All sports have commentating... period. You can switch onto any type of sport and I can guarantee you that there will be some random voices appearing out of nowhere calling the action, one usually describing the action and the rest offering their professional opinions due to experience, an extremely high knowledge and/or their significance to the sport. For ever since I can remember, there have been people calling the action... and I don't see it ever stopping because of how important it is.
As it pertains to professional wrestling (whilst not considered a "sport" as such), it has the same preferences as what I have stated... therefore commentary is an important aspect. Why? Well...
They Retain Your Attention:
Professional wrestling shows go for quite a long time when you think about. It's a lot longer than most of the sports the majority of the population watch. Not to mention that the viewing time for a lot of people is considerably late in the night when everyone is beginning or already begun to relax, allowing our bodies to slow down from what we achieved during the day (which most involve either work or school). There is a lot of switching between multiple storylines, scenes and matches... all requiring our brains to process the information quickly. Sometimes, the amount of reasoning to justify what happens can be quite bothersome... luckily, this is where commentary comes in.
The commentators are the people that keep us from dozing off or failing to understand what is going on. It can be in the form of commentator interaction where they make jokes between each other, often aimed at trying to get the audience to react. If you laugh, they're doing their job of keeping you alert. It can be in the form of the commentators just talking about the current match or introducing things into the mix (which I will get to later on). Let's face it, not all things on a professional wrestling episode is going to be five star classic. Sometimes, it fails horribly. There aren't many variables in these situations that can be controlled... commentary is one of those. Add the voices of commentators to a pretty dull match (I'm looking at you WWE Diva's) and they can make it bearable to get through.
Naturally, when someone is communicating to you and you are remotely interested or paying attention, you will continue to do so. Having commentators talk and entertain you through the broadcast will maintain your interest and keep you watching.
Professional Discussions:
Not all of the fans of wrestling are members of the IWC and/or do their research about the current product. Believe it or not, a lot of people watch the shows and that's about as far as it goes. Other than that... they have no idea as to what is happening. Commentators are the easiest way of keeping people in touch with their history, relevant information, profiles on different wrestlers, etc. For example, someone who is new to the product can watch a segment between John Cena and Nexus. Now, the majority of the fanbase know the history between them... but to a new person, they would only pick up that they don't like each other. Insert the commentators into the mix and they can provide these details, clarifying uncertainties or things wrestlers seem to miss out on. They might be insignificant to us avid fans and followers of the industry, but it sure helps a lot of the young, new and/or unfamiliar fans with what's going on.
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This is where it gets interesting:
It is a wrestler's job to tell the story.
This is my main point to my argument and as stated in the title, it is the duty of the wrestler to tell the audience of what's going on through what they say in their promos and what they do in the ring to illustrate the story. Commentary is not necesseraily needed in wrestling because it is only repeating or translating what the wrestlers do in the ring.
I'm not going to argue against what the wrestlers bring into the match. They are the focal point of telling the story, sure, that's true... but who said that adding in things like commentary doesn't make it that much more? The guys on the broadcast table are able to change what their voice sounds like (through pitch, tone, mood) and influence what the wrestlers are actually telling. I'll take Michael Cole as my example here... for weeks on end, he has been hyping up the Miz as the next biggest star of the business and has done everything but publicly bent over backwards for the man. Sure, Miz comes out and claims that he is the next star, with the MITB and US titles proving this... but if you have someone as unbiased as Michael Cole rooting for the Miz, then he is persuading you to think that Miz is something truly special.
What about the numerous times during the end of a main event where Jim Ross is screaming at the top of his lungs? A lot of people remember the "STONE COLD! STONE COLD!" quotes from back in the day... didn't that add much more excitement to the viewers at home for Steve Austin's character?
For example, I'll use the John Cena/Batista match at this year's Extreme Rules. During the beginning of the match, the commentary team were, basically, just restating everything that Cena and Batista have said to each other for the past month or so while throwing in the occasional interesting stat that some people may not know. As the match moves on, they start to go on about how resiliant Cena and Batista are and how is one going to keep the other down, which is the same story the two were telling the WWE Universe through their actions.
My point exactly... they are keeping your attention and adding something new to the mix. They summarise everything that these men put themselves through just to get that point in time, allowing those who might have forgotten all the details to refresh themselves and determine how brutal their feud really is. Granted, they do re-tell what the wrestlers are performing... but the commentators add a little something special for the moment by hyping and anticipating what could happen. Cole has been known to absolutely freak out during near falls at the end of the match, making people turn heads at home and getting the blood pumping... ultimately getting your interest. Sometimes, their speaking alone and taking the situation over the top will make you sit on the edge of your seat. Announcing prolongs what's going to happen, making the pay-off from the wrestlers that much sweeter for the viewers at home.
. Your opening argument was short, sweet, and coherent, though, so I give you the point for clarity. I'll also give you the point for informativeness as well since you did a nice job of effectively using every piece of information you presented. FalKon gets the win here, though, as his rebuttals and closing arguments showed he wanted the win (and he gets it with points for punctuality and persuasion).