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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 13:35:48 GMT -5
Been thinking about this as I watch the Network. Some wrestlers were surprisingly adept in the commentator role, while others who you might think would be good, kind of just sucked at it.
Examples of good:
Shawn Michaels, who I really thought would struggle with the urge to put himself over endlessly, did an outstanding job of co-hosting Raw with Vince for a month or so. He seemed to find just the perfect blend of knowing when to inject his own character and knowing when to disappear into the role and put over the action.
Magnum TA was pretty short-lived as co-host of World Championship Wrestling, but he was a welcome upgrade from David Crockett. Bringing him in was similar to Howie Long or Troy Aikmen as football analysts. I think he was quickly replaced by obnoxious Michael Hayes, which sucked.
Examples of bad:
Ted DiBiase was awesome at playing the Million $ Man character when he was wrestling, but when he stepped in as the new heel commentator to fill Bobby Heenan's shoes, he was boring and completely uninspired. He would sit there with nothing to say, and when he did say something it was dull.
Mr. Perfect should have been a great commentator, but somehow he wasn't. Like Ted, I think Curt was better when he was delivering rehearsed lines and not good at thinking on his feet. Other than his trademark pencil flip, his commentary seemed to me to undermine his "perfect" character.
Agree/disagree/list your own examples.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Dec 31, 2016 13:49:14 GMT -5
I remember Ted DiBiase and Stan Lane were good together on the old WWF Coliseum Videos from 1994. But I do know the Royal Rumble 94 event is kind of lackluster with Ted and Vince together.
HBK was awesome on the commentary booth in late 94 and early 95 for Raw. He always called the Smoking Gunns "Drugstore Cowboys" which was always funny to me, mainly cause I know what that term means.
Honky Tonk Man was pretty good on commentary too when they gave him the shot with it.
Johnny Polo I enjoyed as well on commentary.
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Post by Funk The Revival on Dec 31, 2016 14:30:11 GMT -5
 You know you're Perfect when you coin the nickname Hearbreak Kid and you're not even a commentator  |
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Post by The Brain on Dec 31, 2016 15:50:37 GMT -5
Nobody will ever reach Heenan/Ventura in terms of heel announcing IMO but I actually didn't mind Dibiase and Perfect in the booth. They both at least stayed true to being heel unlike todays color commentators do.
Rick Rude was another good color guy for his brief stint in ECW. I thought he blended well with Styles.
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Post by Patrick Bateman (original) on Dec 31, 2016 16:30:00 GMT -5
Superstar Billy Graham was horrible.
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koreygunz
Main Eventer
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287 Refs in WFClassifieds and counting
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Post by koreygunz on Dec 31, 2016 16:58:36 GMT -5
I enjoyed Perfect for the most part. He would still out over the faces from time to time too
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 17:47:40 GMT -5
Nobody will ever reach Heenan/Ventura in terms of heel announcing IMO but I actually didn't mind Dibiase and Perfect in the booth. They both at least stayed true to being heel unlike todays color commentators do. Rick Rude was another good color guy for his brief stint in ECW. I thought he blended well with Styles. Agree on Heenan and Ventura. IMO Paul E. Dangerously was pretty funny as a weaselly heel commentator. Not quite Brain-caliber, but really good with Jim Ross. Lawler had his moments too, but was more obnoxious then Heenan, who was more of a lovable imp. |
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Post by The Brain on Dec 31, 2016 18:11:51 GMT -5
Nobody will ever reach Heenan/Ventura in terms of heel announcing IMO but I actually didn't mind Dibiase and Perfect in the booth. They both at least stayed true to being heel unlike todays color commentators do. Rick Rude was another good color guy for his brief stint in ECW. I thought he blended well with Styles. Agree on Heenan and Ventura. IMO Paul E. Dangerously was pretty funny as a weaselly heel commentator. Not quite Brain-caliber, but really good with Jim Ross. Lawler had his moments too, but was more obnoxious then Heenan, who was more of a lovable imp. Heyman was good with J.R. in 2001 and also during their days in the NWA.
Lawler/J.R. was the last good announce team they had IMO. Heel Lawler was gold.
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Post by Patrick Bateman (original) on Dec 31, 2016 20:16:30 GMT -5
Jesse Ventura in wCw was not good at all. I honestly think he hated Tony Schovoni, not it a playful bicker back and forth, but a straight up "I hate you"
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Post by Funk The Revival on Dec 31, 2016 21:22:04 GMT -5
Watching through the Smackdown's from '02 and I found Taz very good. Always thought he and Cole worked well together
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 21:25:31 GMT -5
Best wrestler turned commentator:  |
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Post by The Brain on Dec 31, 2016 21:31:20 GMT -5
Watching through the Smackdown's from '02 and I found Taz very good. Always thought he and Cole worked well together I thought Taz was decent as well during those days. |
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Post by The Brain on Dec 31, 2016 21:32:46 GMT -5
Best wrestler turned commentator: AMEN!
I miss Gorilla. He is sadly missed especially when it comes to announcing. Never will be another one like him again for my money.
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Post by BrIaNMeRcY on Dec 31, 2016 21:37:04 GMT -5
In small doses, Lord Alfred Hayes was pretty good.
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Post by Himmy! on Jan 1, 2017 5:06:58 GMT -5
Thoughts on Randy Savage? Such a huge fan of his in ring work but found him slightly annoying on commentary.
Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan and mid-late 90's Lawler are my all time favourites.
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Post by The Brain on Jan 1, 2017 5:36:00 GMT -5
Thoughts on Randy Savage? Such a huge fan of his in ring work but found him slightly annoying on commentary. Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan and mid-late 90's Lawler are my all time favourites. I liked Savage in the booth. One of the saving graces to WM 9 was him,Heenan and Ross on commentary IMO.
Ventura,Heenan,Lawler I agree with you. Definitely my favorite 3 heel announcers of all time.
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Post by McBlake on Jan 1, 2017 23:49:50 GMT -5
Let's not forget about the best. CM Punk. No joke, guy constantly cracked me up, and I was never massive on his wrestling.
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Post by K5 on Jan 2, 2017 1:13:07 GMT -5
ventura was fantastic. macho man was pretty good. jbl at times is great but most of the time should be reeled in. sammartino, although slow at times, i thought was great at selling the product pre-hulkamania days in his own humble way. lawler was a fantastic heel. cyrus in ecw was very good, but not harnessed properly in his heel role and relegated to being grimey and depreciative in terms of a lot of his commentating/bickering with joey styles - they combated each other, and cyrus was legit so unlikeable in his role that you couldn't enjoy listening to him for too long at any given time! i didn't enjoy larry zybysko at all in wcw - always found his voice really really annoying and his insights to be redundant and needless. disco inferno in wcw 2001 was  ing terrible...not that that should surprise anyone. not big on booker t either. one of my favourites is dutch mantel in smoky mountain wrestling. the product itself is a bit dated of course, but for his role he absolutely nails the conniving heel act. even if he puts himself over a bit too much. |
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jan 3, 2017 1:06:39 GMT -5
Let's not forget about the best. CM Punk. No joke, guy constantly cracked me up, and I was never massive on his wrestling. I can agree with this statement! In late 2010 when Punk was injured and did commentary at the TLC PPV and on Raw shows leading up to the Royal Rumble, he was gold! He would legit look shocked when things happened, if the action got too close to the table, he would cower away, and he always put over what was happening. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 11:26:43 GMT -5
Macho was a mix of good and sometimes cringe-worthy I thought.
Someone mentioned Alfred Hayes, who I really enjoyed with Sean Mooney. It was shocking coming from the guy who played the lovable buffoon most of the time, but I loved how Alfred could be really articulate and usually supported the heels in a way that was subtle and not blatantly heelish.
No one has mentioned Nick Bockwinkel, who teamed up with Lee Marshall in the latter days of the AWA. For being as great as he was on the mic as a wrestler, ol' Nick was pretty underwhelming as a color man. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it was because the product sucked, but that might not be fair.
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