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MARCH 2019 WRESTLING TALK.


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Joey’s curtain intros, outros and throwing to promos and matches was really good. He got over a lot of stories and the gravitas of the angles and had an edgy attitude that no one else had. Like most of ECW, it was very much time and place. I don’t think Joey was a move guy at all actually. 

He also was great at in-ring interview segments. 

I dunno, ECW was insanely story driven and he was a big part in getting it over, especially 94-97. 

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1 hour ago, Gorman said:

1. Gorilla Monsoon - He was able to explain how the holds worked and made everything seem important ("History has been made here!"). Gorilla also had great chemistry with two different partners (Ventura and Heenan). Working well with your partners is a lost art that I would like to see return in the future.

The working well with your partners thing is why I'd actually make the hot take and add to the list of the best: Michael Cole is one of the most woefully underrated announcers in history. He's always been able to work well with his partners, for one, and when something is supposed to be important, Cole knows just how to make you KNOW how important this is. 

Probably the best Cole moment is that he seems to be the only announcer in wrestling who truly knows the difference between "we have a new World Champion! History has been made here as Brock Lesnar is the World Champion again" and "we have a NEW World Champion!  Kofi Kingston has finally made it to the top of the mountain and etched his name among the greatest performers of all time!", and this difference entails every single first-time World Championship victory there is (Cole seems to get pleasure in running through the important moments of the first-time champion's career, and when the pinfall happens he always sells it as the pinnacle of this person's career.)

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Re: Tony. He was very, very good until basically ‘97. WCW was just a shitshow booking wise to call after that and he definitely stopped giving a shit after ‘99.

History is going to be kinder to Cole as, with the exception of the absolutely awful heel run which single-handedly ruined WWE programming for like a year, he’s been good to competent his entire time. Even Raw now, with the useless Renee and whatever the fuck is left mentally of Graves, has been perfectly blandly competent, which for wrestling announcing is setting a high bar. 

Slight segue - Meltzer was riffing on Cornette joining MLW and suggested he may be the best color guy ever. That’s an interesting debate and not entirely unreasonable.

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41 minutes ago, Hagan said:

Joey’s curtain intros, outros and throwing to promos and matches was really good. He got over a lot of stories and the gravitas of the angles and had an edgy attitude that no one else had. Like most of ECW, it was very much time and place. I don’t think Joey was a move guy at all actually. 

He also was great at in-ring interview segments. 

I dunno, ECW was insanely story driven and he was a big part in getting it over, especially 94-97. 

By 98 I really found Joey unbearable. He would shit on everything and did not like anything. Which I don't know if that was him or Heyman feeding him lines.

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2 minutes ago, Hagan said:

Slight segue - Meltzer was riffing on Cornette joining MLW and suggested he may be the best color guy ever. That’s an interesting debate and not entirely unreasonable.

In OVW he was the best hype man ever. He put his all into every match and angle. I can see how he burned out between promoting and dealing with WWE.

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This could be nostalgia talking but I feel like Gorilla's voice is just as iconic as Jim Ross.  Both were the voice of their respective eras. When I think play-by-play in WWF/E I am thinking just as much if not more "The irresistible force meets the immovable object.."  as "TYSON AND AUSTIN TYSON AND AUSTIN" 

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Cornette was great on that NWA Anniversary Show last year.

Cole is capable, and the handful of times he's been without Vince in his ear he's been kinda good, but he's never stood out as being better than mediocre.

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I think, historically speaking, a lot of the best color guys were the bookers/promoters who knew what exact points needed to be made during commentary. 

That would include Watts, Corneete, Heyman. 

Then you have people that were compelling personalities like Ventura, Funk, Hayes. 

Dave Brown is prob in a category by himself. 

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I think Jesse is clearly #2.  He was able to put over the story inside of the ring,  outside of the ring,  the characters, what each wrestler was trying to accomplish and how and even though he was a heel he still gave credit where it was due to the good guys.  Plus,  he treated lower card matches as having a great importance on both men or teams. Discussed how big a win would be,  he never trailed off on to something else really,  he kept the focus primarily on the match in the ring. 

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Cole said in an interview last month that he thinks he'd still be heel if Lawler's heart attack never happened. Crazy to imagine that continuing on for that many years. Overall, Cole is one of my favorites and I always enjoy whenever he gets to shine in the more let loose type stuff like the Mae Young Classic, UK Tournament, etc.

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1 minute ago, DreamBroken said:

Cole said in an interview last month that he thinks he'd still be heel if Lawler's heart attack never happened. Crazy to imagine that continuing on for that many years. Overall, Cole is one of my favorites and I always enjoy whenever he gets to shine in the more let loose type stuff like the Mae Young Classic, UK Tournament, etc.

I don't know- I think it would have had a face turn in 2013 there.

Heck, it also helped the YES! Movement that Cole never had a firm face turn when it happened, because as Cole started hyping up Bryan's ride to the top, it paid off the heel turn there: It took three-four years, but at long last, Daniel Bryan won him over...and it said so much more about how much Bryan improved, while officially taking away the reason Cole was a heel in the first place of "he was sooooo mean to Bryan Danielson (NOT! Daniel Bryan!)

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58 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said:

Best color is Bobby Heenan followed by a gap roughly the size of the Grand canyon

That’s a bold statement sir.

Ventura would eat anyone alive on color the moment they would spout biased babyface nonsense...especially when Hogan was involved.

Heenan is iconic yes...but come on...

Edited by The Great ML
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I guess I should confess: I honestly don't really have love for Ventura. I mean, I don't think he was bad, but I'll take Bobby, Paul E, and Cornette over him before even having to consider.

And Bobby is way the fuck better than him to the point where I'm really confused by people who think it's even close.

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17 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said:

I guess I should confess: I honestly don't really have love for Ventura. I mean, I don't think he was bad, but I'll take Bobby, Paul E, and Cornette over him before even having to consider.

And Bobby is way the fuck better than him to the point where I'm really confused by people who think it's even close.

See...to each his own. I’d rank Gorilla and Jesse above Gorilla and Heenan.

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I’m really disappointed nobody has mentioned Booker T, given that this is DVDVR and all and everyone loves the hell out of his “commentary” for some reason. Same with Dusty, too.

?

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Booker is the best guy WWE has used on the main roster the last several years.

I actually initially typed Dusty in my list of people I like more than Ventura, but then I second guessed myself. I'd call it a toss up.

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8 minutes ago, Casey said:

I’m really disappointed nobody has mentioned Booker T, given that this is DVDVR and all and everyone loves the hell out of his “commentary” for some reason. Same with Dusty, too.

?

It's top promotions, and I don't think Booker T's in anyone's Fave Five. 

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No, he just loses his composure every other show and goes on terrible meandering rants that lose their point and only point out that he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

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7 hours ago, Hagan said:

Joey’s curtain intros, outros and throwing to promos and matches was really good. He got over a lot of stories and the gravitas of the angles and had an edgy attitude that no one else had. Like most of ECW, it was very much time and place. I don’t think Joey was a move guy at all actually. 

He also was great at in-ring interview segments. 

I dunno, ECW was insanely story driven and he was a big part in getting it over, especially 94-97. 

All true... Another thing was Joey for the most part, was pulling double duty(really triple since he was also a Mean Gene) commentary alone. So he had to be Monsoon, and Ventura/Heenan. Calling matches, and pointing out stuff to the audience. I don’t think we saw Joey’s best, until they started doing more live shows, while also getting a colorman with Cyrus/The Network/Callis.

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