In the world of professional wrestling, commentating is just as much of an art as the action that takes place in the ring. For some 30 years, it's been a common practice to include a heel announcer to counter the face play-by-play man. In many cases, a heel announcer can be a bigger asset than many of the actual wrestlers. Unfortunately, WWE's current top heel announcer, Michael Cole, is perceived by many fans as a liability.
Cole's problem is that he appears to be playing the role of heel announcer just for the sake of having one. He constantly bashes faces and supports heels, all the while giving little reason for his actions. In other words, he's a heel, so he supports other heels by default. His obnoxious, one-dimensional rants have begun discouraging people from watching the product. Not since Mark Madden has there been a heel announcer drawing the ire of fans in such fashion. Also, Coles support of some faces(Cena) and dislike for some heels(Nexus) is very irritating.
Certainly, Cole has several hard acts to follow. WWE has had several heel announcers over the years, and those men all succeeded where Cole fails because they did more than support heels for the sake of it. Here are examples:
Jesse Ventura: It's often said that the best villains usually believe in their actions and think they're right. Ventura is such a villain, as he constantly called out faces (particularly Hulk Hogan) on any hypocritical action he could find. He also worked during a period dominated by marks who cheered the faces no matter what. As a result, Ventura's comments more often than not were ignored. But by speaking out against the majority in logical fashion, he maintained a solid reputation as a heel announcer.
Bobby Heenan: Much like Ventura, the Brain looked down on faces, although in more delusional fashion. But while his comments were questionable, his casual and well-timed delivery enhanced his persona. He waited until the perfect opportunity to compliment a heel instead of constantly kissing his butt, much like Cole does to The Miz. Heenan took things in stride, whereas Cole is trying to hammer into everyone's head that he's a heel.
Jerry Lawler: Say what you want about Lawler now, but he was one of the best announcers 10 years ago. It probably helped that, being a former wrestler, he understood the process of getting over wrestlers. But one thing he did that really helped his persona was he knew how to counter Jim Ross. A good heel announcer needs to be the yin to a face commentator's yang. Ross was the straightforward guy (moreso than Gorilla Monsoon), while Lawler was a smartass. The King managed to split his attention between the ring action and his coworker's comments, which often led to Jim Ross firing back with his own words.
JBL: Straight off of his active career, JBL managed to become a new form of heel commentator we hadn't seen before. Even though he was clearly a villain, he took every opportunity he could to bash faces and heels alike. In addition, he knew his wrestling history and used it to add more depth to a show while also coming off as a pretentious jerk. And that's why JBL was a good commentator: He came off as an intelligent guy who wasn't exactly neutral and didn't hold back on mocking either side.
Matt Stryker: The former school teacher is relatively new, so we'll wait and see with him. However, one thing he did that fans appreciated was he combined pop culture with wrestling history during his time at the announcers table. He reached out to the fans by referencing their other interests and how they may relate to wrestling.
That brings us back to Michael Cole. As stated above, his problem is it seems like he's being a heel announcer just for the sake of it. Everyone mentioned above, used their talents and personalities to add new layers to their roles. Cole may be able to improve his character by interacting on a new level with Josh Matthews or Lawler, or at least being more than The Miz's cheerleader. Another problem I have with him is that he sometimes brings up wrestlers legitimate weaknesses (bad on the mic or at a certain form of wrestling). I don't care if you're a heel, you should NOT be doing that.
Until then, all we're going to have is a guy telling us about the greatness of the WWE Champion. And that's just going to hurt the product.
My questions to you:
What do you think of Michael Cole's commentary?
Do you think the quality of Cole's commentary is affected by the fact that there are no good face commentators in the WWE today?
Do you not feel that Michael Cole would be better suited to the role of a manager rather than a commentator?
Cole's problem is that he appears to be playing the role of heel announcer just for the sake of having one. He constantly bashes faces and supports heels, all the while giving little reason for his actions. In other words, he's a heel, so he supports other heels by default. His obnoxious, one-dimensional rants have begun discouraging people from watching the product. Not since Mark Madden has there been a heel announcer drawing the ire of fans in such fashion. Also, Coles support of some faces(Cena) and dislike for some heels(Nexus) is very irritating.
Certainly, Cole has several hard acts to follow. WWE has had several heel announcers over the years, and those men all succeeded where Cole fails because they did more than support heels for the sake of it. Here are examples:
Jesse Ventura: It's often said that the best villains usually believe in their actions and think they're right. Ventura is such a villain, as he constantly called out faces (particularly Hulk Hogan) on any hypocritical action he could find. He also worked during a period dominated by marks who cheered the faces no matter what. As a result, Ventura's comments more often than not were ignored. But by speaking out against the majority in logical fashion, he maintained a solid reputation as a heel announcer.
Bobby Heenan: Much like Ventura, the Brain looked down on faces, although in more delusional fashion. But while his comments were questionable, his casual and well-timed delivery enhanced his persona. He waited until the perfect opportunity to compliment a heel instead of constantly kissing his butt, much like Cole does to The Miz. Heenan took things in stride, whereas Cole is trying to hammer into everyone's head that he's a heel.
Jerry Lawler: Say what you want about Lawler now, but he was one of the best announcers 10 years ago. It probably helped that, being a former wrestler, he understood the process of getting over wrestlers. But one thing he did that really helped his persona was he knew how to counter Jim Ross. A good heel announcer needs to be the yin to a face commentator's yang. Ross was the straightforward guy (moreso than Gorilla Monsoon), while Lawler was a smartass. The King managed to split his attention between the ring action and his coworker's comments, which often led to Jim Ross firing back with his own words.
JBL: Straight off of his active career, JBL managed to become a new form of heel commentator we hadn't seen before. Even though he was clearly a villain, he took every opportunity he could to bash faces and heels alike. In addition, he knew his wrestling history and used it to add more depth to a show while also coming off as a pretentious jerk. And that's why JBL was a good commentator: He came off as an intelligent guy who wasn't exactly neutral and didn't hold back on mocking either side.
Matt Stryker: The former school teacher is relatively new, so we'll wait and see with him. However, one thing he did that fans appreciated was he combined pop culture with wrestling history during his time at the announcers table. He reached out to the fans by referencing their other interests and how they may relate to wrestling.
That brings us back to Michael Cole. As stated above, his problem is it seems like he's being a heel announcer just for the sake of it. Everyone mentioned above, used their talents and personalities to add new layers to their roles. Cole may be able to improve his character by interacting on a new level with Josh Matthews or Lawler, or at least being more than The Miz's cheerleader. Another problem I have with him is that he sometimes brings up wrestlers legitimate weaknesses (bad on the mic or at a certain form of wrestling). I don't care if you're a heel, you should NOT be doing that.
Until then, all we're going to have is a guy telling us about the greatness of the WWE Champion. And that's just going to hurt the product.
My questions to you:
What do you think of Michael Cole's commentary?
Do you think the quality of Cole's commentary is affected by the fact that there are no good face commentators in the WWE today?
Do you not feel that Michael Cole would be better suited to the role of a manager rather than a commentator?