Matt Striker on the outs?

[Con T.]

Something I found quite humorous this week, while just shooting the breeze.

Lawler and Cole have pushed for Ross to replace Matt Striker as the third man for PPV broadcasts, whom they dislike. McMahon, however, feels the PPV broadcast team should be limited to those who work television.

I'd rather not have this turn to a Jim Ross Slob-on-his-Knocker fest, but there is something I find quite interesting. Matt Striker, the WWE's biggest ring rat, seems to be on the outs with his announcing partners. Now, why doesn't really seem to matter. Though this may help clear matters.

According to Dave Meltzer, Cole took off his headset during the Survivor Series broadcast to yell at Striker for talking too much.

Eh.... Thing's ain't looking so hot for our favorite mark, now is it? People seem to love Striker, but frankly, Cole has a point. Striker just keeps rambling on, in spite of the fact that he really doesn't offer that much analysis. Sure, he's been in the ring. Got fired from a cushy teaching job to do it. But so have CM Punk, so have Jerry Lawler. And they actually have had success in the ring. The closest Striker's come to success is Big Daddy V's nipple ring. And with a booth that's alreay looking pretty damn full as it is, I think it's time to ask if Matt Striker is really needed at the commentary booth anymore.

Sure, Punk may not be in the booth for the long term, but it sure does seem like Striker is getting some pretty valid criticism. So, I'll ask two questions.

1. Should Matt Striker be worried?

2. Should Matt Striker be donezos?

 

[#1Peep]

I find Striker to be a much more entertaining announcer than both Cole and Lawler so I don't think he should worried. Lawler is just plain awful these days; all he does is tell awful jokes and mess up his lines. Cole has really picked his act up as of late but it is a one trick act. Bryan is a nerd, Miz is awesome. Yes? What else?

Punk has really thrived in his role as a sarcastic and knowledgeable announcer but as soon as his injury heels up I think he will go straight back to the ring. So to answer your questions; no I don't think Striker should be worried but then again if Vince wants him gone, he's gone.

 

[#hamler]

Actually, yeah, Matt should be a little worried. You have the top announcer pushing for Ross to return and pushing harder to kick Striker off the announcer's table. More than likely, Vince will porobably listen. Striker is the guy who's use to carrying his own annoucing team in himself and Todd Grisham. When he teams with Cole, it doesn't mix well. Both Cole and Striker like to do the talking on the headset. In fact, both carry their respective announcing partners by themselves. We all know jerry is terrible.

But here's the thing, like Striker, JR does the exact same thing. He's the talker out of the two (whoever he's working with). Cole will get even less exposure to talk with JR there. So he needs to check his logic. Striker is a damn fine announcer, so is Cole, but Vince sees Cole as the voice of the New Era WWE. There's nothing wrong with that but yeah he should be worried about his position as in no more announcing RAW specials, no more Wrestlemanias, or no more PPVs. Maybe his job on Smackdown will stay the same but Vince will meet Cole half way and probably kick Striker off the PPVs.

But seriously, can't we all just get along.

 

[Con T.]

But here's the thing, like Striker, JR does the exact same thing. He's the talker out of the two (whoever he's working with). Cole will get even less exposure to talk with JR there. So he needs to check his logic. Striker is a damn fine announcer, so is Cole, but Vince sees Cole as the voice of the New Era WWE. There's nothing wrong with that but yeah he should be worried about his position as in no more announcing RAW specials, no more Wrestlemanias, or no more PPVs. Maybe his job on Smackdown will stay the same but Vince will meet Cole half way and probably kick Striker off the PPVs.

Here's the thing though, and it may seem minute, but really, it isn't. Right now, McMahon's on a tear to make Smackdown seem like the "A" show. If that's the case, you really can't just exclude all of the Smackdown broadcasters from the table. In a way, it kind of just makes you feel like you're watching a three hour Raw; nothing special to it. I'll agree with you that Striker likely shouldn't be doing Raws, that's Cole and Jerry's work. But you can't just exclude him from PPVs, if you're really worried about the perception of the show already.

Also, you do point out something interesting. Ross is indeed a talker. But Ross is also a professional. I think at this point in the game, Jim realizes he isn't the voice of the WWE, and is fine with that being Cole. Thus, I'm pretty sure Jim wouldn't be that offended to trying not to step on Cole's toes. Striker has been an annoucer for what, three years? If that? He really hasn't learned yet when to just shut up. While Ross has had plenty of time to learn you don't always need to talk, Striker just doesn't seem to realize that. Whenever there's dead air, you can just tell Striker is about to say something just for the sake of saying it. You don't always need that, you know what I'm saying?

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I really don't think Striker is in THAT big of trouble. He's proven to be QUITE the fan favorite, especially when I was at the Smackdown/NXT/Superstars taping in Topeka. There's always going to be someone 'in the doghouse.' Especially when you have people like Cole and Lawler who've been around for quite sometime and seem to enjoy the light on them bit more than others. As much as we would want to say this is the last time we're gonna hear this, we probably won't. I'd say if its THAT much annoyance to Cole and Lawler, one way they can fix it is to remove Cole from Smackdown if he finds Striker that annoying. They can always have someone else do 3 man commentating on SD, maybe Matthews, Striker, and Grisham. To me, you'd think that maybe the veterans would want to set an example and not be such the turds and let others try to have a chance to shine as well, or do you think its also professional jealousy a little bit since we've seen in other areas. But its always going to be the grapevine making things more sensational than they really are. Its probably just one of them was having a bad day and things get way out of proportion is what it most likely boils down to. Let's at least hope that's what it is, I really enjoy Striker's commentary, it is really entertaining, refreshing and makes me look forward to any broadcast.

 

[Chill]

I have to admit that I've come to find Matt Striker the most annoying commentator currently in WWE, even worse than Grisham. Matt went from being good in my books to one of the corniest, cheesiest tools I've seen or heard in a long time. So I'd take Punk or a returning JR any day over Striker. Perhaps if he toned it down a bit but he's almost too enthusiastic for the role and that's what brings him down I believe...

 

[JGlass]

Should Striker be worried? Maybe a little. His place on PPVs seems like it may be in jeopardy. Vince was said to be high on him for a while, but recent reports say he has fallen out of favor. And Cole makes a point saying Striker talks too much, but it can't be easy to be filtering yourself when on either side of you there sits a man who wants you fired and all the while you're trying to call a match with your boss screaming in your ear. WWE announcing isn't a stress free job, and Striker has a right to be more stressed than most.

Should he be fired? No. Striker provides a nice counter to Michael Cole's heel persona. King is the clear cut face announcer of the group, but is clearly overwhelmed by Cole's passionate heel rants. Striker is the one in the group who has the knowledge and speaking ability to go back and forth with Cole. In fact, maybe he wasn't speaking too much at all. Perhaps Cole was just nervous that Striker was carving out too much of a place for himself at that announce table, and maybe he doesn't want the chatty Striker to replace a quiet King at the announce table on Monday nights.

Now for a little bit of an editorial. I have grown to really like Matt Striker. Not three months ago you could probably find me in the live discussions berating him for making up some weird name for a move or using piss poor logic to explain why he's rooting for one wrestler over the other, but he's actually gotten much better; I haven't heard him call a run of the mill backbreaker a Suzuki-Nakamora-Inverted-Rusty-Trombone in a long time. And he's also cut down on the illogical bullshit. The last thing I remember him saying that was really unforgivably stupid was that he was excited at the prospect of Nexus winning a match with some sort of stipulation on the line, which pissed King and Cole off as much as it did me.

But Striker has gotten a lot better over the months, and has become a great counter to Cole. Like I said, King seems mentally checked out, and Striker has done a great job stepping up. Is he perfect? No, but neither is Cole. Striker deserves that job calling PPVs, and Cole and King need to learn to suck it up and work with him, because the overall product would suffer if they don't.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

First off, Lawler carries COLE, but that's besides the point. Yes, Striker does not shut up, even in entrances he just goes on and on and on never keeping his mouth shut. Though his commentary seems logical, it isn't because sometimes he just doesn't make sense. I'd prefer CM punk replace him on PPV's. Ross already said on his blog that he can't travel anymore. Smackdown should do fine with Cole there, get grisham off and I don't think Smackdown will be that unbeareable to watch.

 

[Hawkeye]

It's been known fact that Lawler and Cole hate Striker. JR pointed that out months ago and I'm sure the same grudges still remain. I don't think Striker's in any trouble at all because CM Punk is just there until he gets off the injured list and this he's back out competing so having him on PPV commentary most likely won't happen. In kayfabe sense, they have to have Striker there because he has firsthand knowledge of Smackdown storylines that Cole and King wouldn't know about so it would be unwise to have a Raw booth during a cross branded PPV.

 

[LSN80]

I'd rather not have this turn to a Jim Ross Slob-on-his-Knocker fest, but there is something I find quite interesting. Matt Striker, the WWE's biggest ring rat, seems to be on the outs with his announcing partners. Now, why doesn't really seem to matter. Though this may help clear matters.?

Interesting development. Ive noticed this since Over the Limit, where both Lawler and Cole didnt even attempt to hide their disdain for Striker. THat was back when Cole was a face commentator, and Striker was much more heelish. I felt that their arguments took away from alot of the matches, specifically the Punk/Mysterio match, where the bickering overshadowed the call of the match.

As for Jim Ross, he showed on Old School Raw that despite however rusty one might be after a 13 month layout, he's still the best in the business. He talked up both competitors, called the moves, and interjected legit excitement into the Swagger/Bryan match. Id love to see Ross back on commetary.

Eh.... Thing's ain't looking so hot for our favorite mark, now is it? People seem to love Striker, but frankly, Cole has a point. Striker just keeps rambling on, in spite of the fact that he really doesn't offer that much analysis.

I disagree with Cole here, and its quite unprofessional for him to take off his headset to yell at Striker. I don't think Striker talks too much at all. Unlike Lawler or Cole, he actually calls the moves in the ring with regularity. cole's heelish persona has allowed Striker to go back to his "wrestling nerd" one, and Ive liked it.

Sure, Punk may not be in the booth for the long term, but it sure does seem like Striker is getting some pretty valid criticism.

The only valid criticism I could see is the constant bickering, which is often started by Striker himself. That, I fault him completely for. Just as Cole taking off his headset to yell at Striker is unprofessional, Striker starting senseless bickering just to get a rize from Lawler and Cole is just as unprofessional.

1. Should Matt Striker be worried?

Absolutely he should be worried. When you have the two longest tenured active announcers looking for you to be replaced, thats certainly cause for concern. Whether its justified or not, when people "above" you want you gone, then you should be worried. Further, in the short term, you have a guy like CM punk who is every bit the wretsling nerd that Striker is that could fill the role. Plus, Ross has just expressed interest in returning, so I would be worried if I was Stirker.

2. Should Matt Striker be donezos?

By no means. He's still a great fit for Friday night Smackdown. I think Cole returning to Smackdown was quite the mistake, as Grisham and Striker were doing an admirable job. Id keep him off PPV's. Vince's comments on not wanting those who havent been on tv to call the matches is silly. Ross was off for a long time before Wrestlemania 22, and he called the show, and wasnt on tv until Backlash, when he called that show as well. As with Grisham, Id limit him to Smackdown if hes got so much heat, but by no means should he be done altogether, there's still alot that I mentioned that he brings to the table.

 

[AndyUK]

First off, Lawler carries COLE, but that's besides the point.

Disagree completely. King's been going through the motions for a years now. In fact, I'd say he's the reason why Cole's heel persona doesn't work as well as when he's with Matthews or Striker. For the most part, he doesn't stick up for the wrestlers Cole criticises like a face should at all.

If Cole and Lawler get so annoyed by Striker, why don't they just do what they used to do and have the RAW announcers call the RAW matches and have the Smackdown announcers call the Smackdown matches? Never really understood why they stopped that.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The simple truth is that Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler don't like working with Matt Striker. At Survivor Series, Cole reportedly took off his headset and started yelling at Striker because Striker wouldn't stop talking long enough to let either himself or Lawler get a word in.

When Striker first began commentating, I liked him a lot. He seemed to fit his role quite naturally and generally seemed to be more serious out there. If anything, I think being partnered with Cole & Lawler has made it worse because he's reduced to the goofy joke telling that they sometimes do.

Michael Cole is better now than he's ever been and that's due in large part that he's become something of a heel commentator. If Cole would cool it with the comedy shit that he pulls out there sometimes, I think he'd be a downright great commentator.

As for Jim Ross, I'd be thrilled if he were brought back to the table. We saw on Old School Raw that Jim Ross is still, hands down, the best commentator in wrestling since Gordon Solie. When you think of all the passion and character that JR injects into his role, he might honestly be even better. Vince's logic that younger is better simply doesn't jibe with me because Jerry Lawler is three years older than Ross is. I don't care if the commentators are young, old, fat, slim or look like they stepped off the cover of GQ or not as long as they do their job extremely well. If I had to choose between JR and Matt Striker, I'm gonna have to go with JR everytime.

 

[ABMorales787]

The way I see it, the guy that should be replaced is Todd Grisham. Matt needs guidance and somebody to let him know when to shut up, but putting people who hate him to do it isn't gonna help the issue. I'd rather have JR back for a while and give a rub to him than to sit through Cole Miner-Mania. No disrespect meant for the OP here of course.

 

[TheAbsolute1]

No he shouldn't be worried. We currently have 3 good 1 average and 2 not so good commentators. The good commentating comes from Striker, Punk and Cole. Mediocre is Grisham. Not so good, Mathews and King. King is completely irrelevant almost 100 percent of the time and when Cole is thrashing someone he dislikes, he makes huge errors. I haven't heard a mistake out of Striker. He is an extremely educated guy and he focuses on the match at hand for the most part. He knows tons about wrestling history and manuevers alike so I feel that he should stay on the PPV team kick out Lawler and have Ross Striker and Cole...or maybe kick Cole for Punk

 

[sharmaq]

On Smackdown, Grisham rarely provides any challenge to the ludicrous, smart ass reasons that Striker uses to condone the behaviour of heels, and so it's almost as if Cole needs to be there to provide some kind of banter on the show, as Striker and Grisham barely have any chemistry. Sadly on Raw it's getting almost as bad, as Lawler rarely pulls Cole up on the things he says - he tries more than Grisham does but mostly gets shouted down by Cole. I'm hoping that Monday's events are the beginning of WWE splitting up the team of Cole and Lawler. I know it's unlikely, but I would like to see Cole and JR as the RAW announce team, there's no doubt that JR wouldn't let Cole get away with most of the ridiculous statements he comes out with. Meanwhile on Smackdown, Grisham is so ineffectual and lacking passion that I feel he should be replaced, perhaps by Josh Matthews. I'm not a fan of having Cole on RAW, NXT AND Smackdown, and feel that if there's someone there that plays off Striker better than Grisham, Cole won't be needed there. On the PPVs it's all too evident that Cole and Lawler can't stand Striker, and sadly it can be to the detriment of the actual matches at times. On PPV I would eventually like to see WWE just have the Raw team announce the Raw matches and the Smackdown team announce the Smackdown matches, with the 3 man team only used for interpromotional matches like the Royal Rumble, MITB etc.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Id say if you had the backing of michael cole then it's something to be concerned about. That said it's isn't to replace him from smackdown so it's not a massive blow but I'd imagine it would hurt a bit coming from your two co-broadcasters. I personally like striker more than cole and far far more than lawler, who judging by last week's raw should stick to wrestling, man he looked good for a guy the same age as ric flair!

But I do also find this a shock. See if you listen to the smackdown commentary team, which as we all know consists of striker, cole and grisham, those two guys seem to have actual commentating chemistry. Thry are really good at tag team taking the piss out of grisham which is funny to listen to and you often openly here them laugh to each other on the air. I'd be more inclined based on this to say that lawler is morelikely the main culprit for this call, although cole could just be playing up on smackdown at which point I'd really be suprised.

Myself, I think jerry lawler is as stale as 3 week old bread on commentary now, he hasn't been good since he had material to work with. No actually, as much as it's wrong to say he hasn't been good since he was a heel, thats just the case really. And based on the chemistry cole and striker appear to have on smackdown, I have often called for them to be raw's commentary team.

I'd hate to learnt that this is true because I think striker is the best announcer aside from punk that WWE has, but because of the sway cole and lawler bring, it would surely mean curtains for striker's PPV calling career, at least at the moment. Hope it's not true.

 

[jennaluv]

I find Matt Striker's voice annoying! The only thing he has to offer is good looks.
He's arrogant and doesn't know when to shut up!
As well I heard not only can you find him on wwe but jdate as well screen name ehwhynot.
Couldn't believe it till I saw w/my own eyes.