Have WWE finally changed their ways??

[huwtimbrell38]

So one of my main gripes of the last few years has been WWEs tendancy to overshadow mid card feuds with announcers either bickering or hyping main events during mid card matches. Ive noticed recently they started to move away from this, Cole has slowly been drawing his character in and going back to being a good play by play announcer. The GM feud and Rhodes/Big Show segments havnt been dominated by talk of Cena/Rock as they wouldve been in the past and this has made these feuds seem more important.

Last night was different again, at Wrestlemania, at no point were the commentators discussing anything but the match which was on at that point, even during the divas match. When JR came out Cole shook his hand and said "welcome aboard" in what seemed a genuine sign of respect. Cena/Rock was mentioned at the start, then barely mentioned again until the main event.

i thought this helped make every match feel special in its own right and none of it seem like filler, even the bryan match benifitted as hopefully the long term story will pay off helped by the fact the commentators were concentrating on what happened and sold it well rather than just discussing a match due on later in the night.

has anyone else noticed this and do you think its the right way to go to build more depth? or should less important matches be used as time to promote other matches?

 

[Yesiamaduck]

Now that you mention it... you're right!

The commentary tonight was very strong (bar the occasional miss call) when JR came out Alarm bells started ringing and was pleasantly surprised that they all just called the match... with no one trying to overshadow each other.

 

[Shotaro]

The commentary has improved a great deal since around the time it was rumoured Cole was getting the blame for a ratings drop. He is actually a pretty good commentator, but it's easy to forget that after the last 18 months or so. It's a vast improvement and at Mania, the commentary was spot on.

On a side note, isn't it strange that JR came out and called the "end of an era" match. It felt like his swansong to an extent. I wouldn't be surprised if it transpired that he was now done as an on-screen personality. Though now I've said that he'll probably be commentating on Raw tonight.

 

[SD619]

Yes, the commentary was quite good and to the point mainly because :

1. They didn't keep mentioning 'End of an Era' or 'Once in a lifetime' every few minutes.

2. Cole and King didn't bicker much.

3. Booker wasn't there.

4. They didn't insult JR.

And most importantly,

5. They kept the TWITTER mentions to a minimum.

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

I appreciated good actual "play-by-play" for once. It wasn't great, but it was more consistent. I still wish all sports would stop trying to make their commentators part of the action. It's not just wrestling (football....I'm looking at YOU!)

They still need to move back into explaining the action in the ring more. Paint a picture with words.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Cole, who really is the biggest factor in your whole point IMO, has definitely calmed down on his huge rants throughout segments and matches. So in that essence it has gotten drastically better. However, yesterday was Wrestlemania. There was nothing to hype. They were already at the grandest stage of them all. As someone said, I'm sure they were told to keep all commentating to not much more than what was necessary to provide for the show.

However, being that Team Laurinitis won last night, I expect a segment or two where Cole goes off professing how often he gets on his knees for John Laurinitis and I will definitely change the channel. I refuse to give segments dominated by heel Cole any ratings. That character lost all watchability in my eyes because of his huge rant-filled year that has, for the most part, slowed down a lot. It's for that fact alone that I agree with the OP that commentating has gotten better in the fact that they do follow the matches more and go off on less, meaningless, tangents.

 

[HBsam31]

The commentary has improved a great deal since around the time it was rumoured Cole was getting the blame for a ratings drop. He is actually a pretty good commentator, but it's easy to forget that after the last 18 months or so. It's a vast improvement and at Mania, the commentary was spot on.

On a side note, isn't it strange that JR came out and called the "end of an era" match. It felt like his swansong to an extent. I wouldn't be surprised if it transpired that he was now done as an on-screen personality. Though now I've said that he'll probably be commentating on Raw tonight.

I have been saying on these threads for a while that JR should be allowed to call that match. I honestly didn't think it would happen, and was pleasantly surprised when he came out. It was the perfect addition to a perfect match. On to the thread. The commentary has vastly improved, and I hope it keeps going that way, but as much as it pains me to say, I wish last night was The King's swan song as well. I grew up on him and he just doesn't seem interested anymore. He just seems random and confused. He has done all he needs to do in this business, so maybe it is time for him to step down as well.

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

The commentary was very strong, because it had to be. Wrestlemania isn't an event where the commentators can come across as having characters, or having their own agendas. The commentators can't even really try to push or setup up angles in a sense, as Wrestlemanis a culmination of storylines in many cases.

Plus, it was no secret that Vince McMahon was really treating this Wrestlemania with a sense of grandeur that he maybe hasn't done, behind the scenes the last few years. With Triple H/Taker and Rock/Cena on the card, it felt like a Wrestlemania with more on the line than any in recent memory, and the commentators had to do their best to really convey that.

Add in to the mix the inclusion of Jim Ross, and you see just how sharp and good WWE's commentary can really be when it is focused on the in ring product. Ross was able to come into the HIAC match and never missed a beat, and really gave the match the gravity, and some what old school feel it needed.

If anything, WWE should have kept Ross out there for Jericho/Punk and Rock/Cena. Punk has never had a main event Wrestlemania match called by Ross, and when you want to showcase two wrestlers as being the 'best in the world', there is no better person than Ross to convey that throughout the match.

He could have lent a lot to the Rock/Cena match as well. The biggest Wrestlemania match in years really deserved WWE's best commentator behind the mic to call it. Ross has the unique ability to not only call the action, but relate to the talent in ring, and really pull the viewer in. To me, the commentary really felt like it detracted from Rock/Cena. Not that Cole and Lawler did a horrible job, but it just felt as though neither were able to really hook me, and Ross' commentary might have helped overshadow some of the slower moments, and take some attention away from Rock, who while good, definitely seemed out of place in spots, and seemed to be a bit fatigued pretty early on.

With all that said though, I agree with the OP that the commentary, as a whole was on point, and it's something that WWE should really look at continuing, as it makes the product that much better.

 

[jobesukulele]

Yeah, the way I see it is that if you're paying attention to what the commentators are up to then they're doing their job wrong.

If you're paying attention to what the commentators are discussing and they're not standing out then they're doing their job right.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I was pleasantly surprised by the commentary last night. Cole was the best he's been since he started his heel character, and Lawler wasn't as much of a caricature as normal. Cole only went into his heel character really during the 12 man tag, and it was expected in that match. Even then, he surprisingly didn't take it over the top and distract from the match with it. He did still favor heels, but that's alright. Last night is how he should be every night.

Commentary was my biggest worry going into the night, so it was nice to see them get it right.

 

[pg04]

I definitely agree he was much better. Even shook the hand of Good Ole JR. Any remnants of the "animosity" between King and Cole seem to be gone (other than the random mention of his undefeated record at wrestlemania).

I think one of the big reasons for this was because the main events were all pitting people that cole, even the heel cole "respects." Essentially All three of the main events were between those who seem to transcend the heel/face boundaries.

 

[Shakin' Abe]

The bottom line is WWE finally did something to out smart the fans who were ALL talking about what they read on the internet just hours before WM. This was a brilliant move by Vince and Co. Yes, I love run-ins and suprise returns as much as the next guy but in this day and age, it just can't be done without the fan already having knowing about it. I hate when you see some snot nosed kid in the stands with a sign about the returning wrestler that nobody is supposed to know about.

 

[THEbrawler12345678910]

commentary is always decent for the most part but the overall matches just suck....i used to be hardcore wrestling back in late 90s early 2000s and they might not have had the "best" but they were really entertaining matches that lasted more than ur average 1-2 minute squash match on raw or smackdown. just sucks i remember watchin raw every week n seein the hardy boys wild out, stone cold stunnin, somethin different or new storylines...now and days seems very predictable

i do gotta say they made a huge splash with brock lesnar....thats amazing...i never thought he really needed to come back to the wwe but its definitley a huge move for the wwe. i cant c that i saw that comin, but with the rock hopefully sticking around for a lil, a returning brock, im starting to wonder what might come next...this is what i used to love about wrestling and they r startin with moves like the brock ....hopefully they dont drop the ball though

 

[Cenaisboring]

I'll tell you one thing, I watched the hogan era and the rock era, and the nwo/wcw days, and once this PG era started I totally lost interest in the wwe. Actually, once the rock left it really started to get dull slowly.

The Rock returning, even though briefly, got me interested in the wwe. I started watching other matches just to wait for The Rock to entertain. Now I know who CM Punk is. I was surprised the wwe has survived and not canceled like all the daytime soaps, and after this last WM 28 and recent Raw, I think the WWE is back strong.

The Rock for a title eventually? Brock Lesner? Wow. Just wow. Would be great for Brock to just run over Cena at Summer Slam. I'm thinking the WWE will somehow make this a 3 way dance eventually for Wrestlemania. I don't see a Rock and Cena WM again but do see The Rock, Cena and Brock match likely.

The WWE really needs to change Cena's character. If he is to remain the face he is just so DULL. He has the gifts/talent to pull off a Stone Cold type bad ass character but he is just so boring to listen to and even watch wrestle. He needs an edge or he just needs to go heel. He needs more boos than just half the arena and a heel change would give him that.

What I think would be great is a Cena heel turn with Laurinitas in his back pocket and having a rival with CM Punk up until WM. He can get over on Punk and make the next Survivor Series a fatal 4 way dance or something. Either way, The Rock and Brock have totally made the WWE relavant again. THey can't really screw this up. Hopefully this brings other talent because we both know the Rock and Brock will not be around consistently.

Finally, maybe they should just end this PG era. Its clear the fans like the older generations. Just listen to all the roar and pop from older wrestlers. While the Hogans and Lesners cannot act, they put on a hell of a show in the ring. WWE wrestlers today are just horrible all around and I think half of it is the PG rating.

 

[Killercam]

The past two nights look like a real big shift into how things are going to be booked. I think there has probably been a shift in power on that front Looks like they are hell bent on giving the iwc what they want for now. I can see a big problem with bringing in Lesner this soon after a year long campaign to make the Rock "the man". How are you going to kill enough time to keep rock/Cena II, rock/brock, Brock/Cena from happening before Summerslam at least? That's one reason I wish the would only have 6 ppvs a year.
I guess Punk (maybe Miz) is over enough to feud with these three right now but it will be interesting to see which one of these guys seize the moment. And the crowds in Miami over the past two nights have been awesome, some of the shit that went down wouldn't have flied without those crowds.