APRIL 2020 WRESTLING DISCUSSION

[Zakk_Sabbath]

7 hours ago, MORELOCK said:

Cornette's many rants about outlaw mudshow wrestling are almost always caused by someone trying to get that reaction out of him by showing him the latest dumb wrestling "controversy." So yes, someone gets off on sending him these things because they enjoy the ranting. I don't know if anyone like that posts here - the two schools of thought that seem to exist here are "Fuck out-of-touch Cornette for not liking Kenny Omega's matches" and "Cornette is extremely knowledgeable and entertaining when he finally stops ranting."

Getting Cornette to talk shit about you is also fantastic marketing for indie wrestlers - I don't know if WWE ever signs Lio Rush without that stupid ladder no-sell video.

This is maybe only a bit tangentially related, but it hurts inside so bad when he says "outlaw mudshow" like it's fucking Angelo Poffo in 1976... I respect Cornette, but I hear him use that term and it's like, dude, you gonna complain about your VCR or record player next?

[AxB]

44 minutes ago, MORELOCK said:

A lot of WWE announcers are legitimately awful people? What the hell are you talking about? The only one you could really make the case for is Lawler. 

You think Layfield and Graves are good people?

[Elsalvajeloco]

Just now, Zakk_Sabbath said:

This is maybe only a bit tangentially related, but it hurts inside so bad when he says "outlaw mudshow" like it's fucking Angelo Poffo in 1976... I respect Cornette, but I hear him use that term and it's like, dude, you gonna complain about your VCR or record player next?

I just started back listening to Corny, and he even brought up having someone fight at the back of a high school. On top of that, he admitted trying to do an angle at some mall. Is all of that not mudshow shit? Granted, it's Smokey Mountain and the amount of real venues in that area is finite so it's some old ass arena where you're probably going to struggle selling tickets, paying like ten bucks to run some high school auditorium, or bust.

[Firebreaker Chip]

Layfield has been magically rehabilitated because he donated some money to charity or some shit iirc

I kind of liked Heenan not giving a fuck in WCW? Idk it became increasingly obvious he was justified in not giving a fuck and he always seemed to perk up a bit and talk about how much he respected guys like Malenko and Guerrero when they were up
 

[Kang]

WWE filed to oppose trademark applications from AEW Executive VP Cody Rhodes. Slamboree and The Match Beyond.

[MORELOCK]

5 minutes ago, AxB said:

You think Layfield and Graves are good people?

I think calling someone a "good" or "bad" person based on some rumors you heard is enough reason to discount your entire post. You clearly aren't objectively rating commentators if you're talking about Graves fucking around on his ex-wife or whatever your problem is. And again: until everyone is ready to rake Edge, Benoit, and Noble over the coals for their bullying, no one really needs to spend any more time wagging their finger at JBL. The hate is absurdly overblown, and still has more to do with Eddy than anything else. WWE commentary is garbage, but it has nothing to do with the personal lives of the commentators.

[Web Conn]

I agree with Schiavone and Ventura being underrated. They were really good together. Tony’s WWF run wasn’t bad short lived but not bad.

I’ve been watching Saturday Night on The Network lately well WCW 92 as a whole and I gotta say Ventura and Ross were a good team too. 

JR and Heyman in 01 is very overlooked too.

I think the best pairing based on The 92 Rumble Match alone is Gorilla and Brain.

My personal fav’s from growing up watching SmackDown world be Michael Cole and Tazz. I would put Cole and JBL up there too. 

My guilty pleasure is Mike Tenay and Don West.

The Worse is what ever is on Raw. WWE commentary has been awful for a decade at least. 

That 3 man team from Raw in the Fall of 05 within Joey King and Coach was really bad.

As for AEW The 3 Dynamites with just Jim and Excalibur I thought Jim was in top form without Tony. Jim does batter with one other person. Tony can commentate with anyone. Excalibur too. Taz fits in better with as the third mic on Dynamite then JR does.

[sabremike]

9 minutes ago, MORELOCK said:

I think calling someone a "good" or "bad" person based on some rumors you heard is enough reason to discount your entire post. You clearly aren't objectively rating commentators if you're talking about Graves fucking around on his ex-wife or whatever your problem is. And again: until everyone is ready to rake Edge, Benoit, and Noble over the coals for their bullying, no one really needs to spend any more time wagging their finger at JBL. The hate is absurdly overblown, and still has more to do with Eddy than anything else. WWE commentary is garbage, but it has nothing to do with the personal lives of the commentators.

If it's any consolation Benoit is being raked over the coals right as we speak (literally).

[Dolfan in NYC]

51 minutes ago, AxB said:

You think Layfield and Graves are good people?

 

[AxB]

OK fine. Corey Graves, whatever you feel about him personally, is a terrible commentator because he constantly strives to put himself over, at the expense of the match he is calling.

[Guest Edwin]

12 minutes ago, AxB said:

OK fine. Corey Graves, whatever you feel about him personally, is a terrible commentator because he constantly strives to put himself over, at the expense of the match he is calling.

Every thread would be a sleaze thread if we felt the need to discuss people's personal lives whenever they were brought up.

[The Great ML]

1 hour ago, Firebreaker Chip said:

I kind of liked Heenan not giving a fuck in WCW? Idk it became increasingly obvious he was justified in not giving a fuck and he always seemed to perk up a bit and talk about how much he respected guys like Malenko and Guerrero when they were up
 

Bobby gets a thumbs up for me for making calls like the “Tongan Tornado and Bongo-Barian” during a random Worldwide FOF vs. Public Enemy match.

[SirSmUgly]

I'm not a fan of Joey Styles as an announcer. His voice irritates me. 

Like, to the point that he detracts from a lot of the stuff in ECW that I do enjoy. 

Kent Walton was awesome, though. 

I'm also going to admit that I'm not the biggest Gordon Solie fan. He's fine and all, but I don't get "great" from him as people seem to think of him. 

[AxB]

6 minutes ago, Edwin said:

Every thread would be a sleaze thread if we felt the need to discuss people's personal lives whenever they were brought up.

So who is your favourite commentator, man?

[Kang]

WWE eventually wants fans to come back for NXT attendance wise. 

[odessasteps]

Its almost May, so i guess we were due the seemingly monthly argument  about JBL. 

[MORELOCK]

Best possible commentary team WWE could have right now is probably Booker/Beast-in-the-East Cole/Nigel.

Joe is also great, but I'm not at all ready for them to retire him.

[kafkonia]

17 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

I'm holding you directly responsible

I just want to apologize to everyone I let down. My friends, my family, and especially the fans.

[Brian Fowler]

About current WWE announcing; last night I nearly threw my remote at my TV when they said "Lethal Lothario" 3 times in about 45 seconds.
 

I have no idea if any of these people are any good (well, Graves was good in NXT and Lawler used to be hit or miss in the 90's) but it's impossible to give a good performance with the way WWE produces them.

[kafkonia]

"Lethal Lothario" should've been a Jay Lethal/Jose Lothario pairing. There's no other excuse for that phrase.

[PetrolCB]

2 hours ago, sabremike said:

If it's any consolation Benoit is being raked over the coals right as we speak (literally).

It's wrestling related, so it's back raked.

[Web Conn]

Books the closest thing to Dusty on Commentary we are ever gonna get again

[Guest Edwin]

1 hour ago, AxB said:

So who is your favourite commentator, man?

For me, it varies depending on the style, organization and presentation. There's a lot of commentary teams I enjoyed...

For mainstream US wrestling, Heenan and Gorilla were by far my favorite commentary team WWE's ever had and for WCW I enjoyed the different rotations they had in the early 90s with Schiavone, Ventura, JR and Cornette.

For indy wrestling, I think Dave Prazak was the best when he was working in IWA-MS and ROH. I specially thought he fantastic when he was paired with Punk and Hero between matches.

For current indy wrestling, I enjoy the EVOLVE team who's names I don't remember. I think one of them was a commentator for early ROH, too. Gabe Sapolsky was rough to sit through in early ROH -- "DANGEROUS!"

I don't think there's even been a standout CZW or GCW commentary team. I zone out the current GCW commentary and the CZW commentary team from the early 2000s of Eric Gargiulio and John House was rough to sit through -- "SOMEONE CALL 911!"

I think Bryce Remsburg, Leonard Chikarason and Quack were good commentators for CHIKARA. Like the IWA-MS commentary team, it would always vary on who wasn't in the ring, but it was usually good.

The XPW commentary team was one of the cringiest in indy wrestling, along with the XPW product itself.

For European wrestling, I think Walton was a perfect fit for the style when he wasn't commentating Sammy Lee matches, of course. He was a little too enthusiastic for my taste whenever he was commentating Sammy Lee matches, but I never felt he was too over the top.

For the current European wrestling I've seen, I'd say whoever is doing the PROGRESS commentary is good and I love wXw, but their English commentary is a bit rough, but that's mostly to English being the commentators second language and the in ring quality usually being a ton of fun, so they get a pass from me.

I also speak Spanish, so for Spanish commentary teams, I'd say when it comes to lucha, through the years CMLL and AAA have always had knowledgeable and pleasant commentary teams.

When it comes to Puerto Rican wrestling, the only really great commentator I can recall is Eliud González back from WWC in the 80s. He was fantastic. Many consider him the Puerto Rican Gordon Solie. Chicky Starr was a great heel commentator also whenever he was given a chance. Hugo Savinovich, whether in Spanish or English, was rough no matter who he was paired up with. His commentary with Rip Oliver and Bobby Jaggers from those late 80s WWC commercial releases was rough and his commentary in Spanish wasn't much better. He also did Spanish commentary for WWE in the late 90s along with Carlos Cabrerra and they were rough. They would translate every moves name to Spanish and it sounded awful and so did their promo voice overs. There was also the AWA and IWA commentary team from Puerto Rico with Moody and Moyano, but they were rough to sit through and would constantly begin talking about the main event angles and forget about the current matches going on in the ring, so that was a bit distracting.

Any speak Japanese and want to chip in on what the Japanese commentators are saying? I've always wondered what the Samurai! TV, GAORA, Nippon TV, etc. commentary teams were talking about during the events. I know they do a lot of recaps at the start and end, but I'm not sure what else are they talking about. What do they say during DDT on Samurai! TV, Toryumon JAPAN on GAORA or classic All Japan on Nippon? I'm hoping someone like @gordi can chip in.

[Ultimo Necro]

Best announce team - Gorilla & Bobby, no explanation required

Worst - I’m not doing a worst. The people that are actively bad usually don’t last long.

Overrated - Don Callis. He was ok in ECW, but his absence from big time wrestling seemed to make the heart grow fonder for a lot of people but his impact run has been very meh.  

Underrated - Dave Prazak.  He’s always excellent

Honorable mention - Eric Gargulio & John House from CZW. They added to the carnage of those early shows.

”oh... my... god.... John”

”SOMEBODY CALL 911”

Honorable mention 2 - Vickie Guerrero on a recent AEW Dark was great.

[Guest Edwin]

Yes, please!