RAW Commentary

[The Future Rises]

You know I was gonna make a thread about the Raw commentators not doing their job right. Last Monday night on Raw you could totally tell that JR was upset at King/Cole during the Swagger/Riley match. JR was trying to call the action but King was too busy throwing fat jokes at Vickie and Cole was too busy defending her. They need to focus on the in ring action. When JR said "Well there's a match going on here" all the others just ignored him and continued with their little conversation. One thing I like about Todd Grisham, Matt Striker, and Josh Matthews is that they go straight to calling the action. Which is pretty embarrassing for Cole and Lawler since the less experienced announcers do a better job than them by calling the wrestling while all they do is argue unless it was a big match.

There's something I really like about the Monsoon/Heenan pairing. Sure they argued.. But not about stupid things like weight.. They argued about what was going on in the match. Bobby would always put over anything the heel does and Gorilla would go on to defend them. They were actually arguing while calling the match which made it really entertaining. That's what we need from announcers. And that's why Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon are my favorite announce team of all time. If you haven't seen their chemistry then I suggest you watch their amazing performance as an announce team at Wrestlemania 8.

Cole and Lawler should study those two legends and maybe they'll learn something about calling a wrestling match. Then again I always read about how Vince McMahon always yells at the announcers and telling them what to say. Maybe that's the case. Maybe it isn't their fault they're so bad at calling the actual wrestling that goes on in the ring. Who knows? But commentators are a big part of the wrestling. So they need to be good at what they do. And that's calling the match. Not arguing the whole time while two talented performers are going at it in the ring. I don't even remember Cole and Lawler saying anything about the Riley/Swagger match. All they did was talk to Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler while JR tried to call the match. Jerry Lawler should know how to call a match. He's been announcing since the 90's and he was great as a heel announcer. I don't know when he began to suck at his job though. And Cole was actually a pretty good commentator when he was a face(see Eddie Guerrero vs Brock Lesnar No Way Out 2004 Cole's best work yet) but ever since turning heel all he does is argue with the face commentators lie Booker T and JR/King. Cole and King need to get their shit together and call the wrestling instead of arguing like little kids.

 

[rockyrocky11]

I know there are a bunch of "anti-cole" threads, but to me my biggest annoyance (if you can somehow look past his love for del rio miz etc) is when he says VINTAGE ________. I'll admit when Orton did the scoop slam the first few times cole said vintage Orton it sounded cool, but not when he says it everyweek for literally every superstar. When Miz hits that running closeline he says "Vintage Miz." Are you kidding me, how do you say vintage about a guy who has been in wrestling under 5 years.

So am I the only one who notices his overuse of the word vintage. I'm sure in a few weeks when Del Rio hits his armbar we'll hear "Vintage Del Rio!"

Here's a clip someone made on youtube so I guess I'm not the only one. He uses vintage for multiple people and multiple moves lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrR9T5Rb_5Q

 

[HBK_EDGE]

Do we need every hip toss and hammer lock called out by name so we know what it is? It is a wrestling match and Big Nick Dudley hit the nail on the head entertainment value is what the broadcast team is there to bring. Everyone talks about the Ziggler/Vickie segment from two weeks ago detracting from the match. Hell that is the only thing that makes a Riley match worth watching.

Sure if they are bantering about nonsense in a big time match then it is a problem. But, during a mid card match that really doesn't mean anything and is pretty much shitting on itself in the ring I don't have a huge problem.

Also lets not rip Cole, Lawyler, and Jr. they don't have much choice in what they say anymore. They are pretty much forced to say what they are told through the headsets.

 

[triplehbk23]

Now it seems as though so many people are interested in the whole angle with Nash, HHH, Steph, Cena, Punk, and Laurinitis that new things just keep developing from it and I could be way off here but here goes.

Has anyone noticed the comments made by Jerry "The King" Lawler in the last few weeks about Otuinga/Mcgillicutty about how boring they are and how they havent done anything big or interesting at all. I mean even JR and Cole has said but King they have been WWE Tag Champs for over 3 months now. Then this past week on raw he made a comment about how he thinks Punk really isnt that good and how if he was Del Rio he would hope that Punk won and when JR asked him why, he replied well IMO JR Punk is a lot easier to beat then Cena because he is not as good as he thinks he is.

Now 2 things immediatly come to mind here. 1st and foremost I can NOT 4 THE LIFE OF ME...see WWE letting Lawler bash the Tag Team Champions (up until this past monday night) each week with out some good reason or explanation behind it. Or can i see them let Lawler who lets face it, right now is just an announcer bash what i consider to be the WWE's top draw right now in CM Punk for absolutely no reason...all of a sudden.

Now 2nd...and I just thought odf this now, Punk, Otunga, McGillicutty=NEXUS that was technically never ever disbanded. Now i know sometimes we all look way too far into things but has anyone taken notice of this at all. I mean I just think it seems weird that Lawler has chosen to knock those particular 3 guys, saying the same thing about all of them, being that he feels they are not very good or boring or putting them down in some capacity or another.

I am not saying that lawler has anything to do with the big corporate angle but something here is extremely strange to me. Does anyone agree or have any idea of where this could possibly be headed to. Your thoughts!!!!

 

[JaylisJayP]

I was definitely raising an eyebrow at Lawler's comments, too. Moreso about Punk since Otunga and McDonalds are jokes imo anyway, and they ARE boring. But you might be onto something, who knows.

Punk might think he needs some backup at this point.

 

[Marzyk]

Lawler has always done that. Way back when the original ECW invaded WWF (at the time) he called them miniature fake wrestlers and said for the life of him he could not understand why Vince McMahon allowed to competition to be on his show. It sounded like he really meant it, too... But now I don't know if its just Lawler being himself or is he being the opposing ideal. As you see online, there are fans that feel like Punk is nothing more than the haters anti Cena. Lawler's job in this may just be to make sure that some parts of the audience are not alienated, which is smart.

 

[The Future Rises]

Lawler has been giving some pretty disappointing comments lately.

Like when he was mocking Vickie Guererro's weight instead of calling the fucking action during the Swagger/Riley match last Monday night at Raw. JR was clearly uncomfortable being the only commentator who was calling the match and commenting on what was going on.

When I heard him say that about Otunga and McGuillcutty the first thing that came to my mind is "Why the fuck is Lawler burying the tag champs?!". I mean seriously just look at JR's commentary. He's a face commentator yet he still puts over the heels by mentioning stuff how talented they are.

And when he was saying that about Punk.. Wow.. I know Lawler doesn't really care that much about the current product but he's just a bias face commentator right now. Which makes his character kinda hypocritical when he tells Cole to "Shut up!".

I think Lawler at 61. Isn't really into his gig that much.. But he can at least give some honest opinions about the heel's talent instead of burying everything they do.

 

[TCBT]

I would bet it's some sort of rib from WWE management - similarly to how Flair punked out Carlito way back when, during the time Carlito was getting heat for his lack of effort.

I think Lawler was told via headpiece to make those comments. It's no secret CM Punk isn't the most popular Superstar backstage, and McGillicutty/Otanga are extremely bland and boring. Is it a coincidence that Lawler puts down the Tag Team Champs the same day they end up losing the Titles to two midcard talent that were seemingly put together at the last minute???

 

[GI Cake]

Let me start off by writing that Lawler is not a great commentator in the first place.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest. When Jerry insults and belittle some Superstars it is most likely he flat out does not like them. Now I am not in the position to say if the issue with Jerry and Otungacutty are personal or a real issue. But insulting them on live t.v as they represent the "best" The WWE has to offer as far as tag teams goes is a negative.

But Jerry hasn't had the best sidekick to his commentary. When Michael Cole went heel all 2 hours of the show has been mostly Cole and Jerry bickering at each other. Maybe a hint of wrestling, but then it goes back to the bickering. Jerry is a good color commentator, but even the best of color commentators needs a good number one guy to bring the info and the stats to the booth. Michael Cole used to do that. In fact, his inability to pay attention to the match helped the commentary because he would often trail on about the feud between the two in the ring. But now, Jerry spends half the show trying to force Cole to pay attention to he match, which overall takes away from the quality of the match itself.

 

[jokernaut]

I agree. I know Lawler always makes comments in favor of who he likes but on monday it seemed like he wasnt acting at all. Thats the first time in a while where i was saying to myself "shut up lawler" instead of cole. The tone in his voice just sounded way too serious to be acting and especially with jr back, you would think they would be on the same page. I guess lawler really doesnt like cm punk. As for the former tag champs, i think they are both good wrestlers and can help re amp the tag team division. Yeah they havent done anything huge yet but they arent really getting the tv time to do that and when they do i always enjoy their matches. Hope lawler doesnt become the annoying one on raw because that job should always stay with annoying ass michael cole

 

[Dragonslayer]

I also agree, I was a little surprised at those comments too... it's not usually the WWE's style, to so heavily beat down on their own stars. Otungacutty was already pretty bad, considering they were tag champs for quite a few weeks; so even IF they are boring - which they quite frankly are, there's just no personality going for them - you don't just bury your Tag Champs, because even if they lose the titles in that particular match to someone else, you're still essentially saying that although they are bland and suck, apparently there was no other team in the past two months good enough to beat them. And what does THAT tell you about the rest of the roster?!

But of course the comments towards Punk were what REALLY surprised me... He's definitely the number 2 guy on RAW right now, and among a certain demographic and fan base definitely number 1... and for Lawler to say "Yeah, I'd rather face Punk than Cena any day, he'd be easier to beat!" is just a big WTF moment... and what a way to bury your second biggest asset right now, the guy who is the main focus of your most interesting storyline... because after all, ADR vs John Cena will just be your regular chase-for-the-title feud between super-face and super-heel, whereas the Punk/Nash/HHH triangle should definitely be the more interesting thing.

I mean, I'd sort of understand it if they wanted to move Lawler back into a heel commentary position the way he used to be in the late 90ies, but I figured that these days, they were actually using Cole for the heel position, Lawler for the face position and now JR again for the neutral play-by-play. In fact, I would suppose that JR was brought back solely for the purpose of keeping Cole heel... and that's also the reason for the 3 men announce teams. I'm digressing a bit here, but right now it seems like this is the constellation WWE are aiming for: on RAW JR is the neutral guy who tells you whats going on, Lawler is (or was) the face color, and Cole the heel color; and on SD it's Matthews the neutral guy, Booker T the face color and Cole the heel color again... though the lines aren't as clear as on RAW somehow, since Book definitely also puts over the heels, and Matthews naturally doesn't do as much play-by-play as JR.

But yeah, to get back on topic... I'm kinda curious now if that was just a one time deal because either Jerry was having a bad day, or because someone in the back told him to say these things because THEY were pissed off with something, or if the new "reality" approach will lead to commentary guys less often putting talent over thoughtlessly, but more "realistically" talking about the guys and what they have (and have not) achieved?

 

[ahoyhoy]

The decline of King as a colour commentator over the past decade is possibly the most disappointing thing about WWE. He is just so bland now. And go listen to him on ~any~ 90s show and compare it to now and he could put over ~anyone~ with what Heenan called 'positive negatives' whereas now he just calls guys 'boring' and thats the most he has said to garner attention in months?

He sounded like Michael Cole this week. Which makes me presume it is Kevin Dunn in their headphones. I don't know anyone in the business who has been asked about Dunn and came with a positive answer and if the 2 guys he is whispering in the ear of are failing to put guys over- especially when they have previous of being able to do so- then he needs replacing.

I recently watched Foley winning the title on Raw on that infamous night he 'put the butts on seats' and the combo of King and Cole KILLED it. Then to look at a similar title match from the previous couple of weeks and they actively made me think about turning the sound off. Vince has been looking at major shake-ups of late, and to me this is the most pressing issue.

 

[lancir]

You guys all do know that the commentary is HIGHLY scripted right...Theres someone in the back telling them what too say I saw an interview with Mick Foley when he left WWE after his commentator time that he hated it because he was always being yelled at.

I think WWE brass are making jerry say these things so the people who dont like punk and like cena have someone on tv to relate too.

 

[Ryyu]

Get Rid of him He's terrible. Its a shame the best replacement to him is CM Punk, Who's on fire. Someone like Edge or Jericho could replace them. But Lawler is past it, hes all ego and no selling these days.

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

When I heard Jerry Lawler giving his opinions on Otunga, McGillicutty, and Punk, I got the feeling the commentary is trying to take on the feel of one of the many competitive banter shows on ESPN. This may or may not be what they are going for, but if it is, they weren't pulling it off very well. If it wasn't what they were going for, then I have no clue what they're trying to do. Although, the comment about Punk being easier to beat than Cena shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The King has always had a full on rager for Cena.

So it seems Cole and King will be giving us their opinions while JR will be trying his best to sort through that mess and call a match. Also, Booker T was giving his opinion on the Cena/Punk match being too technical for his liking at Summerslam. Must be that "street perspective" Vince loves so much. I just don't understand the logic behind shitting on what is going on in the ring. Man, they made Otunga and McGillicutty look like total chumps. I don't know if I like it too much. It certainly caught my attention though. I guess we will have to see if it continues.

 

[sTyLnK]

You people are fucking idiots. Lawler sucks? The hell? He is still a damn good announcer. The stuff he says is mostly scripted. We all know Vince is in his ear the entire time, so anything he is saying is more than likely from the boss. Lord this is why I hate the IWC. It's like you people think Jerry has a choice in what he says. Blame Vince if you hate his announcing then. But it doesn't matter because you people bitch and whine about EVERYTHING in wrestling. Shut the hell up and just watch it for once in your lives.

 

[Depakote]

To me, that didnt sound like Lawler. I know Lawler said it, but it had the voicing of the cynical Vince McMahon. Especially what he said about Punk.

As far as Otunga and McGilli-hennig, I knew right off the bat that they were going to lose the titles as soon as I heard Lawler burying them. It was very out of place.

 

[Psychopathic Savior]

Next week i can see punk cutting a promo on the king or at least making a comment. I for one cannot wait because no one has put him in his spot since heyman.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

The one about Otunga and McGuillicutty I think can be played off as a way to start off the tag team regeneration if it manages to happen. They can use his comments as a basis for teams to start re-invigorating things. I mean let's be honest, it's been shit for a while now, he wouldn't JUST start saying things like that out of the blue, he'd have been saying the same thing for months by now.

The second one about Punk is harder to read. Punk is quite clearly face and devaluing Punk after he went toe-to-toe with 'The Champ' three times now makes him feel... heelish. But at the same time he calls the rest of the show as a face commentator. It's a conundrum. I don't see him going full heel on commentary when they have Cole there ready to go that. But it's not right the way he calls Punk's involvement on the show given the reaction he gets.

I can see maybe Punk being in on it all, the whole conspiracy thing as a way to resolve it because it would make Lawler right... or good, or something. The next option would be him being full heel, I'm not sold to that idea at all. Last option is that it's just a tactic being used to keep Cena on top and Vince is channeling that through Lawler's ear-piece, it's quite likely.

 

[Foggo]

to me it seems like this might be laying ground-work for Cole leaving the booth to manage or whatever they have planned for him and going back to JR as the face announcer and the King as the Heel announcer. It was a great combo in the past and the two of them played off each other really well.. with the King making his smart-ass put downs and JR reacting off that and calling the action.

 

[SugarKane]

Why on earth would Vince want to degrade public opinion on his biggest current draw. It's not as if he has bigger stuff in the back-burner waiting to take over from the current angle. We as more mature fans/smarks don't get influenced by what Lawler might say but the younger/casual fans would certainly sway. I think the instructions to Lawler were to say something pro-WWE and hence a bit anti-Punk but his lack of a thought process made it come out so blunt.

 

[Negrodamus]

Lawler has sucked for awhile now guys, its not Vince yelling in his ear ( yes Vince does yell in peoples ear but always the new guys, not as much the vets) Yes he may have 1 funny one-liner here and there but really, the stuff with Vickie everytime she comes out with fat jokes the whole time a match is on.
Most of the stuff isnt even funny or in any Divas match all he talks about is Kelly Kelly and all the Divas are hot.
They should have moved King to smackdown way back when instead of JR and leave the booth to Cole and JR there is your heel/face announce team

 

[closet_fan]

You guys all do know that the commentary is HIGHLY scripted right...Theres someone in the back telling them what too say I saw an interview with Mick Foley when he left WWE after his commentator time that he hated it because he was always being yelled at.

I think WWE brass are making jerry say these things so the people who dont like punk and like cena have someone on tv to relate too.

It's scripted, but not 100 percent. Lawlor still has his own stuff he has to come up with. And since he has done announcing for so long, I am sure he gets a lot of leeway in what he is allowed to say from his own mouth.

That being said, Lawlor's commentary has really lost a lot of luster. He was great as a pure heel announcer when he and JR were the main guys.

Personally, the fact that there are 3 guys calling the shots is what is ruining it. There is absolutely no need to have Cole around when he is doing Smackdown.

Go back to JR and King, have King go back to being a heel and making funny comments. You don't need three announcers when all three know what they are doing.

 

[willhunter32]

Don't be shocked if the WWE has the former tag champs attack Jerry Lawler on TV someday soon. They have used this technique in the past to build heat on guys that were otherwise stale. As far as CM Punk goes, Lawler may be used in that angle due to his dislike of Paul Heyman...it wasn;t too long ago that CM Punk stated he was a Paul Heyman guy and there was alot of heat between Lawler and Heyman in the past...so who knows if they will try and tie that in somehow. The one thing that is certain is that Lawler is being told to either shoot or he is being told to make comments negative towards these guys for a reason. Vince is in total control....you can guarantee that.

 

[Chadmw]

When last week and the previous week when Lawlor was bashing the Tag team champs, I actually liked it as he seemed to be doing it in a way to get interest back in the tag team scene.

But the negativity toward Punk I do not understand, unless he is still playing like Punk is a heel instead of the face he has become