How bad are the Raw announcers?

[babinko]

Got in a little debate with my brother tonight over the current announcing of JBL, Cole, and Lawler. We both are avid wrestling fans, him starting in the mid 80s, me in the mid 90s. We came to the conclusion of how AWFUL the currenting announcers are.

JBL, Cole, and Lawler are there to help you get excited and sell the product to the viewer. I catch these guys more often than not getting lost in their own side arguments of non-sense, coming out flat during a match, or just not giving the right rub to certain superstars. An announcer helps build a superstar. Make them believable. I just don't get that from these guys. Maybe I'm missing something. Its hard for these guys to carry a show and sell the product when you have to fill in the voice for JR. He knew to sell the star no matter who it was.

What do you guys truly think of the Raw announcers? Do you think they make the product more boring? Do they actually grab your attention? Do they sell the wrestlers properly?

Sidenote: Best announcing team imo HANDS DOWN was JR/Heyman at WM X7. One of the reasons why that WM goes down as the g.o.a.t. You also had the taste of Heenan/Okerlund too at that event.

 

[Jericho91]

I wholeheartedly agree that todays Raw Announcers are hopeless. The WWE doesn't even respect JR for all he's done. They try to bury him by calling Michael Cole the voice of the WWE which is a complete joke. Some people don't even match sitting down together side by side for commentary. Jerry "The King" Lawler is better off with Jim Ross. Michael Cole is better off with TAZ. Paul Heyman was the only addition in commentary that was worth the entertainment. Other than that everything else is pointless.

Evolution makes their reunion and what did the commentators do ?? They showed no emotion. No state of shock. No nothing. They put in no effort at all to sell evolutions return. Alternatively it could be all "Creative" fault for making them SUCK. You never know the kind of poison they induce in todays programming. It's a huge disappointment.

 

[TDFG]

If only JR & Heenan were healthy enough to do it.

I think "The King's" days as a commentator are over, he just doesn't sound that interested in the product. Michael Cole is still "trying" to be a JR clone, when we see a finisher we don't need him to repeat it three times, JBL is doing the same thing too. Tazz & Tenay are even worse.

I don't no who would replace them, Heyman is good, but that isn't going to happen.

 

[Booker t 5x]

honestly i cant stand the commentary of today. but i know its not their fault. they have to plug their twitter, and whats trending, and the app and the network. in all seriousness, i do find it to be very bland. like i heard in matt strikers interview, vince is not worried about the 30 something year that wants to hear about wrestling holds, hes worried about the kids watching. but i dont enjoy the commentary at all.

 

[babinko]

When you're at the Live event its an awesome experience because your surrounded by fans and more focused on the match itself. You're not judging anything from the announcers.

When you're watching at home, the announcers are the ones that keep you going throughout the show. Just the thought of hearing Cole do that snorting laugh makes me cringe. I'm not here to shoot down any of these guys, they all have done great things within WWE but are just not worthy of being in that position to call matches. I feel like Cole could stay for the long haul but needs a better partner. Drop the trio and stick someone else with Cole to call raw.

Another sidenote: I meant to put ARE* in the poll question. Couldn't fix it. It was 4am when I wrote that. Just saying that incase someone on here wants to be a Grammar Nazi

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Evolution makes their reunion and what did the commentators do ?? They showed no emotion. No state of shock. No nothing. They put in no effort at all to sell evolutions return. Alternatively it could be all "Creative" fault for making them SUCK. You never know the kind of poison they induce in todays programming. It's a huge disappointment.

Wow I did not think of that!! Now I know while watching their reunion on youtube, why I felt like, "ugh, this is evolution? their music? they are walking together! And all I hear is numb silence and muffled boos? " Had JR been there, he would've made the Evolution Reunion look 10 times more inspiring and life-infusing by his , "Oh My God!! Evolution! By God evolution stand together!- Batista, Orton and the Gameeeee- are together!- By god evolution has returned and the Shield have one big force to reckon with!!! "

It's a wonder why Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are on Raw announce team because they should only announce Main Event and/or Smackdown, if at all they should be employed still. The fact is that there mustn't be any talented announcer with wrestling experience around, or we would've seen many more new announcers between 2002-2014. The Josh Matthews and Todd Grishams are hardly charming, and Matt Striker was the only Mike Tenay-esque wrestling encyclopedia talent, and they fired even him. Where are the Bobby Heenans, Tony Schiavones, and Mike Tenays of today?

Booker T was horrendous. JBL is mildy funny now, he doesn't seem as good as he was back in 2006. The only choice a WWE fan has is to either keep enduring this bogus commentary team, or watch the product with the announcers MUTED.

 

[The Butcher]

They're terrible, but I don't like the way this poll is presented. All three are "worthy." They've got the experience and the ability. I've seen and heard each of them do better work, so I know what they're capable of. Unfortunately for us, they seem disinterested and are hamstrung by what they hear in their headsets. I doubt any of them really wants to give redundant lessons on how to download an app or shill Carl's Jr. bacon cheeseburgers, but they're making good money to be the voices of the corporate WWE machine.

Lawler needs to retire or be forcibly retired, and I could take or leave the other two even on their best day. That said, though, the biggest issue with the commentary is WWE's philosophy toward it, and that isn't going to change no matter who the broadcasters are.

 

[#HELLNO]

This debate of 'how bad the RAW announcers are' has been going on for ages now & it sickens me that nothing is being done about it. We all know that Lawler's best days are most definitely behind him, as are JBL's. Both men just aren't as intriguing as what they used to be & to me they make a lot of the matches boring to watch as they are constantly burying those in the ring with their back & forth rants. RAW, I believe should stay a 3 man booth but please, for the love of god, bring in someone who can call the action & not just row with the others at the table. I would have this booth;

Lead Announcer: Micheal Cole (As boring as he is, we will just have to deal with him).
Colour Analyst (1): William Regal (He knows all there is to know, so why not?)
Colour Analyst (2): Byron Saxton (This guy knows a lot too & he has the voice! Plus he would add a younger feel to the team)

 

[toon126]

They're awful. Michael Cole always has been, and always will be the most pathetic announcer. Even after 15 years his voice will never be remembered with any significant moment like JR, Monsoon, even McMahon and Schiavane's are.

I could careless about his commitment, hard work, dedication and blah blah because all that does is mask the fact he has no talent.

Agree with others that Lawler's best days are way, way behind. Watching the Network and being reminded of what he was like 10-20 years ago kills me, because he really was brilliant.

JBL... Meh. "I love it!" On top of that he is poor at trying to play the antagonist. You're either the heel, or you're not. But don't flip just to evoke a (non)reaction from Cole.

They're idea of drama is saying nothing, they, along with the WWE, seem to think it makes things more real. But you can not ever beat something like JR's "Awww son of a bitch!" to really capture the moment.

They suck.

 

[Meth Head]

Like Paul Heyman said.

There is JBL, and there are those two other clowns.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I don't have a problem with Cole. At all. He get's hammered online because he's "not JR" but I don't think he's as awful as most peopled do.

Lawler is horrible. He has been for at least 10 years now. The older he gets, the cornier he gets.

And I'm VERY disappointed in JBL. I was glad when he got added to the team but its not what I expected. He says things that don't make any sense just to be contrarian and to piss off Cole. You can tell he doesn't even believe what he is saying. He just plays devils advocate for the sake of doing so.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The announcers aren't necessarily terrible, they just lack a few skills that could turn them into a very good commentating team as on paper, this trio should all deserve a position on the RAW booth.

Michael Cole is the best play-by-play commentator by far in the WWE and does his job well. I feel sorry for him at times being paired up with JBL & Lawler as his partners but he needs to grow a pair and steer them on-topic every time they're on a rant or begin an unnecessary conversation. JBL is bad at this, as well as raising his voice when the situation doesn't call for it so should he tone himself down and let Cole take the reigns, these two will make a great team (Cole as the serious play-by-play guy alongside a semi-interesting heel colour commentator). Hell, I already enjoy their work over on Smackdown.

The major problem lies with Jerry Lawler who simply reacts to what is happening and doesn't provide any insight. The only time I look forward to listening to Lawler is hearing his terrible dad jokes (which are supposed to be bad but his renditions are now pathetic) and scream in that high-pitched voice... those aren't good qualities to have. However, considering he recently suffered a heart attack and is an old Hall of Famer, removing him from commentating could be seen as a disrespectful and heartless move by a lot of people. Sure, he can earn a similar pay check for WWE by doing something else but I feel it is up to Lawler when he leaves or if they convince him that they have a well-groomed suitor to take his place (and I don't think the WWE are confident in anyone else to take over for him yet). Plus, he's a guy from the past who brings nostalgia to the table. Who doesn't like nostalgia?

Yes, the RAW team isn't as good as it can be but at least the wrestling product is doing very well so for now, just enjoy the storylines and the show. If you need your commentating fix, go watch NXT or reminisce during the good old days... or do your own commentating.

 

[ThePhenomLives]

They are all beyond awful and to some degree ruin the product. It's been like this for years and the fact that WWE have done fuck all about it really is astonishing.

 

[justinsayne]

Lawler needs to go, at Extreme Rules he seemed to forget the rules to the matches 3 or 4 times through out the night, he never has anything of note to say, & just comes across as a guy sitting there for the paycheck. If they insist on keeping Lawler around then take him off RAW & send him down the NXT, he can be apart of the rotating commentary team down there, & has a wealth of knowledge he could share with all guys/girls in development.

As for JBL/Cole, they're passable, they'd be so much better if they focused more on the action in the ring instead of shilling apps, the network, burgers, Mt. Dew, & all the other stupid shit that is not happening in the ring.

 

[Gibby]

If Vince is worried about the kids rather than the 30 year olds (fine, I suppose) then the question remains: why Michael Cole? Which kids are enjoying him? I just don't hear the enthusiasm for the job from any of the guys and find the commentary banal at best and worthy of the mute button or off switch at worst.

In my honest opinion the thing that lets WWE down the most is its overall presentation, from its visual to the way it sounds it feels trapped in 10 years ago. Love loads of their guys, there's been some strong writing in among the dross, but I really hate the way it looks and sounds from time to time. If they want to convey the 'reality era' as a new thing, it's time to stop having such unreal cheeseboxes dominating the show and give the set/ring area a little more veracity.

 

[Gavschenko]

JBL is boring imo just brings up random crap that has nothing to do with the match, i think cole does a brilliant job in making a moment feel that much better. King is ok does a good enough job

 

[rokuma]

The announcers in WWE are terrible. These three are abysmal and take away from the product as a whole. They're boring, they show no emotion, they don't focus on the in-ring action, and they don't sell the product. Essentially, they aren't doing their job whatsoever. Michael Cole has always been awful and frankly, he's at the heart of it. For whatever reason (perhaps longevity?) WWE has forced him into the new "voice of the WWE" to replace Jim Ross. JBL and Lawler could/have succeeded with the right partner, but it all starts with Cole.

The irony is the WWE already hires a guy who could've easily become the new voice of the WWE and was for a brief period: Joey Styles. I wasn't a huge fan of Joey Styles in ECW or his run with WWE, but he is very good and he brings an excitement and an energy to the product that it lacks today. Instead, he's relegated to WWE.com doing cheesy YouTube videos and even more ironically, that would be a better position for Michael Cole. If they could flip-flop those two, the announcing team in WWE would be top notch and we'd probably notice a more sustained enthusiasm for the storylines and matches we watch weekly.

 

[mace87]

I personally don't mind Cole as he tries to be constructive on what is happening in the ring, he tries to push anyone that is over and tries to add heat on the heels like currently the Shield & Bryan for example who are being targeted by the authority he tries to make you feel for their position and want you to support them and at the same time disapprove of Triple H, Evolution, Stephanie & Kane's actions.

JBL too often appears to just want to annoy Cole which unfortunately happens too often and then they get into stupid rants instead of calling the matches.

Lawler really should call it a day everything about his gimmick as a commentator is tired and labored as we've heard it for 20 years.

I perfered it when Striker was on commentary as he explained what was going on in the ring and got me excited about what was happening in the ring.

My favourite commentors I've seen Mike Goldberg & Joe Rogan on UFC they get you pumped for a match explain in detail what is happening in the ring and add humor at times.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

I don't think Michael Cole is terrible. Occasionally, he'll really nail a big moment. I watched the ending of Wrestlemania XXX back for the first time last night and his commentary over Daniel Bryan's win was phenomenal. He got it spot on. Same can be said for the screwy finish of Elimination Chamber. If that sort of passion was captured on a more regular basis I don't think people would be constantly pining for the return of Jim Ross. I don't really know what to put it down to, but it isn't captured enough. On the whole I think he does a decent job of leading the broadcast, but it is a shame that all of the big moments aren't greeted with the same passion from Michael Cole that he's proven to be capable of.

I'm not sure what to think about JBL. During his first run on colour commentary, I thought he showed the potential to be one of the best. Since his return to the table in 2012, he's come across as an absolute clown. Again, I don't know what to put it down to. I don't know if he is the issue, or if the guy in gorilla is. JBL has got some special qualities as an announcer. He can put over an obvious underdog really well. He can take a match that seemingly only exists for the sake of putting over one of the participants and convince you that the opponent is a threat, ultimately making the victory even more rewarding for the guy that deep down, you always knew was going over. He does it on a weekly basis for guys like Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger and other guys who are stuck in similar spots. Yet the really good qualities are accompanied by mindless shouting, arguing, "FLYING GOAT" and similar pieces of banter which are neither funny nor productive.

I've never been a huge fan of Jerry Lawler. I think his heel colour commentary is made out to be better than it actually was, and in 2014 he's just going through the motions. He's the one part of Raw's threesome that I don't feel could offer more in different circumstances. The sooner he's on a Legends contract the better.

Michael Cole and JBL are leaving a lot to be desired, but I'm undecided as to whether a change of personnel would fix anything, which is ultimately the problem.

 

[The_Reptile_]

Individually? The only one I'd actually call bad is Lawler, and that's been the case for years now. Cole and JBL by themselves aren't really all that tedious to sit through. However, when you put them all together it's as if all their worst, most negative traits get amped up by 100 and it's all just unbearable.

 

[steve storm]

they are very bad. all 3 of them on raw cole, jbl and lawler annoy me. regularly during matches they are more interested in bickering with each other, trying to outdo what each other says (jbl and cole), cole keeps trying to correct jbl when he makes mistakes but cole makes mistakes to, lawler makes lots of mistakes and also is more interested in telling his corny jokes and they regularly ignore the matches they're calling and not doing what they're supposed to which is ultimately putting the talent over. mick foley said it best in his first book that when jr was commenating/announcing he could make a bad match sound good and a good match seem great. seeing as how they all harp on about how great the wwe network is maybe all 3 of them should actually watch some of the old matches that jr announced and learn a few things about how to call a match properly and focus on the in ring talent rather than try to ridicule them or call them names (jbl does this endlessly).

 

[SinCityBlitz]

They are told what to say and how to act. I can't fault them because it falls on Management. No matter who you replace them with you will have the same problem.

 

[Kamala316]

This is an excellent question. I have watched wrestling since I basically learned how to turn on a tv. Over the years, Superstars have come and gone, obviously some more talented than others. But regardless of their talent level, one part of the show that I always enjoyed was listening to the commentators help "tell the story" while I watched the in-ring action. Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan had a chemistry that will never be equaled, in my opinion. They would go at it tooth and nail, but their comments would still be based off something that one of the Superstars in the ring did, said, etc. I always enjoyed Jesse Ventura & Vince McMahon's commentary because Ventura's serious tone meshed well with Vince's over the top commentary. I have always enjoyed Jim Ross' work, as I feel he speaks with knowledge and passion for the business (not so much in the later years, though). That being said, I feel today's WWE commentary is absolutely horrible. First, Jerry Lawler is extremely limited by the "PG" rating. He had chemistry with JR with the good cop/bad cop gimmick, but in today's WWE, he essentially can't be a pervert, which limits him. His one-liners feel forced, and stuffed in between JBL and Cole trying to get their one-liners in. Also, Lawler just seems to be going through the motions. There is no passion in his voice for what's going on in the ring. You're supposed to be helping talent get over, and he does not do that. Second, JBL is phonier than a 3 dollar bill. From his smile to his interaction with the other commentators, he seems like he's just there for a paycheck and some tv time to promote his other business endeavors. I was never a fan of his in-ring work to begin with, so I may be biased, but to me, he always seemed like someone who was a bully, looking over his shoulder to make sure he kept his spot. Finally, we get to Michael Cole. Cole will always be disliked because he took JR's seat. That being said, I actually think Cole has improved somewhat. Unfortunately, that gets overshadowed by him being a "Yes" man to Vince. You really don't have free reign to be yourself when you have Vince in your ear telling you what to say. That being coupled with having to plug the WWE App, Network, whatever horrible song is the official song of the next PPV, read the anonymous GM stuff, etc., it doesn't help his persona. Personally, I think they all suck. 3 is a crowd, especially when the job of the commentator/color analyst is to enhance the story being told in the ring, not plug your YouTube show, sell your personal line of shirts, give us a rundown of how the local sports teams are doing (unless they're in the crowd), etc. This is the worst commentating I've ever seen in 30+ years of wrestling (and yes, that includes Don West and Tazz). I would love to see some new blood at the table, Tom Phillips has done well, and even Alex Riley has found a new niche. I would say Renee Young might deserve a shot, but she is perfect as the backstage interview person. When it gets to the point that you either watch Raw on mute, or it's more fun to read the comments during the show on Wrestlezone (no offense), it says something about the product that WWE is putting out. And right now, the situation at the desk needs a fixing.

 

[MC_Live]

I've come to realize that the matches on RAW and SmackDown are 100 times more enjoyable without hearing the commentators, which is a real shame. Commentary is suppose to enhance the product, not diminish it. And it's not their fault. JBL, Lawler, and Cole are all amazing. They are all exceptionally good at their job. Problem is that they're not allowed to do their job the way they should. I'm 100% sure if they could call the action in the ring, they would. Instead Vince and Kevin Dunn make them joke and bicker and it's annoying and just bad. Lawler was such a better heel color guy. He hasn't sounded good in a long time. JBL used to be great. But now he just yells and screams for the sake of arguing. He says a lot of things solely because it's the opposite of what Michael Cole is saying. And Cole is really good. He'll never be JR, but that would be fine if WWE let him be Michael Cole. He is really good at his job. It's just he's being told what to say and how to act. Vince is more focused on having them talk about the top story than the in ring action, which ultimately diminishes the value of everything. I think Alex Riley and William Regal should be on TV. Especially Regal. But as soon as they got moved up, they would just be a different voice doing the same thing, talking about something completely irrelevant. So unless WWE realizes this and starts letting the commentators talk about the action that's actually happening, commentary will always be horrible. It's going to suck until the day it gets changed.

 

[chicagokmc]

My biggest problem with the commentary is that WWE is trying to follow sports commentary with the 3 man team. I think there isn't enough air time for all 3 and King usually ends up on the short end. The other problem I have, more of a WWE in general problem, is the assumption that when heels turn face we're supposed to suddenly like and feel for them. Michael Cole's outbursts at the Shield beatings is the prime example. We spent almost a year watching the Shield's motif of 3 on 1 squashings and we're supposed to now have pity when we see the odds turned and then some with a 11+3 Shield beatdown?? Or when earlier this year Cole complained about Ambrose not defending his US belt but now that he's a face we're to be sorry that he was "forced" to defend it.

I never blame the commentators personally it's still just annoying. I'd keep it a two man team with JBL and Cole and maybe add out of respect King for the big PPV's like Rumble and Wrestlemania to begin his eventual phase out.