WWE General Discussion - December 2007

[King Kamala 0]

Oh god, how can anyone miss Vince's announcing? He was such utter, utter complete shit. He was constantly over the top, didn't know any of the moves at all, had his awful phony laugh, did the same cliches like 1-2 he got him..oh wait, and so on. Note that as a show Raw never really became what it could be until he got out of the booth.

 

I'll agree with you Vince was a crappy announcer in his last few years. But when he was with Ventura in the mid to late 80s and during the pre-expansion era, he wasn't bad. No better or worse than Michael Cole.

 

It's funny how Gorilla is so universally beloved these days because I remember someone posted some Wrestling Observer readers polls from the 80s here a while back and he was always voted worst announcer for some reason. It must have been solely because he was associated with The WWF's "circus act" of the time cause Gorilla was in no way imaginable than Vince and probably most wrestling announcers.

[cabbageboy 0]

Oddly enough Vince's best announcing was during the 1970s shows that I've seen on 24/7, where he was going it alone and was much more laid back.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

It's funny how Gorilla is so universally beloved these days because I remember someone posted some Wrestling Observer readers polls from the 80s here a while back and he was always voted worst announcer for some reason. It must have been solely because he was associated with The WWF's "circus act" of the time cause Gorilla was in no way imaginable than Vince and probably most wrestling announcers.

Gorilla was fine up until around 1990, but then he went downhill really badly. I don't think people hated Gorilla because of who he worked for; if that was the case, then people would have hated Jesse Ventura, and he got heavy praise for his heel commentator role. What I hated about Gorilla was when a babyface was in a submission hold, he'd either talk about how he's never seen someone give up in that hold or how the babyface was never going to submit, which turned it from a potentially match winning hold to a rest hold that people shouldn't get worried about. It killed the drama of the match.

[BorneAgain 0]

I loved Gorilla but its relatively easy to like him now, when the vast majority of his work is being heard from select PPVs or Best of Videos and not constant weekly TV shows where certain weaknesses are being exposed.

[Matt Young 0]

WWE could create a fourth brand with all of their unused talent right now? I mean take all of the current talent off of television due to injury(other than Cena) or just not being used and some of their top developmentals more than ready for prime time -

 

 

Lashley

Haas

DH Smith

Super Crazy

Dave Taylor

Mike Knox

Stevie Richards

 

Diva's

Eve(Diva search winner)

Ashley

Nattie

 

Developmentals

Antoni Polaski(Amish Roadkill)

Johnny Jeter (Spirit Squad Johnny)

James Curtis (KC James)

Paul Burchill

Billy Kidman

TJ Wilson

 

Or at least add a second hour to ECW - with the brand sharing between SD! and ECW, developmentals really have no where to go right now.

 

Since when is Kidman in developmental? I thought he just worked one match for FCW.

[DangerousDamon 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miuQ8iDHIFI...feature=related

 

I want to see this happen one more time before Ric Flair retires.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Since when is Kidman in developmental? I thought he just worked one match for FCW.

 

He's a full-time trainer for FCW.

[Mike wanna be 0]

It's funny how Gorilla is so universally beloved these days because I remember someone posted some Wrestling Observer readers polls from the 80s here a while back and he was always voted worst announcer for some reason. It must have been solely because he was associated with The WWF's "circus act" of the time cause Gorilla was in no way imaginable than Vince and probably most wrestling announcers.

Gorilla was fine up until around 1990, but then he went downhill really badly. I don't think people hated Gorilla because of who he worked for; if that was the case, then people would have hated Jesse Ventura, and he got heavy praise for his heel commentator role. What I hated about Gorilla was when a babyface was in a submission hold, he'd either talk about how he's never seen someone give up in that hold or how the babyface was never going to submit, which turned it from a potentially match winning hold to a rest hold that people shouldn't get worried about. It killed the drama of the match.

At the time I can see how saying "Hulk will never give up!" or "Nobody ever gives up to a head twist!" would kill the match's drama....but 17 years after the fact Hulk still never gives up and nobody has given up to a head twist, so it isn't like he was wrong. Whenever he did something like that, I always figured it was just his way of re-wording "This is a wear-down hold, not really a submission" because in reality they're all submission holds but nobody's going to buy a head twist as a viable finish.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Kidman was looking pretty good as the masked man from Japan named "Zaduko" at a SmackDown taping I went to last year.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Fuck what anyone says, Gorilla and Heenan had some of the best chemistry I've ever seen in a pro wrestling announce booth. The only one in recent years I recall ever matching the chemistry they had was Paul Heyman and Jim Ross.

[King Kamala 0]

I don't think Gorilla was the best wrestling announcer of his time. I'd rank Solie, Lance Russell, and 80s JR all ahead of him easily. However, even though I'm exposed to far more wrestling than I was as a youth in the early-mid 90s, for my money, Monsoon and Heenan is still the most entertaining commentary team I've ever heard.

[Diamonddust 0]

Fuck what anyone says, Gorilla and Heenan had some of the best chemistry I've ever seen in a pro wrestling announce booth. The only one in recent years I recall ever matching the chemistry they had was Paul Heyman and Jim Ross.

 

I loved Heyman and Ross together... Paul E. getting under J.R.'s skin, even back when they were doing WCW events, was a treat.

[Scroby 0]

Fuck what anyone says, Gorilla and Heenan had some of the best chemistry I've ever seen in a pro wrestling announce booth. The only one in recent years I recall ever matching the chemistry they had was Paul Heyman and Jim Ross.

I fully agree with you!

[Guest King-Piccolo]

Bobby Heenan were absolutely Great an Announce Team, especially since Heenan came up with some of the best lines, the only 2 people I've felt have been a great Colour Commentator since then are Paul Heyman and JBL.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Gordon Solie doesn't do anything for me. He sounds monotone and unenthusiastic every time I hear him.

[Diamonddust 0]

Gordon Solie doesn't do anything for me. He sounds monotone and unenthusiastic every time I hear him.

 

A lot of people liked Solie because of that - he had a serious, non-cartoonish way of broadcasting. It added a huge amount of legitimacy to the product.

[King Kamala 0]

Exactly- Solie and Lance Russell were the two wrestling announcers who seemed the most like like legitamate sports announcers IMHO. Monsoon's great too but those two are the best.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

It's funny how Gorilla is so universally beloved these days because I remember someone posted some Wrestling Observer readers polls from the 80s here a while back and he was always voted worst announcer for some reason. It must have been solely because he was associated with The WWF's "circus act" of the time cause Gorilla was in no way imaginable than Vince and probably most wrestling announcers.

Gorilla was fine up until around 1990, but then he went downhill really badly. I don't think people hated Gorilla because of who he worked for; if that was the case, then people would have hated Jesse Ventura, and he got heavy praise for his heel commentator role. What I hated about Gorilla was when a babyface was in a submission hold, he'd either talk about how he's never seen someone give up in that hold or how the babyface was never going to submit, which turned it from a potentially match winning hold to a rest hold that people shouldn't get worried about. It killed the drama of the match.

At the time I can see how saying "Hulk will never give up!" or "Nobody ever gives up to a head twist!" would kill the match's drama....but 17 years after the fact Hulk still never gives up and nobody has given up to a head twist, so it isn't like he was wrong. Whenever he did something like that, I always figured it was just his way of re-wording "This is a wear-down hold, not really a submission" because in reality they're all submission holds but nobody's going to buy a head twist as a viable finish.

 

I definitely agree w/ that sentiment. Gorilla was the only wrestling announcer that didn't jinx match results by predicting them (squash matches aside). When McMahon or JR proclaim mid-match that Lex Luger is about to win the championship. That was the official cue that he wouldn't win. On the flip side, Monsoon was generally correct w/ his predictions (RR92 aside). It made it seem like he knew what he was talking about more than the other commentators.

[cabbageboy 0]

I grew up watching USWA/Memphis so of course I'm partial to Russell. Solie does bore the hell out of me though. Russell had a way of being serious but at certain points his vocal inflections would show a certain disdain for a heel's tactics, at times disappointment over someone betraying a tag partner, that sort of thing.

[Nate 0]

here's my Rumble card for this year:

 

WWE Title:

Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy

 

World Heavyweight Title:

Edge vs Batista (in some sort of gimmick match)

 

ECW Title:

CM Punk vs MVP vs Chavo Guererro

 

Chris Jericho vs JBL

 

Royal Rumble Match:

 

Raw: Triple H, HBK, Kennedy, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Super Crazy, Lashley, Charlie Haas, Snitsky, DH Smith, Carlito, Umaga, Ric Flair

 

ECW: Miz, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, Elijah Burke, Big Daddy V

 

Smackdown: Festus, Jesse, Finlay, Zack Ryder, Curtis Hawkins, Kane, Mark Henry, Khali

[Guest King-Piccolo]

The Card looks good although This is what I'd expect

 

ECW Title:

CM Punk vs Elijah Burke vs Chavo Guererro

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Just wanted to chime in to restate my opinion from the thread in General a couple of years ago: Monsoon/Ventura was my favorite commenting duo of all time, with Ventura/Ross as a close second, and followed by Monsoon/Heenan in third.

[The Niggardly King 0]

You know, since he's not doing much of anything... I would LOVE for Elijah Burke to get the Smackdown color role. He was great that one night he filled in for Tazz.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

What year is it?

 

Tammy "Sunny" Sytch posted the following message on her MySpace page, attacking former WWE Diva Rena "Sable" Mero.

 

Normally, I wouldn't waste my time on a piece of crap like Rena Mero, but so many of you are forwarding me things that she has been writing about me lately, that it needs to be addressed. Firstly, she has been saying that the reason she wasn't on the 15th anniversary RAW, is because I was on it and told people at the WWE to not have her on--that I wouldn't appear if she was there. Well, right off the bat this is total horse crap, because I know for a fact that she was not even asked to be a part of the show. I have a very good friend up there that showed me the list of people invited, and as there were a few invited that were then dis-invited, she was not one of them. She was no where to be found on the list. Period. She has to realize that the wrestling world does not revolve around her and steroid-ridden husband--who, I hope gets his ass kicked by Frank Mir in February--they have been such a source of trouble in the past for that company, they don't want anything to do with them. So, to save face, she made up this story about me getting her taken off the show. Now think about it--if I had that much pull in the company, wouldn't I have a contract by now?? And doesn't it just make her look stupid placing all that power in my hands?? As far as I'm concerned, she needs to stop worrying about me, and start worrying about how it's possible that a 40 something woman can actually look 50 something in the face--even after ALL that surgery.

 

 

Heh.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

Jim Ross is back at jrsbarbq.com with his responses to more feedback, mostly related to the RAW 15th Anniversary show. Here are some of the highlights, check out the full blog at JR's website.

 

- When asked about the rumor of CM Punk drinking beer at the RAW XV show: Ah, more rumors… Punk drank no beer at all - and neither did a few others.

 

- On who played Doink the Clown at the XV show: Matt Borne, the original and evil Doink the Clown, was there and he looked great. Matt was a great in-ring performer in his day, without question.

 

- When asked about internet rumors saying Mick Foley and Michael Hayes got into a heated argument at a recent Roundtable taping: I must have missed it and I was there, Paul. I don’t recall anything out of the ordinary, but a little cussing on that show isn’t that unusual. But surely one would not assume that any wrestling website could be wrong or perpetuate a rumor, would they?

 

- On why Big Show wasn't at the show: I assume a return for the Big Show is always possible, but I don’t know why he wasn’t at the Anniversary Raw. Perhaps he was simply not available. I saw Show in November in Miami and he looked to be in excellent shape, as he has been preparing for a boxing career that doesn’t seem to have taken off for whatever reasons.

 

- Backstage reaction to Hogan's reference to Randy Savage: I never heard it mentioned by any one at the event and have only heard it mentioned in the internet world. Most likely, no one had any significant reaction to it, because it was simply Hogan saying something to get a rise out of folks, like it did you. This answer is to all the other messages I received about this. Subject closed, as it is non-news.

 

- On the WWE announcers situation: Tazz would then have to be replaced on ECW, but there are some potentially good talkers who might mesh nicely with the talented Joey Styles. As far as who broadcasts the Royal Rumble, I have not heard, nor is it an issue with me who does it. It is the most challenging event of the year to broadcast.

 

 

- Vince McMahon called into today’s Opie & Anthony radio show as a special Christmas gift to the listeners. McMahon plugged Monday’s Tribute to the Troops show and he was asked who all worked the show. He said Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Bob Orton before correcting himself and saying Bob’s son without ever mentioning Randy by name.

 

 

 

-- Randy Orton and his wife Samantha have something extra special to celebrate this holiday season. The WWE Champion called into St. Louis' KDSK 5 News show this morning to discuss the upcoming Tribute to the Troops special. Orton mentioned how WWE does it every year and that it's a blast to go over to Iraq. When asked about his plans for the holidays, Orton said he was going to spend it with his family and he had just found out that his wife is expecting their first child.

 

Source: PW Insider

 

 

Yay. Another Orton.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

Sunny just comes off as really bitter. Hey, at least Sable kept away from drugs and saved her money from wrestling. There's no doubt in my mind who's smarter and who's made the better choices.

 

And Sunny, of all people, should know better than to take cheap shots over a woman's looks.

[10 Pounds 0]

Oh man, the Youtube Demian Demento promos are weird stuff.

 

"What do you feel when you reach down into your pants huh ? You know what I feel when I reach down into my pants ? Two large testicles. Oversized testicles. 'Cause I got balls. I'm a legitimate tough guy, I don't pull punches. When I throw a punch, I do it with reckless abandon....but you know what ? I know what you feel when you reach down into your pants. I suspect it's a prepubescent vagina. Yeah Yeah I said it and I ain't gonna take it back !"

 

No way those are legit. It's just too goofy that Damian Demento, of all wrestlers, would be the one to go to war against the internet marks. The sad part of it is all the comments that are posted.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Demento is probably getting indie job offers and offers for shoot interviews from all over, hell I bet even the wwe is interested in him and might give him a call to see if he`s still in ring shape. His youtube rants have pretty much gone viral around the IWC.

[Enigma 0]

Demento just posted a really weird video in a much quieter, calmer tone where he claims he can't take all the negative comments anymore, looks like he's wiping tears away, says he's going to make one more video tomorrow, and then "shut this thing down".

[LaParkaMarka 0]

Someone needs to post a "Leave Damien Alone!!" video.