Lawler is annoying on commentary- Is this good or bad?

[MartialHorror]

I remember during the Attitude Era, Jerry the King Lawler played the heel to Ross's babyface and I actually liked it. He was kind of annoying, but in a fun way and it was satisfying when things turned dire for those who he rooted against.

He recently turned heel again for Smackdown commentary and...I hate it. I hate it so much that I actually muted the audio at one point. Most of the commentators aren't very good, but at least with JBL, he has a character who is generally consistent. He might favor the villains, but he does give credit where it's due and is more mild in his delivery anyway. It's sometimes even fun to hear him ribbing Saxton.

Lawler just makes atrocious jokes and picks the villains side simply because they're villains. The low point for me is when he attacks Kalisto for his size, with STUPID comments like "I went in his dressing room the other day and he was using chapstick for deodorant." He's also saying things like this so often that I just get sick of listening to him. These lines aren't funny, they add nothing to the match and I get no pleasure from watching Kalisto win because King just shrugs it off with some excuse. Back when Triple H would get his ass kicked by the Stone Cold back in the day, he would make this goofy whining noise as if he was the one being attacked.

But King is supposed to be a heel, so you might prefer him being so scathing, especially as JBL has gotten a little soft in the role. Furthermore, at least King isn't burying the heels. I like Cory Graves, but it seems like lately his commentary is designed to make other villains- Samson, Riley, Emma- hard to take seriously. So do you like the current incarnation of Jerry the King Lawler? Or do you think that he's ruining Smackdown, even though Smackdown has the one commentator people seem to like (Mauro Ranallo). I've hated shows and commentators in the past, but I've never actually hit the mute button to shut one up. So I hate what King is doing right now.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Jerry Lawler as a commentator in 2016 is a tough one. I will not ever take anything away from how massive the King was in his hey day. Not only that but he was also one of the best heel performers WWE/WWF had in 1993 to 1995. He was also brilliant in the role of colour commentator with JR in the attitude era. But his commentating now is leaving a lot to be desired. It is like he has been phoning it in for about 12 years. That said - Smackdown has been phoned in by the WWE since 2004 too- so what should we expect?

 

[MartialHorror]

I actually prefer Smackdown to RAW because it's shorter and the emphasis is on the wrestling itself, without any long talking segments.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

King's atrocious commentary is the main reason I stopped watching Smackdown. A commentator's job is to bring the home audience into the match and make them feel like they're there. If you can do that as a heel then great, you have a character and can do your job correctly.


King just flat out sucks. The last time I watched Smackdown all I could think about was how I wanted to punch him in the face and not because he's a good heel. He may have been at one point but now it's time for the King to hang up his crown.

 

[Olan]

He seems uncomfortable being a heel which is odd since he was one of the best heels this business ever had.

 

[nwocongo]

It seemed like his heel turn was out of nowhere and for no apparent reason and this seems to be part of the problem for me. There was no explanation whatsoever, Mauro Ranollo shows up and all of a sudden he's shit talking all the guys he used to put over.

The King really isn't doing a whole lot different then he did when he was a heel foil to Vince and JR in the 90's, it's just that now it's 2016. He's aged and his wit isn't as quick as it once was and we aren't kids anymore and so now it's more annoying corny jokes instead of obnoxious corny jokes.

 

[Prince Vee]

I've complained about this in a thread few months back. To precisely say, right after he turned heel. But I garnished lot of heat for saying that as many supported Jerry Lawler as a heel commentator and they asked me to go and watch back the attitude era.

Alright, I did! But that was entertaining, not the one which Lawler exhibit now. His jokes are old, his natural heelish nature had faded away in the recent past and it seems boring. But I should point out one thing in this, the emphasis on wrestling is much more better than Raw!

Sometimes it makes me wonder what I like the most, "kick to the back of the head" of Michael Cole or "What an Enziguri!!" by Lawler. I'll go with the latter though.