Jonathan Coachman leaving WWE for ESPN

[Perfection 0]

Hey Czech: even though you admit he's the voice of Raw, you say you hate Jim Ross. What announcer is out there now that you like? Who do you think would be able to do the job better? Any answer including the word "Cole" is automatic disqualification.

I don't know who's out there right now. I was just saying that among the pantheon of legendary WWF announcers, Jim-Ross-as-Raw-guy is the one I never really understood. Every since Lawler came back after Heyman left, he just seemed to go through the motions of belching out catchphrases and YELLING A LOT AT ALL TIMES. All the yelling, plus aging and smoking, has made his voice kind of unpleasant (especially next to Lawler's voice, which is also unpleasant) compared to the Jim Ross/Bob Caudle years.

 

In all honesty, were I to watch wrestling again, I would want Vince McMahon to stop waddling around doing his self-indulgent Evil Owner schtick and just call matches like he used to. He has the only voice more synonymous with the WWF than Jim Ross, is more invested in selling the product than anybody, and really wasn't as bad as people made him out to be.

 

I don't like Michael Cole either, and was just noting that he had all the time in the world to stop sucking (it took about five years, I think) while the Raw guys never had that sort of time. Each time Ross was replaced, the replacement was set up to fail. By having him "get fired" in a gimmick or whatever it was each time, that meant he was taken away and being withheld from the fans, and the new person (Styles, Coach) was immediately resented for being installed in Ross's stead. Ironically, Jerry Lawler was fired for real, so they stuck Paul Heyman in the color seat, and most people took to him. Nobody has ever explained to me why they always wanted to get rid of Jim Ross, yet were always quick to pull the plug on the replacement project.

 

I think that is the first time I have ever seen someone say they prefer vince mcmcahon's announcing over jim ross. I absolutely HATED mcmahon at the booth. He was absolutely god awful. "what a maneuver!!!" "1..HE'S GOT HIM, 2!!!!..............no he doesn't." And the over the top excitement he had made him sound like a 5 year old kid. Now way back when in the early days he wasn't that bad but the 90s? simply terrible.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Hey Czech: even though you admit he's the voice of Raw, you say you hate Jim Ross. What announcer is out there now that you like? Who do you think would be able to do the job better? Any answer including the word "Cole" is automatic disqualification.

If he wasn't suspended for being a racist (well, for being too outspoken of a racist, I guess) ... Michael Hayes. While I think he was more of a color guy back in the day, he knows the business well enough to call a match.

[cabbageboy 0]

Who on earth could possibly want Vince back as a lead announcer? He's utterly terrible and in my opinion actively drove fans away from wrestling in the early 90s. We went from Gorilla and Jesse, Gorilla/Heenan to finally Vince and whatever crap partner he had (Lawler at his most grating, Macho, whoever).

 

I can stomach the old school Vince from the 70s that I've seen on 24/7, but he was awful by 1993.

[Guest College Party]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play. So he was a loud pull-string doll who didn't have a clue what was going on. That's all Jim Ross has been for like ten years.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Yeah, but he has tenure motherfucker.

 

"BAH GAWD DAMN YOUR BLACKHEARTS"

 

"STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!"

 

 

[Enigma 0]

Don't forget that little stretch in '99 when he liked to yell "WHO'S YOUR DADDY (insert heel name here)? WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"

[Silence 0]

Don't forget that little stretch in '99 when he liked to yell "WHO'S YOUR DADDY (insert heel name here)? WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"

 

He especially said that a lot about Undertaker back then.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play.

 

Seconded.

[Dandy 0]

Hey Czech: even though you admit he's the voice of Raw, you say you hate Jim Ross. What announcer is out there now that you like? Who do you think would be able to do the job better? Any answer including the word "Cole" is automatic disqualification.

If he wasn't suspended for being a racist (well, for being too outspoken of a racist, I guess) ... Michael Hayes. While I think he was more of a color guy back in the day, he knows the business well enough to call a match.

I heard Hayes doesn't do well with color.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play.

 

Seconded.

 

Third.

[RepoMan 0]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play.

 

Seconded.

 

Third.

 

I have nostalgia for the easily imitatable style that Vince had as an annoucer, but he wouldn't work today.

 

I never got all the hate Coach got for his commentary. I always thought he was a good heel announcer. When put in the mix with JR and King, Coach helped tell the story from the heel's prespective. I hate it when they just have two face announcers. I prefer the mix of play by play calling it straight, and a face and heel color guys.

 

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

I really liked his character in that when he was about to get beat down, he knew it and you could tell he was thinking "I'm not a wrestler, what did I just get myself into." And his skits with The Rock were classics.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

What makes Jim Ross a good announcer is that he has an incredible ability to make a moment seem important, to add drama/excitement to a match. He has timing I have never seen duplicated by any other announcer.

[billdynamite 0]

I was watching an old rumble recently, possibly '94 - i don't remember all that well so all this could be bollocks - and to switch up the announcing they went from McMahon/Di Biase to Ross/Monsoon, i think it was for the Harts v Quebecers match. Ross' commentary was excellent and i didn't hate him... i really thought it added to the match.

 

Ross annoys the hell out of me most of the time these days, but in big matches he delivers in making me believe some important shit is going down.

 

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, Coach... not a fan.

[The Buzz 0]

I enjoy Coach as a non-wrestler personality like he's been for most of his run, but didn't enjoy him in the booth.

[Karc 0]

Not sure if this is true, but the ESPN thing might be false...

 

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2008/0...chman-hire.html

[The Truthiness 0]

Look like DA Meltz got his shit wrong.

[Jesse Badass 0]

Like The Rock said, "Nobody cares about you Coach!"

[TheFranchise 0]

Jonathan Coachman has not signed a contract with ESPN contrary to what may have been reported elsewhere. As I write this, Coach is still employed by the WWE and is still doing projects for the MSG Network. Will Coach eventually migrate to ESPN? Who knows, he would be a great fit there, but as of today he has not made any commitment to do so.

 

- JR's blog.

[luke-o 0]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play.

 

One, Two, And...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....No!

[Jericho2000Mark 0]

I don't care what anyone says. I liked Vince McMahon on play-by-play.

 

Seconded.

 

Third.

 

Fourthed.

 

[The Robfather 0]

Some people are just blessed with an amazing voice. Listening to Gorilla was always a joy because he had that distinct voice. Vince has one of those voices too, even if some of his actually play-by-play sucked, he still always seemed to make things exciting and important.

 

Michael Cole and Coachman pale because their voices are pretty generic. Lawyer sucks because he isn't the classic heel color guy from the past. The Brain and Jesse were great at that stuff.

[Dandy 0]

Ah, but it is also what you get used to. I am not saying that Gorilla, Jesse, and Heenan were not great, but they became synonymous with announcing to you because you became familiar with their voice. When that voice gets replaced, it doesn't sound right. Over time, it might become more familiar with you, but it's not what you grew up with. I agree that having a good voice gives you an advantage, but it's not as important as the overall job the announcer does. If they do such an awesome job, their voice will be familiar enough for you and you will come to accept that voice.

[The Niggardly King 0]

But I grew up on the voices of the American Dream and Stevie Ray and no one has taken their spots yet

[Jingus 0]

A good voice for the announcers is like a steroid physique packed onto an above-average height for wrestlers; it'll get you in the door, but won't necessarily keep you there. Tony Schiavone had a good voice, and look what happened to him. Mike Adamle has a good voice, and I don't really need to say more there. Michael Buffer has the greatest voice of all time, and he's allegedly a greedy egotistical douchebag who doesn't give a shit about his job and just shows up to say his one catchphrase and collect the gigantic paycheck. I'd say all those guys have better natural voices than Jim Ross, but he's a better at the sheer artistry of announcing than all of them put together.

[King Cucaracha 0]

...I like Tony Schiavone.

[Celtic Guardian 0]

Jonathan Coachman has not signed a contract with ESPN contrary to what may have been reported elsewhere. As I write this, Coach is still employed by the WWE and is still doing projects for the MSG Network. Will Coach eventually migrate to ESPN? Who knows, he would be a great fit there, but as of today he has not made any commitment to do so.

 

- JR's blog.

 

Coachman's at MSG for sure now. He's one of the regular broadcast crew for telecasts of the WNBA's New York Liberty.

[RepoMan 0]

Jonathan Coachman has not signed a contract with ESPN contrary to what may have been reported elsewhere. As I write this, Coach is still employed by the WWE and is still doing projects for the MSG Network. Will Coach eventually migrate to ESPN? Who knows, he would be a great fit there, but as of today he has not made any commitment to do so.

 

- JR's blog.

 

Coachman's at MSG for sure now. He's one of the regular broadcast crew for telecasts of the WNBA's New York Liberty.

 

I watched part of tonight's game just because I heard Coach on commentary when flipping around.

 

[gWIL 0]

...I like Tony Schiavone.

 

Me too. He might be my favorite.

[Toxxic 0]

No commentary team in the world, ever, tops Josh Matthews and Tazz from Velocity. No-one in management was listening or cared, which meant Josh got to call the match like a fan with some knowledge of the product, and Tazz did whatever the hell he liked. The combination made for great, hilarious TV.

 

Also worth watching was the Matthews/Cole team for when Tazz was on holiday/drunk/couldn't be bothered, which saw Cole take colour commentary position and, with no-one from management breathing down his neck, perform the unlikely feats of a) accusing someone else of not knowing their shit and b) be one sarcastic motherfucker.

 

I'm not saying a word about the Matthews/DeMott or *shudder* Matthews/Cat combinations in case anyone gets any ideas.