In-Ring Announcers

[Ace]

10 hours ago, Michael Sweetser said:

 

• Look at least halfway presentable.  I'm not saying to dress in a tux the whole time, but at least have clean clothes and don't look like another one of the fans.

I found it weird that when I started, I was just about the only one in SoCal who'd wear a suit.

 

[Lacelle]

Tom Miller was my favourite, I especially loved the way he would say "RicFlair" as if it was all one word.

[AxB]

 There was a Cage Rage (MMA) announcer in London who was terrible, because he pronounced everyone's surname as "Wuuoooo-Arrrrgh"

[The Green Meanie]

21 hours ago, Michael Sweetser said:

An announcer that @James F'n X and I always enjoyed was Bill Dunn, who did the main Raw and PPV announcing for a spell in 1993.  Something about his voice cadence sounded great, even though it felt that he was new enough that he didn't quite know what to say in the right situation (a lot of instances of "for the Intercontinental championship title", although who knows if that was Vince telling him what to do and him taking it verbatim).

That's the guy, Bill Dunn. I wasn't a fan of his (mainly because he replaced Finkel for a short time) but looking back he seemed ironically too Southern for Vince's usual taste.

[Pete]

Needs more LENNE.

[Thomas Bugg]

On 8/28/2017 at 7:20 AM, Michael Sweetser said:

An announcer that @James F'n X and I always enjoyed was Bill Dunn, who did the main Raw and PPV announcing for a spell in 1993.  Something about his voice cadence sounded great, even though it felt that he was new enough that he didn't quite know what to say in the right situation (a lot of instances of "for the Intercontinental championship title", although who knows if that was Vince telling him what to do and him taking it verbatim).

<oldmanyellsatcloud>

Even more so than referees, it blows me away how many shitty ring announcers there are, especially on the indies.  Everyone seems to think it's as simple as holding a microphone and mentioning the guys working, and as someone that's done a spell or two as ring announcer in ECCW several years back, it drove me insane.  

It's not that hard to spend a few minutes to:

• Look at least halfway presentable.  I'm not saying to dress in a tux the whole time, but at least have clean clothes and don't look like another one of the fans.
• TALK to each of the wrestlers!  Find their height, weight, hometown, and anything that might make the ring announcement more professional or interesting.  If they have a little schtick they like to do, get the details.  (For example, in DOA, Dr. Kliever has a long, written-out introduction that he likes to have for his character.  He has no problem even writing it down for you, just to get it right - but you do have to ask.)  This is where note cards come in handy.  
• Maybe even more important, talk to the promoters!  Are there any upcoming shows to hype?  Are there sponsors to plug?  If so, those sponsors are usually pretty particular about how to be announced and how many times during the show to be discussed.  Is there a merch stand?  50/50 drawing?

It's not difficult, but holy shit do I see it screwed up a lot.  Don't just get a damn "radio personality" that couldn't care less about the show.

</oldmanyellsatcloud>

 

Mike, I wholeheartedly agree with you. And as someone who's done ring announcing, I try to do all of those things. I've been on some shows where I've seen people doing ring announcing duties, and not only did they not do all the subtle nuances that makes a good announcer, but just completely look and act like they didn't give a shit. And then have the mitigated gall to ask (damn near DEMAND in some cases) for pay at the end of the night.

[Ace]

For those who care, Lenne Hardt does have a facebook and isn't picky about who applies to be her friend.

 

[Kropotkin's Beard]

15 hours ago, Pete said:

Needs more LENNE.

I hate watching videos like this because it reminds me how utterly boring the UFC looks in comparison to the beautiful over the top spectacle of big Japanese MMA shows (your average Pancrase at Differ Ariake or Deep at Korakuen Hall isn't really the same thing). It made what you're watching feel special. The only time the UFC have ever gotten even vaguely close to that was the McGregor Mendes fight when they had Sinead O'Connor & the guy from Staind sing their walkout songs.

[The Natural]

On 8/25/2017 at 3:22 AM, Raziel403 said:

I think this pretty much tops out at Finkel and Cappetta.  

Agreed. Howard Finkel's the best.

EDIT: You reminded me of a question I meant to ask, was there a reason for Howard Finkel not announcing the WWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania this year? I believe it's the first time he hasn't made a WrestleMania appearance. Thanks.

[colonial]

1 hour ago, The Natural said:

Agreed. Howard Finkel's the best.

EDIT: You reminded me of a question I meant to ask, was there a reason for Howard Finkel not announcing the WWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania this year? I believe it's the first time he hasn't made a WrestleMania appearance. Thanks.

I don't think there was a public reason given as to why Greg Hamilton, and not Finkel, announced the inductees this year.

Finkel was in attendance that weekend -- he signed autographs at Axxess (Lilian Garcia has a photo of the two of them at Axxess on her Instagram). And it's believed he's still employed by the WWE in some capacity.

To be honest, it would have been cool for Finkel to be the ring announcer for Taker-Reigns if it was indeed Taker's final match.  But perhaps Finkel simply wants to fade away without the public fan fare.

[The Natural]

28 minutes ago, colonial said:

I don't think there was a public reason given as to why Greg Hamilton, and not Finkel, announced the inductees this year.

Finkel was in attendance that weekend -- he signed autographs at Axxess (Lilian Garcia has a photo of the two of them at Axxess on her Instagram). And it's believed he's still employed by the WWE in some capacity.

To be honest, it would have been cool for Finkel to be the ring announcer for Taker-Reigns if it was indeed Taker's final match.  But perhaps Finkel simply wants to fade away without the public fan fare.

Cheers, @colonial!

[dokdoyle]

On 29/08/2017 at 6:09 PM, Thomas Bugg said:

 

Mike, I wholeheartedly agree with you. And as someone who's done ring announcing, I try to do all of those things. I've been on some shows where I've seen people doing ring announcing duties, and not only did they not do all the subtle nuances that makes a good announcer, but just completely look and act like they didn't give a shit. And then have the mitigated gall to ask (damn near DEMAND in some cases) for pay at the end of the night.

I do the ring announcing for a local indy, and used to do it for another indy before I got "promoted" to General manager. I'm not a suit guy never really have been, but a nice shirt, sport coat and either a pair a dress pants or a clean dark pair of jeans works for me. Not everyone looks good in a suit, but a coat and a decent clean pair of jeans is doable for everyone. 

Biggest problem I have is staying tucked in when i'm wearing a dress shirt, then I lost some weight and shirts came a little tent like.

[Ace]

On 8/25/2017 at 4:50 AM, AxB said:

When TNA would have Borash do the ring announcements for Main Events of PPVs, instead of the one guy who did every other match, it would add to it. Especially because he'd use "Reigning, Defending" in the proper context (you're only the defending Champion if you're actually about to defend it in an actual title match). And because he was better than the usual guy.

 

Borash is honestly the best of the current batch.

 

[EricR]

On 9/1/2017 at 2:54 PM, dokdoyle said:

I do the ring announcing for a local indy, and used to do it for another indy before I got "promoted" to General manager. I'm not a suit guy never really have been, but a nice shirt, sport coat and either a pair a dress pants or a clean dark pair of jeans works for me. Not everyone looks good in a suit, but a coat and a decent clean pair of jeans is doable for everyone. 

Biggest problem I have is staying tucked in when i'm wearing a dress shirt, then I lost some weight and shirts came a little tent like.

Everyone looks good in a good suit

[EricR]

Certainly not one of the best, but I remember seeing Justin Roberts doing announcing for Bay Area indie shows around 2001. In between matches he would do brutal impressions, with his most frequent ones being Beavis/Butthead and Jim Carrey's impression of Andy Kaufman. It was the worst.