Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker NEED to be a Permanent Three Man Team.

[Lancer]

I didn't catch Raw, but I watched TLC...and I have to say the team of Striker, Cole, and Lawler really works. A good example of their effectiveness can be found after the Sheamus-Cena match at TLC, where Lawler and Cole were bewildered that Sheamus had become the WWE Champion.

The whole time they were doing their over-the-top "I can't believe it" routine, Striker sat there with a baffled look on his face, as if he was thinking "How can these guys be that dumb?" He then simply stated that Shemaus was the champ because he put Cena through a table, and that those were the rules, bring a nice dose of reality into the exchange.

Matt Striker brings the other two down to earth, as evidenced by the banter the original poster provided as examples. It gives Cole and Lawler a little legitimacy and makes the commentary overall seem less extravagant and scripted, in my opinion.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think Cole/Lawler/Striker as a 3 man announcer team would be a great idea and they should make it permanent. Isn't JR going to return eventually? He would probably take his spot back from Striker on the Smackdown table and I was concerned about Striker getting demoted back to ECW, thus moving Saxton off of that table and Saxton has been doing good too. After seeing the waters being tested for Cole/Lawler/Striker as a potential 3 man team on the Raw announcer table, I am very pleased with how well they are working together! Striker has caused Cole and Lawler to up their game in terms of announcing and the random facts he throws out are great too. I hope this becomes permanent because it would make an otherwise stale Raw announcer team become entertaining every week.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Where as I do enjoy the idea of this team being together, I do fear that it takes something special away from the PPV's. The PPV's should be the events where something special happens.

Perhaps what they need to do is simply not assign the commentators to the Brands. They should be able to move freely.

That way ... Cole, Lawler, and Striker can stay on Raw. And I feel they should stay as they do a good job together.

Then, they can do Grisham, Ross, and Byron Saxton on Smackdown.

On ECW, they could do just Grisham and Saxton.


And for the PPV's, they can do the team of:


Jim Ross (Play by Play)
Jerry Lawler (Face Analyst)
Matt Striker (Heel Analyst)


I still would like to see Jesse Ventura come back to the booth, and feel he would be the best person for Raw, but given how well the 3 man team works compared to the regular broadcast teams currently in place, I would endorse it to stay as a permanent fixture.

They just need to do something different for the PPV's.

 

[J-Dogg]

I agree that 3 man team needs to a be permanent on the announce team, i remember when it was Lawler, Coachman and Styles on RAW those years ago that was a good fixture. Now it was Lawler, Cole and Striker as a team and the commentary was very good, now Striker's commentating is top notch and thats why many think thats why Lawler and Cole stepped their game up at TLC.

There was a lot of good calling of spots, actual funny jokes, they all especially sold the Table match aftermath when Cena lost his title to Sheamus. These 3 need to be a team fo not just these reasons but others too, the only bad thing is that Striker and T-Grish are good together as well. So where does that put him even though JR is bound to return but not for a while.

 

[The_Killswitch]

The last two nights have been a mixed bag in terms of a product the WWE has put out. TLC was a tremendous PPV, with some really good matches from top to bottom, and is a contender for being one of the best overall PPVs of the year. Raw last night may have been one of the worst of the year. Between the good and bad in output, the one thing that has really stood out and made last night's Raw tolerable was the commentary team of Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler, and Michael Cole.

Ever since transitioning to being a color commentator, Matt Striker, for the most part, has been very good. Sure, he goes overboard with the nicknames, but he brings insightful commentary to the table, using facts and references most of the WWE color guys wouldn't bring up. He also veers towards being a heel color commentator, which is something we haven't had in awhile. But what I like most is that for the last couple of nights, he's forced Lawler and Cole to step up their game instead of being the usual team that they are, which is boring. As a tandem, Cole and Lawler don't have much chemistry either. Bring in Striker, and suddenly, they aren't that bad.

Commentators who have a dislike for each other work, and the product somehow is a lot more entertaining to watch, because you want to hear what they're saying.

I agree with your thread and description 100%. I enjoy Strikers commentary he brings something similar to JBLs pas commentary that I miss.

A former wrestler and a guy with a School teaching background that has a great personality and voice. Not only that.. the guy is quite comedic and bragful when talking. He makes me laugh,and no doubt makes the viewers laugh and go "Oh yea". He bought up Cole and "vintage" whch was great ,you wouldnt see King just throw off the script and say "there he said vintage again" .And when King and Cole mocked his comment with dress wear he came up with a suitable reason which was quick and gave a point "hey I grew up with 4 sisters".

This could work very well.Even if Striker and King were alone at the broadcast table it would be great.