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#1 |
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Posts: 61,634
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Matt Striker traded back for Jim Ross?
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? Pfft |
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#2 |
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Posts: 3,755
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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. |
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#3 | |
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Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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#4 |
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BAY BAY
Posts: 36,524
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JR and Punk commentary on Raw until Punk's healed? Could be good.
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#5 |
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TPWW's #3 Peep
Posts: 20,903
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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. |
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#6 |
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Posts: 1,711
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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.
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#7 |
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LUV CABBAGE/H8 JEWS
Posts: 42,497
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I didn't even know that Striker guy used to wrestle.
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#8 | |
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BAY BAY
Posts: 36,524
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#9 |
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Posts: 1,290
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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.
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#10 |
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Da Gif/Pic Pimp
Posts: 13,913
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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. |
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#11 |
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Posts: 21,603
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I'd rather see Joey Styles back.
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#12 |
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Formerly Fausto Carmona
Posts: 16,875
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I'd like to see JR just come back for PPVs.
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#13 |
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Hazardous to Your Health
Posts: 21,730
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JR on PPV's alone is mighty fine with me.
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#14 |
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Cranky Kong
Posts: 78,671
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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.
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#15 |
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Stupid Sexy Flanders
Posts: 1,728
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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. |
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#16 | |
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King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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Quote:
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. |
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#17 |
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Narc stole my star
Posts: 6,110
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Dont like JR at all.
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#18 |
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Voices Say I'm Awesome...
Posts: 1,715
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#19 |
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BAY BAY
Posts: 36,524
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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.
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#20 |
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King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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"AAAAND IIII QUOTE!"
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#21 |
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James Steele's Lackey
Posts: 465
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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. |
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#22 |
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Save_Us.sandwich
Posts: 1,749
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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.
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#23 |
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Save_Us.sandwich
Posts: 1,749
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#24 |
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Tîm Defaid
Posts: 6,646
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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.
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#25 |
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A Property of Matter
Posts: 25,543
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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.
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#26 |
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Roll +Sharp
Posts: 518
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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.
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#27 |
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Feeling Oof-y
Posts: 17,151
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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. |
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#28 |
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Posts: 348
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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
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#29 |
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Posts: 1,398
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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. |
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#30 |
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Da Gif/Pic Pimp
Posts: 13,913
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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.
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#31 | |
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Angel Headed Hipster
Posts: 37,942
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Quote:
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. |
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#32 | |
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Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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Quote:
![]() 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. |
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#33 |
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Posts: 3,755
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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. |
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#34 |
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Is Finkle
Posts: 88,943
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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. |
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#35 |
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EATER OF HOT POCKETS
Posts: 14,340
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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. |
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#36 |
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EATER OF HOT POCKETS
Posts: 14,340
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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."
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#37 |
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I'm Brllnt!
Posts: 3,139
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Make Cole a heel manager and bring JR back.
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#38 |
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EATER OF HOT POCKETS
Posts: 14,340
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#39 |
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A Property of Matter
Posts: 25,543
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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.
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#40 |
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Cranky Kong
Posts: 78,671
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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. |
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