Highland 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 First of I will admit I have not seen any TNA, ROH, etc so I can't speak for them, but I do watch Raw and SD!. Anyway, one of the things that irks me is during a match the announce team (usually the Raw tandem of JR and Lawler) pretend the wrestlers in the match don't exist and instead talk about either another match/wrestling, like HHH, or worse, themselves! Obviously I disagree with this method of announcing, but I'll throw it out to you guys: Should they continue as they are doing, or should they stick to calling the match and shut up about everything else? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Austin3164life 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Of course, the announcer/commentator team should almost always cover the match at hand, and occasionally hype a Main Event (if the match at hand is A-Train vs. Hugh Morrus). Tazz and Cole are starting to get better and better and are sticking to wrestling, and they are more entertaining then the geriatric tandem of JR and Lawler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 If, by "doing their jobs," you mean putting over the main eventers and/or the McMahons, and nothing/nobody else, then yes... otherwise, no. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted September 6, 2003 JR and King are the worst. They never stick to what's going on in the ring and King doesn't even attempt to play a heel anymore. If you've ever seen 80s NWA then you'll know how sad it is to watch JR. I even wonder if they can name half the moves out there anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silence 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 (edited) I even wonder if they can name half the moves out there anymore. When JR used to do commentary for a Benoit match(before he moved to Smackdown), he almost always called every one of his German Suplexes belly-to-back suplexes, and they aren't the same move because on my N64 wrestling video games, a belly-to-back suplex, according to the game, is a belly-to-belly suplex with the wrestler being swung overhead diagonally to the mat, kind of like how Scott Steiner does his suplexes. Strange that the German suplex isn't the same as a belly-to-back suplex, but apparently, they are different. Edited September 6, 2003 by Raven_Effect01 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 JR and King really suck now. I mean even in 1999 they were good, even 2000! JR doesn't even call moves anymore, apart from the obvious ones. Tazz and Cole are good announcers, they do a bit of research before the matches (see Rey Mysterio 619 DVD) and they don't crap on like JR and King do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ultra Violence 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 They really need to get rid of them both. JR can't call any moves and Lawler isn't funny anymore, he's just perverted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuban Linx 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Lawler and JR were bad enough as it is, the fact they're getting involved in angles more and more just makes it even worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Deviant Report post Posted September 6, 2003 JR and King are painful to listen to. Both are completely hopeless. The only entertainment I have gotten from them in the past year was how completely lost King was on his own for those few minutes. Tazz and Cole are very good, they have found a decent balance of hype and calling the match. Tazz's experience is being put to use to properly explain some moves to the less informed out there and they often help to explain the psychology of a match. On Raw, the same actions in the ring would be rendered pointless by JR lost on a Sooners tangent or King noticing a girl walk by in the crowd. In the past three years, the only thing decent on Raw commentary has been Paul Heyman. I almost cried the night after Survivor Series when Lawler came back. 'Twas a sad, sad day. Coach isn't as bad as people say he is, but he still sucks. By comparison to JR, he's Gordon freaking Solie. Mike Tenay is as good as ever calling matches, perhaps moreso as he isn't overshadowed by tired but funny Heenan jokes and completely lost Schiavone-isms. Don West is the ultimate hype machine and can often suck you in to matches you don't give a damn about. Their only significant weakness is when West's lack of wrestling knowledge screws them up. But that's unavoidable, and a cost I'm willing to pay. ROH's original announce team of Steve Corino and Eric Garguilio or something(CZW guy) was pure fucking gold. Donnie B who replaced Eric was pretty good. Their current team of Chris Levy and Ray Morro(or something, fake names for Doug Gentry and someone else, possibly Gabe, I dunno, I don't really care) started out really badly. Unscripted was pretty painful to listen to. At the moment, they're very good, but can be very repetitive. If I hear that one guy point out something minor that shows good wrestling and "separates the backyarders from the pros" one more time... well I'm not going to do anything, but I'll be pissed. I'm not sure who the best commentary team is, but JR and King are definately the worst. I can't stand listening to them anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silence 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Their current team of Chris Levy and Ray Morro(or something, fake names for Doug Gentry and someone else, possibly Gabe, I dunno, I don't really care) started out really badly. Unscripted was pretty painful to listen to. At the moment, they're very good, but can be very repetitive. If I hear that one guy point out something minor that shows good wrestling and "separates the backyarders from the pros" one more time... well I'm not going to do anything, but I'll be pissed. Is Ray Morro the commentator who sounds almost like Mark Loyd(ugh)? I watched the Dragon/London 2003 match on KaZaA not too long ago and noticed that Jeff, who used to do commentary with Chris late last year, was apparently no longer doing commentary, and I guess he was replaced by Ray. Is that right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bort Report post Posted September 6, 2003 i like the coach and Snow heat team, i liked pretty much all of the heat teams that had coach and an wrestler, taz and cole are very good, give much better insight than anyone else around mike tenay and don west are ok, west was crap at the start but is getting better i do not like joey styles on mlw undeground, he is a shell of his former self, just not as good as he once was Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mecha Mummy 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Eh. All things considered I got sick of Garguilio and Corino at times. There's such a thing as having too much fun on commentary. D'Lo and Coach did, and to a lesser extent Corino and Garguilio did as well. Otherwise, they were pretty good. JR and Lawler seem to be decent announcers when paired with anyone other than each other. For evidence of that, look a the JR/Heyman and Lawler/Coach tandems. INFINITELY better than JR/Lawler. They need to throw Coach on Raw either replacing Lawler or as a third commentator because GOD, do Ross and King suck now. Cole and Tazz have evolved into a very listenable commentary team. Tazz is very good and Cole is quickly improving from the peice of crap announcer he used to be. Mike Tenay and Don West, in my opinion, are currently one of the best teams out there. Tenay's a great PBP man and has earned his nickname "The Professor", and West's excitement is great. His knowledge of wrestling and moves and all that isn't so great, but here's a guy who loves what he sees and wants everybody to love it as much as he does. And he's definitely not the same Don West who just went "Wow, look at that move, guys!" He's actually made some astute comments on what's going on (Most notably saying that AJ Styles probably tapped out quickly in the second match of their best two out of three series to save his strength for the last one). I can't judge Coachman because he's turned heel and stuff and I haven't gotten a good sample of his heel work yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 We prefer Cole and Tazz. WWE prefers King and JR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 I have a lot of respect for Michael Cole. He went from not being able to tell his ass from a hole in the ground to surpassing Jim Ross in quality. Is there any truth to the rumor that Head Of Talent Relations Jim Ross intentionally hires mediocre and indistinguishable announcers like Loyd, Leary, Coach, et al, to make himself look better? I guess he figures now matter how much he declined, he'll still seem decent in front of an army of Sean Mooneys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Papacita 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 I don't mind JR as much as some others do, but King drags him down. Aside from Cole calling every headscissors a "leg scissors" (which is really starting to bug me for some reason), the Smackdown team is great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tawren 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 JR and King suck. They never focus on the match, they never call moves, they overreact to every little thing ("Oh My GAWD King, BAHGAWD STONE COLD IS WALKING BACKSTAGE, BAH GAWD King"). Cole and Tazz actually call the matches, and on top of that explain why the wrestlers do the moves they do and what effect they have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 ROH's original announce team of Steve Corino and Eric Garguilio or something(CZW guy) was pure fucking gold. Donnie B who replaced Eric was pretty good. Their current team of Chris Levy and Ray Morro(or something, fake names for Doug Gentry and someone else, possibly Gabe, I dunno, I don't really care) started out really badly. Unscripted was pretty painful to listen to. At the moment, they're very good, but can be very repetitive. If I hear that one guy point out something minor that shows good wrestling and "separates the backyarders from the pros" one more time... well I'm not going to do anything, but I'll be pissed. I'm not sure who the best commentary team is, but JR and King are definately the worst. I can't stand listening to them anymore. No offense, man, but any team besides Garigulo & Corino was AWFUL. Punk & Gorman have been the only good commentators since Eric left. Donnie constantly tried WAAAAAAAY too hard to sound "official" or something, and was worse than anyone in WWE when it came to calling moves (Watch Road to the Title; he called the Red Star Press, "a side suplex variation"). Gabe & Doug...I mean Ray & Chris are HORRIBLE. I've seen every show they've done, minus Unscripted, and it's pure torture listening to them. They're the masters of the obvious ("Those Special K kids must be on something!") , they don't know as many move names as people give them credit for, they're in constant agreeance with each other (which makes for boring commentary), and they help deflect from the match, not add to it. As for the best commentating team; if we're going outside of WWE, like I say in each of my Wildside reviews, Dan Wilson & Steven Prazak are IT. They make astute points, they get the wrestlers and stories over, they add to the match with their constant explanations of the psychology, they know move names, they know their history so they can go back and explain certain things through that, and, during the absolute jokes of matches (read: Carlton Kaz/Magnum from Freedom Fight 2002), they have about the best Abbott & Costello act in the business. By far, in my humble opinion, the best commentary team in our country. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Taking attention away from the match in the ring and focusing on other subjects has been going on 4ever in WWE. The only announcers that I remember actually attempting to call the wrestlers sig moves were the team of Tazz & Cole whenever I remember to watch Velocity. Al Snow has called some moves on Heat but working with the clone of Stuart Scott/Missing Wayans brother does not help much. If only JR & King can get away from focusing attention on the boss, the GM battle, the McMahans. Maybe give some attention to the midcard and lowcard wrestlers by at least calling the sig moves and quit calling a move that is not a normal body slam or suplex with generic "WOW What a Move" or "Unorthodox slam" or "What a takedown" maybe I would care. And Coach still sucks, mocking JR does not hid the fact that he is a B list announcer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Who announced the All-Star Extravaganza show?? They really, really, really, really, really, really, really fucking sucked. If you want to hear great announcing watch Pride 25 - Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten put everyone to shame. But since Pride fired Quadros, Tazz and Cole are the best team goin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Gabe & Doug announced ASX, I think. Gorman might have been in there with Gabe, I forget. But yeah, they sucked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Yeah, those guys have turned me off my next ROH purchase. That, and the clueless wrestlers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Highland 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed by JR and Lawler if they actually TRIED to act with a face vs heal mindset. Maybe I'm being overly nostalgic, but I actually miss the days of Vince (gasp!), Ventura, Monsoon, Heenan, etc. on at the announce table. They didn't act like they were friend with each other and you knew whether they were faces or heals and who they supported. T Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Whoever is in the Gorilla position backstage telling the Raw announcers what to say should be fired. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Let's see. I can't stand JR and Lawler. They hardly ever call a match that doesn't have a top guy in it...instead they spend the other matches talking about upcoming matches with said top guys. Now...this is OK for RAW, IMO...since they need to get people interested in the rest of the show so people will keep watching... But...as a result they just can't call a match anymore. Even on ppv...they just sound lost and can't put over anyone in commentary except those same guys. I like Tazz, I hate Michael Cole. Has he gotten better? Maybe. But he's still garbage. It's hard to watch a guy call a match when he doesn't know what he's watching. Tenay is the best announcer of the three shows I watch. He puts over EVERYONE in commentary and actually calls all the matches. Don West is a strange one. He doesn't know what's going on either...but at least he's not the PBP guy like Cole is. Their team works because while Tenay knows everything there is to know about what he's watching...he's not always the most entertaining or exciting guy in the world. Whoever decided to pair him up with the MOST excited guy in the world is either a lunatic or a genius because it works. I haven't liked the RoH commentary since the Corino and the other guy stopped doing it. They were awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed by JR and Lawler if they actually TRIED to act with a face vs heal mindset. Maybe I'm being overly nostalgic, but I actually miss the days of Vince (gasp!), Ventura, Monsoon, Heenan, etc. on at the announce table. They didn't act like they were friend with each other and you knew whether they were faces or heals and who they supported. T Ventura & Monsoon did act like they were friends, but the heel/face connection was still there. On the weekly shows Ventura teamed with Vince and Gorilla with Heenan, and you are correct in that they acted like they hated each other, but Gorilla & Jesse got along great with each other or at the very least respected each other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Phoenix Report post Posted September 6, 2003 The question was. Do the announcers do their jobs properly. This is a simple question with a simple answer. NO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted September 6, 2003 Tazz & Cole do. JR & King don't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Phoenix Report post Posted September 7, 2003 I don't get Smackdown in my area so I wouldn't know. They have to be better than JR and KIng though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted September 7, 2003 JR and the King have been playing "JR and the King for way too long". They have become shells of shells. JR sounds like the worlds worst used car salesman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted September 7, 2003 They really need to get rid of them both. JR can't call any moves and Lawler isn't funny anymore, he's just perverted I'm just shocked at how many people wanted Lawler in the booth when Heyman --- who was infinitely better a color guy than the King ever was --- was there. I remembered how bad Jerry could be. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
