Time for a change in commentators??

[bigshot316]

I have many fond memories of J.R and the King over the years.
"Will somebody stop the Damn Match!!" is the one that sticks out the most, that was amazing.
But I feel I am getting a litle fed up hearing about bbq sauce, scalded dogs and Lawlers infatuation with people young enough to be his granddaughter!!
I am not suggesting they are replaced entirely, more that maybe they should be saved for the 4 big PPV's of the year maybe, and work backstage the rest of the time.
I don't see Smackdown too much, but the commentary I have heard from JBL is incredible! I find him wity, sharp, informed and his timing is wicked.
As for Joey Styles. Anybody remember that "shoot" he did when ECW returned?? Those days seem long ago now!!!
I would like to hear some fresh commentary on Raw, surely I'm not the only one??

 

[ChaseDavis]

We go through this every couple years or so, we lost JR for a little bit not too long ago and it was horrid. Remember Coach on commentary, that was atrocious.

JR will and should commentate until he cannot go on any longer, As far as the King, well I think he is the voice of Raw just as much as JR.

JBL needs to get back into the ring, Michael Cole needs to get fired, Taz needs to...where is Taz? on ECW? oh, he's been through enough

That is going to be the interesting question, how will WWE survice without JR, I don't think they have anyone waiting in the wings.

The least of their problems right now is commentators.

 

[bigshot316]

Mmmm possibly, but a change in commentators could be seen as a new start.
You can't tell me that there are no other commentators out there at the moment anywhere in the world? They could hold 'job interviews'!!
I was not saying that new commentators would solve all the problems, but I just personally find J.R's drone and the Kings screeching a little jaded and dull these days.
As for JBL, he is just amazing. On the stick, announcing or in the ring, I like that guy anywhere!!

 

[ChaseDavis]

Job interviews? haha, haha, HAHAHA

ok, but really - thats how we got in this mess to begin with. They hired Hollywood writers to write storylines for wrestling. They aren't familiar with the product they are writing for. Same thing with commentators

They not only have to be able to commentate but they have to know what they are talking about and your true passion for the buisness comes through.

WWE doesn't value the voice if there isn't muscle to back it up. When was the last time you saw a mouth piece for a wrestler? Davari...look where he went, Paul Heyman...again...Burke came in as a mouth piece and was turned into a full time wrestler the first chance they got. Basically what I'm saying is if the guy can work the mic in any capacity, he better know how to wrestler or he will be out of a job.

There certainly are guys who could do the job but that would mean that Vince would have to put down his ego for a moment and look to other smaller wrestling promotions and find someone...I don't think he'll do that

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Some of the greatest memories I have of commentators were former wrestlers going to the booth. Rowdy Roddy Piper, Mr. Perfect, Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels. They already have the charisma peice in place, they understand the action, fans respect them because of where they come from.

As the kayfabe wall has been broken down and fans see the "business side" more often, it also creates a respect from the fans for those who have driven the business for so long. So here's an idea...

RAW - Jim Ross and Eric Bichoff. Bring Captain Controversy back to reprise his original on-screen role as commentator. He often helped carry Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay on Nitro, and his "unique perspective" would add something to the show.

ECW - Joey Styles and Paul Heyman. Want ratings? Then allow the two most pro-ECW guys ever to commentate the very show they helped to create. Raw and untouched, pull out the stops and let these two be themselves. Talk about "attitude era."

Smackdown - JBL and Jerry Lawler. With the ECW and Smackdown "agreement" in place, why not make it interesting by having the two most anti-ECW guys (also 2 of the funniest) do commentary together? And I can only imagine the level of sarcasm these two would bring out in each other.

Cole gets to go elsewhere. Tazz may get lost in the shuffle, or he could be a 3-man team with Styles and Heyman. But all in all, I think these combos would be fun.

 

[Jacob H. (SURGE Soda Fan)]

JR and the King is to WWE what John Madden and Pat Summeral were to the NFL...yea bad analogy...but its true...I personally believe the WWF/E wold not have gotten as far as they have without JR. And I love the BBQ ads he throws in...and wrestling will never e-ever be the same without people gettin "beatin' like government mules." It will be a sad, sad day when JR finnaly hangs up his headset and cowboy hat.

Oh, and isnt Michael Cole bein groomed for JRs job... ...that would be horrid.

 

[Neil]

What's the big problem with Michael Cole? Can someone please explain, what has he done? Or what does he do that's so bad that he's oblivious to it?

I really don't understand, I don't mind him at all.

 

[ChaseDavis]

There could be an entire forum on why Michael Cole sucks so bad. He started off as Todd Pettengill Version 2.0

He gets overly excited over stupid things. His voice is annoying. He's the kid you went to school with that always raised his hand to answer rhetorical questions. He's the one who you could make fun of right to his face and he wouldn't know it.

Michael Cole is so anti-wrestling that he makes watching it even more uncool than it already is. He's the commentator that if Vince promoted the fact that him vs. Umaga would be the main even at a PPV, people would be enticed to pay 39.95 just to watch Umaga perform that move where the guy is in the corner and he runs full force into his head nearly knocking it off....I'd pay to see it

Other than that....nothing

 

[bigshot316]

I would rather somebody force dung into my ears than listen to the bristle faced jovial over excitable "And its over! NO!!" after a backhand slap gaylord that is Michael Cole!!

Mr. Perfect, I forgot about him. He was wicked on commentary.
Remember when he was commentating on Superstars and Austin was special guest announcer? They spent the whole time having an improv argument which was GENIUIS!!

I like IrishCanadians ideas. Hire him Vince!!

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I certainly don't think Cole & Bradshaw should be split up. JBL is the only announcer I can think of who genuinely sounds like he's putting wrestlers over because he wants to. Not because the company tells him too. Although I do suspect those are his orders. Thus proving what a good job he does. I also like how Cole doesn't appear intimidated by his agressive style.

As for Lawler & J.R. I hate them both. Several years ago The King was entertaining. He was frequently amusing. But several years on the jokes are tired and a new partner would be of benefit to him.

As for J.R. he's a walking cliche. He's a caricature of who he used to be. As with Lawler he brings out the same old tired lines week in and week out. I know I'll get flamed for it but that's how I feel. I know he's a legend. But so is Ric Flair and he's also got worse with age, naturally. And there's no excuse for forgetting or getting wrestlers names wrong. It's his job to get it right. If J.R. has alzheimer's then fine. But he hasn't.

 

[jrcongine]

Mike Tenay has to go. I'm just getting into watching TNA and he ruins the whole thing for me. Not so much his work but his character is what i hate. His facial expressions and how he tries to act tough or pissed off, whatever it is I want to break his little neck.
Get rid of Tenay NOW. He sucked on Nitro and Now sucks on TNA

 

[ChaseDavis]

wrong company dude - while I agree with you that he sucks and should go I honestly think the other guy blows more. You see the clip online where they are reading from a script during the action. You can see the fat guy (Don something) reading as Tenay is yelling out his lines

Tony Chivonie (SP) wasn't too bad, and whats his face...the Legend Larry Zybysco (sp) weren't too bad....and like said early Eric Bischoff was the man, I remember when Nash powerbombed him off the stage right before he joined them...that was good stuff

 

[WhatCripplesTheLegend?]

They should bring in Joel "I didn't mean to hurt her" Gertner. That guy was the man. He had a 1980's gimmick with an ageless potty mouth to boot. Just a timeless commentator. Apparently after the demise of ECW he contacted WWE/F about a job, which apparently it a big no no. Which is bullshit because the man was genius.

As for J.R. and King? They are an immaculate duo without a doubt. But to bring in a new age perhaps they should bring in new narrators for it. I hope that B.G. James gets a hernia and quits wrestling so he can assume his true calling...commentating!

 

[Billy mac]

I think that JR and the king r gr8. They cover the match talk bout other happenings and add in their own quirkines at the same time they r the best.

while ECW styles is pretty good and Tazz he adds that bit of spice that sometimes Styles lacks which makes it a great team.

With Smackdown, I dont really like Cole but JBL's controversy is great. but what SD are going to do is bring JBL back you can tell for 5 months he left the wrestlers alone and kept his own opinion, now he is getting under the skin of Rey Rey, Dave Batista and The Undertaker, JBL is bound to come back

 

[Ex-Degenerate]

JR is a hall of famer, he's not going anywhere. Lawler can get to predictable at times, and isn't really the Heel commentator that he was a few years ago which is part of the problem. He needs to go at it a little more with JR, the babyface. Maybe JBl and Ross would be good together.

I actually liked Tazz and Cole on smackdown together. But JBL should be wrestling, or be GM of smackdown. His character is to underused.

my dream team would be Bobby "the Brain" Heenan with JR (not sure if his voice can handle it anymore , though) I loved Heenan with Gorilla Monsoon in the old days.

What about "Mean" Gene Okerland and Heenan!

 

[WhatCripplesTheLegend?]

JR is a hall of famer, he's not going anywhere. Lawler can get to predictable at times, and isn't really the Heel commentator that he was a few years ago which is part of the problem. He needs to go at it a little more with JR, the babyface. Maybe JBl and Ross would be good together.

I actually liked Tazz and Cole on smackdown together. But JBL should be wrestling, or be GM of smackdown. His character is to underused.

my dream team would be Bobby "the Brain" Heenan with JR (not sure if his voice can handle it anymore , though) I loved Heenan with Gorilla Monsoon in the old days.

What about "Mean" Gene Okerland and Heenan!

People are talking about J.R. and King getting old and you bring up Scheme Gene and Bobby the Brain Heenan? That is fuckin hilarious those guys need an hourly lubrication of cream to keep from turning into ash. But they are/were classics and there will definately NEVER be another Bobby the Brain Heenan. Never. What's the quote of his: "Hogans song is my second favourite song, all the rest are tied." Fuck that is classy.

I think the point being raised here is that we need a new "instant classic" and the only guy waiting in the wings we have to look forward to is Michael Cole. I'm tellin ya as soon as The Road Dogg Gimps his knee out and accepts a job with WWE behind the desk we'll all be fortunate.

 

[cline00]

I GOT IT!!!!...move JR and King to Smackdown! and the NEW RAW announcers can be JBL and.........Ron Simmons DAMN! talk about ratings.

 

[hello]

As for J.R. he's a walking cliche. He's a caricature of who he used to be. As with Lawler he brings out the same old tired lines week in and week out. I know I'll get flamed for it but that's how I feel. I know he's a legend. But so is Ric Flair and he's also got worse with age, naturally. And there's no excuse for forgetting or getting wrestlers names wrong. It's his job to get it right. If J.R. has alzheimer's then fine. But he hasn't.

Yes, i too am so sick of hearing Jr spit out the same stupid lines every freaking week, hes like a robot... same with lawler , although i dont mind him, its JR that annoys me


theres about 3-4 lines he has for every wrestler and he just repeats them ad nauseum whenever that wrestler is having a match, its repetitive, annoying, and a lot of times you can practically tell when vince is yelling in his ear to say something because certain lines by JR sound so forced and fake.



Problem is , they dont have anyone in line really, except COle, who many people hate.. coach is awful , styles is good but theyd water him down and theyd never put him on raw because hes a former ecw guy....taz is getting better, i could definitely see him taking over hte lawler role, except lawler is still doing well

 

[spuddy83]

Although I agree that Michael Cole is not the best of wrestling fans, but he was brought in from his previous job of being a war correspondent but his chemistry with JBL works so well and I love the insults they throw at each other.

 

[krm495]

I think the thing is that king needs to go back to being a heel announcer and get his attitude back.

 

[RabidChihuahua]

I think the thing is that king needs to go back to being a heel announcer and get his attitude back.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Ever since Lawler stopped being the "Jesse Ventura"-heel announcer, he's gotten so stale it's ridiculous. Heck, he doesn't hardly disagree with JR at all most of the time, so really, what's he doing there?

We need contrasting views from the announcers, otherwise it's going to start sounding like the teacher from Peanuts. "wah-wah-wah-wah." Heck, half the time that I watch Raw, I'll turn the sound off and do the announcing myself. At least that way, I know that I'll be entertained by the commentary!

 

[NYSandman]

I could see Santino commentating one day. I know his wrestling career just began, but he would be great! "Look atta that, J. R! The Triple H he picka up the sledge-a-hammer and hitta that man ina the face! That's notta fair!" LOL! He's about the only guy I can think of, but there are probably a lot of guys out there who have not been discovered.

I think WWE should fix its numerous other problems before worrying about this.

 

[Nin]

As i've said elsewhere. i'd be quite happy to see the back of Lawler and Ross. It's the same old cliched bollocks every week and i'm tired of the now very obviously faked "OMG!" style from 2 people who seem fairly jaded at this stage.
I think Styles and JBL would be great replacements.

 

[MachoFan]

atm jr and king are the best no one in the world can take their job and do it to the same level. wwe has very good play by play guys and very good colour analysts BUT very few few who have the chemistry that king and jr do so from this i say oh hell no!!!

 

[Yuffie_Kisaragi]

Replace both of them. King does nothing to intrest me at all, J.B.L at least is entertaining and excellant at getting people over. King and J.Rs way of getting someone over is saying "(insert name) is a tremendous athlete)

Plus had anyone noticed all the mistakes J.Rs been making lately? He repeatedly calls Jeffs Whisper in the Wind the twist of fate, he called Beth Phoenix Jillian a few weeks back, completely messed up Santinos "Ass-Whip" and calling Cody Rhodes Cody Runnels for the first few weeks he was on Raw.


Ive noticed King correcting him on numerus occasions and if Kings correcting you you know your bad.....get a knew play by play guy and have someone like Foley, Al Snow or Regal as the colour commentator.