Matt Striker traded back for Jim Ross? [Archive]

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Mr. Nerfect

12-02-2010, 02:55 AM

The Wrestling Observer newsletter is reporting that changes might be coming to the announce team in coming weeks:

* There is a lot of internal yearning for Jim Ross to return to the commentary desk, and that JR himself misses announcing.

* Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler reportedly dislike working with Matt Striker (something that has been made clear in the past), and they have suggested that Jim Ross gets a spot on the PPV commentary team.

* Todd Grisham has apparently not been getting too high praise for his work lately, and is part of the reason Michael Cole was added to the SmackDown! commentary desk.

Commentary has always been interesting to me, because the characters and voices narrating what I see have always been an important part of the product, not just for me, but for many others. These reports both intrigue me, but worry me. Especially since the two worst announcers working (from a technical standpoint, no matter how entertaining Cole has been lately) seem to have all the power and weight when it comes to such things.

What does everyone think about this "news?" Will Jim Ross be back? Will he replace Todd Grisham or Matt Striker? Perhaps that will only be for PPV, but I hope not. I'd rather see Cole graduate to another role to make room for JR. CM Punk's commentary has been fireball hot lately, but he's set to return to the ring in January. You can keep him working Superstars or NXT, but RAW is out of the question.

Do you think the commentary teams are fine as they are now? How would you change them?

Damian Rey

12-02-2010, 02:59 AM

Well, if I had to take a guess after this past Monday, I'd say either Cole or Lawler our gone from the booth on Raw. Personally. I think the right direction would be for King to move on. He's well past his prime and he's no longer the antoagonist needed. Punk and Cole bickering over the next few months could be gold.

I'd also like to see JR and Striker on the same show.

Vastardikai

12-02-2010, 04:21 AM

#BROKEN Hasney

12-02-2010, 04:39 AM

JR and Punk commentary on Raw until Punk's healed? Could be good.

Rammsteinmad

12-02-2010, 04:54 AM

Personally I don't want him back. Much like wrestlers as they get old, JR's best days are WAAAAAAY behind him, in fact, his last few years were actually pretty awful, with most the time him telling stories and analogies that made no sense whatsoever.

Keep Striker, I like him. If these reports about him are to do with the fact that he shows 'too much' enthusiasm and does research etc, then I think that makes him worthy of the job.

JR can come back from time to time, to call certain matches or PPVs, but would I want him back full time? No thanks.

RiX1024

12-02-2010, 05:01 AM

It would be nice to bring Ross back but i think he's better off in his office job for now. I agree with the coming back from time to time. It would be awesome to see Ross and Cole bicker a lot.

Sixx

12-02-2010, 05:01 AM

I didn't even know that Striker guy used to wrestle.

#BROKEN Hasney

12-02-2010, 05:05 AM

Tommy Gunn

12-02-2010, 05:05 AM

Cole as a heel is awesome, and he's helps get Miz over, AND he gets massive heat as the anon-GM's mouthpiece. Leave him on Raw please.

Volare

12-02-2010, 05:35 AM

Do something special for the fans and use JR during PPV's only. This way he's prepared for what's coming up and he can study up a little more and what needs to be told on the air.

Let Cole be cocky around him with Punk coming to back up JR even though Punk would be the middle man (imo). Hell, even let JR throw some jabs at Cole and say things like "you wonder why people wanted you gone, and wanted me back" and things like that.

D Mac

12-02-2010, 06:16 AM

I'd rather see Joey Styles back.

Triple Naitch

12-02-2010, 08:23 AM

I'd like to see JR just come back for PPVs.

VSG

12-02-2010, 08:28 AM

JR on PPV's alone is mighty fine with me.

Anybody Thrilla

12-02-2010, 09:08 AM

I don't really know what WWE wants out of announcers. I think Grisham and Striker have both been good. I don't really miss JR at all.

RatedGSuperstar

12-02-2010, 09:16 AM

One of the reasons why I was excited to see Punk added to the announce team (aside from the deadpan one-liners) was the fact that he'll help put the in-ring talent over. Cole can be entertaining as a heel, but he's so damn inconsistent with it that he actually ends up burying the talent. Lawler is clueless about his own company's product, so he can't stick up for guys like Bryan, Kaval, etc. (Cole: "Bryan's a nerd! He was only a star in the MINOR LEAGUES!" Lawler: "You're mean.").

When JR worked the Bryan match on the Retro Raw, they actually hyped up his background and made him sound like a legitimate threat. Want to know part of the reason why WWE can't seem to develop new stars? The announcers on their flagship show aren't doing a good job of helping them get over.

Cool King

12-02-2010, 09:45 AM

I don't really know what WWE wants out of announcers. I think Grisham and Striker have both been good. I don't really miss JR at all.

This.

During Old School Raw, it made me realise that I didn't miss J.R as much as I thought I did. It was good to see him back and to hear him calling a match again, but I don't think the WWE needs him back. I like Grisham and Striker and in my opinion, they're the best announce team at the moment. I like Striker's colour commentary and how he actually calls the moves.

What is annoying though is that at PPV's, when he's doing a great job calling a match, Cole and Lawler just take the piss out of him because of the moves he's calling that they refuse to believe exists. A good example of that was at Bragging Rights during the Ziggler/Bryan match when Bryan applied Cattle Mutilation on Ziggler. Striker called it and Cole and Lawler were just totally lost and thought Striker was talking shit and then they just made fun of him because of it.

I also like how Striker tells the audience how a move would feel and tells you to "Feel around your neck and shoulder, all the pressure is getting applied to the Clavicle" or whatever. I think what Cole and Lawler's problem with Striker is, is that he may be showing them up with his knowledge of wrestling.

Lawler is completely clueless when it comes to the SmackDown roster and I'm assuming that Cole doesn't know the names of the majority of moves because he rarely calls them. If I think back, only Striker and Grisham actually do their jobs and call the match and more, whereas Cole and Lawler just talk about the main event scene on Raw and maybe, talk about the patricipants in whatever match is going on. But about 80% of the time on Raw, they always talk about the main even scene which is currently Cena, Nexus, Orton and now The Miz.

MoFo

12-02-2010, 09:54 AM

Dont like JR at all.

jskinnyg

12-02-2010, 09:56 AM

JR and Striker work well together. Lawler is tiresome, and Cole is too busy getting himself over when he should be putting the product over.

I'm down...

#BROKEN Hasney

12-02-2010, 09:58 AM

I can't stand Grisham's voice for some reason, even when interviewing. "My guest at this time" when he says it makes me almost cringe.

Cool King

12-02-2010, 10:03 AM

"AAAAND IIII QUOTE!"

dhellova guy

12-02-2010, 10:22 AM

I love Jerry Lawler. Granted, I live in Tennessee, so I think it is state law to like the guy, but I make no appologies for it.

That being said, yes, I dont think he works great as a face color man. But dont you think he still has that antagonist in him? Personally, I think he is playing the part that WWE wants him to play right now.

If they let him be a heal, I still think he could be great.

My Final Heaven

12-02-2010, 10:50 AM

My Final Heaven

12-02-2010, 10:51 AM

Team Sheep

12-02-2010, 11:05 AM

I hope this is true. I miss JR a lot. He did start going shit in his last year or two on Raw, but when he got drafted to Smackdown it was like a kick up the ass for him and he was shit hot in my opinion. He was great with Grisham and he was great on the Old School show just for one match. I can't really stand Striker.

thedamndest

12-02-2010, 11:10 AM

I would not trade Striker for JR. But JR does a much better job of giving a match a main event feel. Striker sounds unconvincing when he goes "OHHHHHHHH." They should keep him on to break down every move in the match and JR to add the emotion. But they would probably keep stepping on each other's toes so I don't know if it would work.

Exyle

12-02-2010, 12:04 PM

Agree with those who have said King should be the one to step down, not Striker. On the topic of CM Punk, as much as I want to see him back in the ring, I'll be sad to see him leave commentary.

They should have him commentate all matches other than his own, and he should be mic'ed while in the ring. :D

12-02-2010, 12:05 PM

JR is yesterday's news, they need to keep working on the future of the company. That includes getting rid of King.

The whole issue with questioning what they call and how they put it across is an interesting one to me. If Foley is to be believed, Vince has a very tight control on what is said so I'm hesitant to criticise the indivisual commentators.

Mr Amazing

12-02-2010, 12:08 PM

they should bring back jbl and have him commentating on smackdown with grisham and king and have jr,cole and punk and when punk becomes healthy again get styles to replace him

wwe2222

12-02-2010, 12:31 PM

Grisham and Striker are boring as hell.

King has had better days.

Punk is their best guy right now.

I like Cole in his current role, but he just doesnt have a voice for the big moments. He just doesnt seem to make them memorable moments.

Volare

12-02-2010, 12:56 PM

I'm wondering what they're going to do about the Cole/King situation. Hopefully they don't fuck this up and have some sort of sorry ass apology and then forget about everything.

Blitz

12-02-2010, 01:50 PM

Like what was said before, Cole's waay too worried about getting himself over as a heel to worry about that ¨calling the match¨ shit. Heidenreich needs to come back & rape him again, that'd knock him back in line real quick.
I don't think he's worried about it so much as following company orders.

Seriously wish they'd just take Cole off the desk and make him a chickenshit heel manager or GM or something. Bring JR back, and for the love of God, make Punk commentate any time he's injured.

Vastardikai

12-02-2010, 02:05 PM

I don't think he's worried about it so much as following company orders.

Seriously wish they'd just take Cole off the desk and make him a chickenshit heel manager or GM or something. Bring JR back, and for the love of God, make Punk commentate any time he's <s>injured</s> Not Wrestling.

:D

The problem with Cole being Cole right now is that he's A. Not putting over the in-ring talent at best. B. Burying the in-ring talent at worst.

Damian Rey

12-02-2010, 02:23 PM

I think JR would be refreshing on SmackDown! right now. The idea of him and Stryker working the same matches is intriguing. I do not think they'd step on each others' toes, as I would suspect that, as serious as he takes his job, Stryker has a great respect for JR.

I don't know what they have planned for Raw. Surely Cole and King are no longer compatible given what happened last Monday. The problem there is Punk is due back sooner than later and they're eventually going to have to replace him.

That would mean leaving King there as a fallback option, but how's that going to work with Cole? Personally feel Cole's on screen character is due for a promotion.

Lock Jaw

12-02-2010, 02:49 PM

I used to really love Striker.... but I dunno. It seems like he started to try to be liked by the internet a bit too much.

Plus, there's the whole botching the call on one of the biggest angles of the year.

Striker: CENA'S FREEEEEEEEEEEE!
Cole: ...... Cena's FIRED.
Striker: ...... You're right. I'm sorry.

Theo Dious

12-02-2010, 03:23 PM

Striker's good, but still a bit unpolished. But still more enjoyable than anyone else in the booth today.

I'm worried over the notion of the old guys not letting the younger guys in. Maybe it's not as bad in the announce booth, but it smacks too much of WCW for me.

Theo Dious

12-02-2010, 03:24 PM

Striker: CENA'S FREEEEEEEEEEEE!
Cole: ...... Cena's FIRED.
Striker: ...... You're right. I'm sorry.

I really wish he could have recovered better from that. Instead of "I'm sorry" he could have gone with "He doesnt have to be in the Nexus anymore. That's free in my book."

BizarroKing

12-02-2010, 03:28 PM

Make Cole a heel manager and bring JR back.

Theo Dious

12-02-2010, 03:35 PM

Make Cole a heel manager and bring JR back.

I second this.

thedamndest

12-02-2010, 03:51 PM

Punk is great on commentary, but half of the fun of it is that he makes a lot of smarky comments. I wonder if the general audience thinks he is good or doesn't like him because he's a heel or what.

Anybody Thrilla

12-02-2010, 03:52 PM

Whoever said that Cole is putting himself over and burying the in-ring talent, I beg to differ. He's not in a position to do either. His character is a well-documented douche bag, so I don't think his digs are meant to be taken seriously anyway. Sure he talks about how he doesn't like Daniel Bryan, but I don't see it as burying him at all...especially considering the things he doesn't like about him (he doesn't own a TV, he doesn't eat meat, etc.). That's just Cole being a douche, and it's funny if anything.

Nobody ever said Bobby Heenan was burying talents when he talked shit about them.

As far as Cole 'getting himself over', he's not really doing anything too self-serving. If there's anybody he's getting 'extra' over, it's The Miz and Alex Riley, but that's fine by me.

McLegend

12-02-2010, 03:55 PM

Striker is terrible.

Vastardikai

12-02-2010, 04:21 PM

Nobody ever said Bobby Heenan was burying talents when he talked shit about them.

The things is, when Brain was talking shit about someone, there was often someone there to put him in line. No one is present to stick up for the person Cole is insulting.

Also, Brain never talked down Gorilla. Cole HAS talked down Matthews and occasionally Lawler.

Anybody Thrilla

12-02-2010, 04:25 PM

When Cole talks shit about Bryan, the other people always disagree with him.

Brain never talked down Gorilla because he knew Gorilla would slap the shit out of him. Cole talks down Matthews because...well, he's just Josh Matthews, and I can't remember him talking down Lawler ever.

Lock Jaw

12-02-2010, 07:46 PM

Lawler doesn't really stand up to Cole. Most of the time when he is ragging on someone (Daniel Bryan), Lawler will just go "Come on...." or just feed Cole by saying stuff like "Why don't you like him?"

That was half the problem with Bryan at first. At least now Cole admits that Bryan has in-ring talent and ability.

Anybody Thrilla

12-02-2010, 08:02 PM

Who the fuck cares about what Michael Cole thinks, though?

SOCCER LEGS

12-02-2010, 08:06 PM

striker is god awful he better never set foot in the raw announce booth

Mr. Nerfect

12-02-2010, 08:40 PM

Matt Striker is probably my favourite full-time color guy working (I don't count CM Punk just yet). He can add a lot to the matches, and he has a lot of insight. Sometimes he does get carried away -- to the point where he is having his own cliches. To be honest, I'm sure a lot of it are directives and criticisms he is receiving. But I think Striker should be left alone on SmackDown!. On SmackDown!, the matches are longer, so there is more time to weave the story Striker tells.

Todd Grisham is my favourite play-by-play guy. He's really worked on his commentary, and he can push back when he's pushed by an antagonising presence in the booth. He often slams Striker pretty hard. The Grish would benefit by giving him a hook that people care about. Jim Ross was always a respected personality, but there is so much that goes into him -- his enthusiastic attitude, his accent, his relationship with Stone Cold Steve Austin, him always being picked on by certain heels, etc. The Grish is just a guy. Didn't he get an Attitude Adjustment from John Cena once? Perhaps Grish could mention that occasionally. But I think the main thing I want from Grisham is for him to run Michael Cole off SmackDown!. Grisham could get himself quite over if he got to cut a shoot promo on Cole, and then slap him in the face and boot Cole from the desk.

Speaking of Cole, I agree with those who say that it might be time for him to "graduate" to better things. Cole is actually most entertaining when he's doing something other than commentating. It's just time, I think. He's evolution has been very similar to Jonathan Coachman's. That being said, I am really looking forward to seeing what goes down on RAW. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler should hate each other. That is tension right there, and we can now get Cole and King wanting to rip each other's heads off, with Punk being the cool mediator who keeps things on track. If Punk is also savvy enough to contest Cole on some of his bullshit calls (like the ones about Daniel Bryan), it's an added dynamic.

Punk is scheduled to return to the ring in January, but it should be a good month or so of awesome commentary. When Punk's time is finished, I'd consider him still doing Superstars. Give him Josh Mathews as a commentary partner. I guarantee they will be a good duo. When it is time for Punk to leave commentary, it might be time to have either Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler replaced. To be honest, I'd go with both. Have Michael Cole go first, being run off the show by Jerry Lawler. Jim Ross is Cole's replacement, and the two get to call RAW again for a little bit until Michael Cole returns as RAW's General Manager and fires King. Let Jim Ross & Josh Mathews serve as the new RAW duo. It may not seem "star-studded," but Josh Mathews is ready to call the big shows, and JR is actually better as a color commentator, if you ask me. His recent run with Todd Grisham was some of his better work.

So your PPV commentary team as of Elimination Chamber next year could end up as: Jim Ross, Josh Mathews & Matt Striker. Todd Grisham can do the Mathews role of doing backstage interviews, not as a demotion, but just because that's the way the commentary thing seems to work -- the SmackDown! play-by-play guy gets shafted. The other possibility is that you have JR & Striker call PPV, with Grish and Mathews both doing interview duty. Or you can have Todd Grisham move to RAW, and Josh Mathews do SmackDown! full-time. Mathews & Striker get along well, and Grish & JR have worked together in the past. Let's just go with that.

RAW: Todd Grisham & Jim Ross
RAW Superstars: Todd Grisham & CM Punk (I think this would be a deceptively entertaining tandem)
NXT: Josh Mathews & CM Punk
SmackDown!: Josh Mathews & Matt Striker
SmackDown! Superstars: Josh Mathews & Matt Striker
PPV: Todd Grisham, Jim Ross & Matt Striker

Cool King

12-02-2010, 08:45 PM

I actually like Josh Mathews' commentating.

Mr. C

12-03-2010, 02:37 AM

Jim Ross replacing Michael Cole would be beautiful, and Matt Striker and Todd Grisham were fantastic together (before Cole).

Juan

12-03-2010, 02:43 AM

Truly baffled by the Matt Striker hate.

James Steele

12-03-2010, 04:56 AM

He does try "too hard" sometimes, but he adds to the match which is all that matters. WWE doesn't have a guy who can make a match sound bigger and more important just based on the way he calls it...and only one man can do that:
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01015/ross_682x400_1015891a.jpg

I think they should have Jim Ross and Howard Finkel do PPVs only...or at least WrestleMania.

Skippord

12-03-2010, 07:42 AM

clearly Scott Stanford should be calling every match with CM Punk

Volare

12-04-2010, 06:18 AM

Cole is starting the next stable, and he will try to take over WWE and this would lead to Vince coming out of his coma.

Volare

12-04-2010, 06:18 AM

clearly Scott Stanford should be calling every match with CM Punk

That's Mr. Punk.

Next Big Thing

12-04-2010, 11:06 AM

At some point they have to move on with the announcers just like they have done with the wrestlers but I think WWE sent the wrong old timer out to pasture.

I believe one of the reasons why Cole and Striker don't get over as much to others is because LAWLER fucking blows. When Cole is on his heel rant, Lawler does nothing as the face announcer to counter it so it leaves Cole looking like a fool. Same deal when on the PPVs Striker asks King a question and Lawler gives some half ass answer or takes a cheap shot at him.

If JR was working with Cole, especially heel Cole, the announcing would be better.

Mr. Nerfect

12-04-2010, 07:44 PM

That's Mr. Punk.

Scott Stanford: Why do I always feel a bit uncomfortable doing commentary next to you?

CM Punk: Because I don't like you...I don't even know you.

Scott Stanford: Why don't you like me?

CM Punk: ...I hate everybody named "Steve."

Paraphrased, and might combine two separate Punk moments (I cannot remember). But that was the general gist of one of their exchanges. Todd Grisham is a pretty funny guy, although he slips it under the radar. I'd like to see him and Punk work together.

Jakob Synn

12-04-2010, 08:58 PM

JR and Striker work well together. Lawler is tiresome, and Cole is too busy getting himself over when he should be putting the product over.

Well the thing is with Cole is that everyone hates him with a passion so getting himself over as that character is something good.

I do not see Jim Ross coming back at the announce table. As much as I would love it, I don't see it happening.

I've read a lot on this and one point that has always been made is JR's health. I mean on RAW it was a liability having him on because the show was live, but on Smackdown he was better because anything could be edited, but with that being said health is something you just don't mess with and JR's health isn't that great.