Outside Interference — Rob Sklarz
A Commentary On WWE Commentary
Commentary in WWE is undergoing massive changes as of late, not only changes of personnel but changes in style (no pun intended) and philosophy. We’ll take a look at the state of WWE commentary in this edition of Outside Interference.
Since WWE split into three distinct brands their commentary has been in a state of flux. The previous two brand arrangement had very stable and established announce teams with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on Raw and Michael Cole and Tazz on Smackdown. The tandem of Lawler and Ross is the only established team left standing while the other two brands are experimenting with different combinations. We’ll look at recent personnel changes and how they may be affecting the product now and in the future. I’ll also discuss the change in the philosophy of how announcers should call the action.
Tazz to ECW I was always against moving Tazz to ECW. Tazz and Michael Cole were a very established team and had very good chemistry together. I believe the move has hurt Smackdown and not really helped ECW. Tazz was so far removed from his persona in the Original ECW that I don’t think his presence afforded any credibility to the new ECW. I honestly think Tazz is more identified with being a Smackdown commentator than an ECW wrestler. Also Joey Styles always worked solo in the original ECW so it wasn’t a reunion and they could have stuck anyone beside Styles to do color. I don’t believe it was worth breaking up a very good announce team and it hasn’t benefited either show.
JBL to Smackdown I was never a big fan of JBL’s commentary. He was a little to bombastic and antagonistic for my tastes. Considering the current state of Smackdown commentary though I have to say that JBL and Cole were a very good team in comparison. Still I believe that if JBL wanted to return to active competition then it was the right move. JBL has been a little slow out of the box in restarting his career and establishing credibility in the ring but I still thing he’s a bigger asset to WWE in the ring than at the announce desk. WWE cannot have enough strong heels to antagonize their plethora of babyfaces and JBL is one of the best.
Jonathon Coachman to Smackdown I have never been a fan of Jonathan Coachman. I have never found him entertaining as an interviewer, a commentator or even as a whipping boy. It is very hard to take him seriously and he offers very little in terms of personality or insight as a commentator. He was a drag as part of a three man team on Raw and his work with Michael Cole on Smackdown has been a disaster. Cole and Coachman have no chemistry and their ridiculous banter has really taken away from the in ring action. It doesn’t help that Coach can’t seem to decide if he want to play heel or face, antaogize Cole or be his buddy. Michael Cole is only as good as his color partner and Coachman is not that guy. WWE should make finding a new color commentator for Smackdown a priority instead of their current gameplan which features Cole and The Coach making references to how bad they are.
Mike Adamle to ECW The idiocy of this move almost defies description. Mike Adamle has years of experience as a broadcaster but obviously no background in wrestling. His debut on ECW was not very promising. He talked over ring introductions and clearly doesn’t know the names of any wrestling holds or understand ring psychology. Tazz basically had to carry him through the show. You would think WWE would have at least put him through wrestling 101 so he would not what a dropkick is or be able to differentiate between a leg grapevine and a figure four leglock. I’m not blaming Adamle here, I think WWE has put him in way over his head and considering the demanding nature of today’s wrestling fans he’s in for a hard time trying to fill Joey Styles shoes. I’m not going to dismiss Adamle after one show but the man needs help. He also needs to do some homework even if he has to stay up night after night watching matches so he can learn the moves and basic ring psychology. For the record I don’t think Joey Styles best serves WWE by working on their website when their announce teams are in such a sad state.
Change in philosophy In addition to all the personnel changes WWE has also been changing the way they call matches. As has been well documented WWE encourages their announcers to spend more time telling a story and less time calling holds. Being an old school fan I prefer a little more traditional play by play but since I know all the holds I guess I don’t really need the announcer to call it for me. Still I’d like to see a little more balance, J.R. for example has never had a problem calling the action and telling a story simultaneously. All in all though the new style hasn’t really been a problem and I might not have even noticed if it wasn’t talked about so much.
Another new aspect of WWE commentary is the announcers going silent more often. During intense sequences the announcers will “lay out” and let the action or promo speak for itself. I like this change and all one has to do to appreciate it is watch an episode on TNA Impact with Tenay and West screaming every minute of every show. The announcers going silent makes intense or emotional sequences seem more serious and real.
In Conclusion WWE commentary is definitely at a crossroads with only one brand featuring a strong and established team. Smackdown is definitely in need of an overhaul as I cannot see the team of Cole and Coachman ever becoming a quality partnership. I feel that finding Cole a new partner should be WWE’s number one priority as far as their announcing goes. While I’m not optimistic about Mike Adamle as the voice of ECW, I’m willing to give him a fair shake. It’s up to WWE to help him learn the craft of calling wrestling matches and Adamle needs to put forth a serious effort to school himself on anything and everything WWE and wrestling in general. If all else fails WWE should make Smackdown and ECW one brand and return Tazz to Michael Cole’s side.
–Rob Sklarz
Sklarz@aol.com
(4/18/08)
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