like Michael Cole moreso than Jim Ross. "Good Ol' JR" gets on my damn nerves with his re-hashing of the same old facts that everyone knows. Coupled with his "toting the company line" to the point of nausea, it's time for JR to spend his golden years sampling some of his fine BBQ.

Worst commentator? Tied for first is JBL and Joey Styles. JBL...great entertainer, annoying commentator. He babbles more than the Ultimate Warrior...and at least Ulti is somewhat funny. Joey Styles...the Lex Luger of commentating. Vastly overrated.

 

[BurstKiller]

Heyman. He and Ross were gold in 2001. Especially during the Invasion where they had a real reason to hate each other. The way they fought and argued made very compelling commentary.

Second would go to Cole. He can mesh with anybody. With Tazz, he gave Smackdown a sportsy feel to it. With JBL, he's a good straight to Layfields wackyness. And when Cole and Lawler reunited for SNME, felt like I was watching Attitude all over again (despite the fact that the show sucked with grating diva ring announcers).

The worst? A three way tie between Don Tenay and teams of WSX and FMV's english team.

 

[JoshK1985]

Joey Styles... Well when he was in the orginal ECW.. He was so ethusastic and could carry a match by himself and that was awesome. he could turn a two star match into a five star match

 

[daddybrash]

Though I feel JBL is the best choice, I want to throw a dark horse out there - Mike Tenay.

The reason I pick Tenay is two-fold. Unlike the idiot Tony Schiavone who started every episode of Nitro by saying it was "the biggest Nitro in history," Tenay treats every episode of Impact as though it's the biggest in history. He wears a tux and gives his all each week.

The thing I like most about Tenay is his honesty. Under the thumb of Vince McMahon, too many of the WWE announcers (JBL is the exception) commentate as though they live in a bubble. God forbid they reference a former superstar who works for the competition or left on bad terms. Tenay has NO PROBLEM showing proper respect to other wrestlers, no matter where they work. When referencing Sting, he often brought up "classic rivalries with the Great Ric Flair." He has mentioned Bret Hart on a few occassions. He does his research. Listening to Lawler and Ross, though entertaining, makes me wonder if they even watched the old matches or if they are told not to reference history.

Tenay talks about wrestling in a respectful, historical context. That's why he's my pick for #1.

Dude, once again I totally agree with you. Tenay does have a vast knowledge of damn near everything and everyone there is to know about wrestling, hence the name the professor. So on a technical note he is the best. But when it comes to entertainment nobody comes close to Bobby the Brain Heenan. Someone else commented on all the crap he used to give Hogan. That's classic. So are all of the off the wall comments he would come up with out of nowhere.

As far as JR goes, I believe he was at his best when Stone Cold was still wrestling. Maybe all the crap that Stone Cold did actually made JR better.

Don West sucks balls.

What do you older guys think about Vince McMahon when he was announcing?

 

[tarp]

1st to Irish Candian if you honestly think JR doesn't watch old matches then you do not read his blog or know anything about him. I think it is because he is told not to mention the competion or other wrestlers. If you check out his blog pag Jrsblog.com or something like that you will see him mention other greats.

My list though
1. Gordie Solie ( the best of all time)
2. Good Ole JR (he even says Gordie is the best
3. Bob Cadule (forgive me for the butchering of his last name( he was the commenator for the NWA in the 80's in case you younguns don't know who he is. Watch the four horsemen DVD and get to know the guy.
4. Davey Crockett
5. Gorilla Monsoon/Bobby Hennan (great as a team)
6. Jerry Lawler
7. JBL ( I think in about two years he could move up as high as four) I love his work
8. Jesse the Body Ventura

 

[mtg712]

for me i have four.
1. Gordon Solie: the best ever. its sad how many people have forgotten him due to him mainly being the the CWF. he really knew how to call a match.
2. Ron Tronguard: AWA Announcer. when you heard him explain or call a match he made it sound like a mammoth clash of the titans situation. he could make it sound like this was the top match an epic match.
3. Jesse The Body Ventura: WWF Announcer. he was 100% heel and was really good and ticking people off. he could really call a match.
4. Gorilla Monsoon: WWF Anouncer. He would have great arguments with Bobby Hennan and Jesse Ventura. He too could call/explain a match in great detail. he would tell you exactly what was going on.