Let's address the Ring Announcing in TNA

[Ambiguous Turd]

Okay, baby steps here.

TNA has fixed one of my biggest issues with the show and that was the 4 sided ring. I still have a couple other production issues to address.

One of them is something that isn't brought up often, but while we are on the topic of Creative changes I'm going to address it now.

Yes, it is time to relieve David Penzer from his ring announcing duties.

Penzer, the ring announcer of WCW Monday Nitro, has somehow managed to keep his career alive, even after the demise of WCW. He got himself a job ring announcing in TNA. But the problem is that Penzer is not really all that great a ring announcer. He never was and he never has been. And if TNA wants to give their company a facelift, it's time to bring someone new in to be the ring announcing voice of TNA.

Penzer's voice is like nails on a chalkboard. It isn't a deep voice, like you think an announcer's voice should be if you are a guy. It's just an obnoxious voice, in which all the introductions he does sounds exactly the same. It's the exact same style for every single name he introduces.

Not to mention that, but they don't even have him stand inside the ring for iMPACT, which I think is asinine. The viewer sitting at home has to be wanting to put a face to that voice they keep hearing each and every week on the show. It boggles my mind why they don't have him sitting at ringside and announcing the matches inside the ring.

Is it a problem with him not being able to memorize hometowns, weights, etc. and they don't want him reading notecards on TV? May be a possibility as I saw him at an iMPACT taping reading every single match word for word. Maybe his memory is just awful and they think like WWE, in that it is unprofessional for a ring announcer not to memorize that information.

Even Bruce Buffer for UFC reads off notecards, so I don't forsee the problem with that as much. I just want someone in there that has a decent voice. But since Penzer has neither of those attributes evidently, it's time to get rid of the guy and to replace him.

Not to mention that Jeremy Borash announcing Main Events has absolutely got to stop, and hopefully it has. Michael Buffer, he is not. Why do they even pretend he is? Is Borash supposed to be a big deal in terms of kayfabe? He's an interviewer ... nothing more, in that regard. He's okay at announcing, but he does not deserve the Michael Buffer treatment ... especially if he is going to dress like an absolute slob and be in a sports coat and a pair of jeans and sneakers when he is doing the Main Event. At least Penzer wears a tux even when not on camera. Yet Borash gets in the ring looking like a bum, and gets his face show on TV while pretending to be Michael Buffer.

So there are several issues I have with the production aspect of ring announcing.

I think TNA should look to hire an attractive female as their new ring announcer ... preferably a singer with an outstanding voice. With them trying to differentiate themselves from WWE, and WWE not having a lead female ring announcer any longer, I think now is the time to make this move. In other words, TNA needs their own Lilian Garcia.

What are your overall comments and positions on TNA and the job they do with the Ring Announcing?

 

[Schizophrenic]

I would like to know who you think would be suitable replacements for Taz & Tenay? Right now there are not many guys out there who have a good knowledge of wrestling who are avaliable or willing to do the job. I think Taz & Tenay are doing an ok job. God knows it's not like they have much competition on any of WWE's shows aside from Mr. Striker. Taz at least seems to be enjoying himself again. In terms of ring announcing I do think Penzer needs to get the boot, and I like the idea of a female announcer but people will then bitch and moan more abou them copying WWE and saying they stole the idea from a third rate show in ECW since they still have Savannah. If they need to get a guy ring announcer it should be someone who has a voice similar to Howard Finkle or Bruce Buffer. Someone with a commanding voice who people think "That guys an announcer"

 

[mister_b1LL]

I've been wondering all along who that guy was that was doing the announcing for TNA.

Yeah I think he's terrible and he needs the boot. His voice lacks variance in pitch resulting in a loud monotone announcing job. Sometimes he even makes The Beautiful People's entrance a chore to watch. The announcer does need to be in the ring doing the announcing as well. Like when Justin Roberts does the announcing for RAW. It gives him the chance to get some face time and let's us know who the announcer guy is.

I vote for keeping it a male announcer though. It has to be a guy that has a voice that is not only commanding but is easily identifiable, both to the person and to the company he is representing. You listen to Michael Buffer's voice and you instantly think Boxing. You listen to Howard Finkel's voice and you immediately think old school WWF. Listen to Tony Chimel's voice and you hear the voice of SmackDown. It's gotta be somebody that when you hear that voice, you know you are watching TNA and better yet he is helping represent TNA in a good way.

Moreover, it's gotta be someone new. Penzer was a crossover from WCW. Even in WWE you hear the same voices forever from FCW to ECW to RAW. I think TNA should find that diamond in the rough that has that voice. The voice that will get WWE to wonder, "Why couldn't we find that guy?"

 

[Tougie]

About Penser, I completely agree, he really does need to grow, fade him out of the picture slowly and try to find the next Justin Roberts or Lillian Garcia. JB has stopped with the main event announcing cause "bischoff took him off TV" at Genesis. For the record I no longer watch ECW because of the horrible announcing and ring announcing. And I really have no problem with Tenay or Taz, I think some are just so use to Taz being with Mr. Vintage and Tenay being with Don West (Who I really dont think is that bad, cant wait to hear why im an idiot for that), Bobby Heenan, or even Tony. I personally disagree with the long ass ramp and 4 sides but its not changing back so I'm over it. Just Change the ring announcer and your all set production wise. What talent needs to get pushed is a whole other topic.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I raised this a while back and was told the "Voice of God" was a good thing for TNA. Glad to see someone finally agreeing with me that it makes them look amateur.

If the TNA crowd and audience at home are so stupid as to have not listened to the pre-match rules that were announced prior to the match indicating the rules for the contest that they then need to be let known of every elimination (in elimination type matches, for example) on top of it, then TNA just lost a great deal of hope if you ask me.

I do not like Penzer's voice at all. As you noted Sid, it's like nails on a chalkboard. Every emphasis he makes sounds exactly the same.

If the WWE could move on from Mean Gene, there's no conceivable reason why TNA can't move beyond Penzer.

 

[TellMeWhy]

I think Dave Penzer is a decent ring announcer. You guys nitpick quite a bit. The last of TNA's problems is the ring announcer out of all the announcing in TNA. If anything, the only announcing I have a problem with in TNA is on the commentary other than that, Dave Penzer doesn't bother me.

 

[Tastycles]

I have never understood what Jeremy Borash is doing in the main event ring. The main guy, who's name I am completely unaware of, is a lot better, but they're both shit. Maybe a female announcer is the way to go, but Lilian Garcia is a rare breed, as the WWE is currently finding out with all of the shit ones they've attempted. Somewhere out there there is an independant radio host or something like that who'd be a big improvement, and TNA have to just find them, regardless of who they are. The quality of the ring announcer can make the difference between a promotion looking big time or small fry, and right now, TNA is being undermined by its ring announcer.

 

[wtfhappened]

Honestly I was never that big of a fan of Lilian. Here voice was ok but I prefer someone closer to Mean Gene or the Fink. See also made a lot of mistakes, maybe WWE shoulda considered note cards. Anyway what I mean is if they need a new voice it should be someone iconic with a nice deep voice. What they shouldn't do is try to get Mean Gene or the Fink because TNA needs to stop bringing in washed up old "stars" and build their own talent. Hold auditions or something.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I would like to know who you think would be suitable replacements for Taz & Tenay?

I think in the grand scheme of things in TNA, the commentators are probably near the bottom of the pile in terms of things that need to be addressed in the company at the moment. Tenay and West had their moments when they were together, but towards the end there were more misses than hits. Since Taz has came in they seem to have struck a nice balance and the banter back and forth whenever one of them makes a mistake is quite enjoyable. Perhaps the only downside to this is that sometimes what they are saying is kind of distracting to the in-ring wrestling.
As for who could potentially be a replacement, the only person off the top of my head who could do a good job would be Joey Styles, but that's not to say I want to see/hear a 3 person commentating team in TNA.

To be honest the only bit of ring announcing I pay attention to is Mr Anderson's own introduction, so I guess that's saying something.

As for Borash, I would guess that the only reason he's continued to introduce Main Eventers is due to his longevity with the company, but he should try and smarten himself up if he is the only announcer we are seeing regularly.