Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
In the past year or so we have seen a lot of announcer changes in both TNA and WWE. I thought we’d take some time to look at them individually and then as teams…
Jim Ross
I guess the first question that comes to mind is, “Is good ol’ J.R. done with the microphone?”. It seems to me things don’t look good for fans of J.R. as his return seems to be dwindling every day. That said, I think most would agree Ross is the best commentator today and possibly ever. He has called most every great match in history and various superstars. I think one of the positive things about J.R is that he seems to elevate everyone else around him, including the wrestlers in the ring. If someone is stinking up the joint Ross has the ability to still get them and/or their character over. This is something highly missed by everyone else.
Michael Cole
He has had to ride Ross’s coat tails for years. For that reason alone I feel sometimes he does just not want to be in the role he is in. He tends to drone on, make bad puns and doesn’t have a flowing conversation with most of those on the air with him. Everything seems forced by him and rehearsed. He does have a knack for calling match moves which I guess is a plus. I for one was happy when the NXT boys took him out.
Don West
It seems that like Ross, Don West is gone from the booth chair. I actually really liked much of the commentary West made about the matches and storylines but I hated his delivery. I think he means a lot to the wrestling business and he certainly was a big part in helping TNA get off the ground whether people want to admit it or not. I think his role in TNA now suits him much better.
Jerry Lawler
Without Ross the King just seems like he lost his crown. He is better with more to work with and Cole doesn’t deliver that for him. On the few occasions where he has had to work alone (like when JR was beaten up) he has held his own but not to the level say Taz could do by himself. He is a legendary wrestler, amazing character, and has worked hard on being a good color man.
Matt Striker
He makes a lot of mistakes in reference to supposed “facts”. For a teacher that is kind of frightening. He does have a gift of gab. I like his style a lot and he adds much to the people in the ring. He is obviously smart, sometimes too much. He has a bright future as a color commentator. I would much rather see him as an old fashioned wrestling manager though; he could be the next Bobby Heenan.
Mike Tenay
He has always been a professional. He really did a lot to bring up some of the poor performances in WCW and does the same for TNA. He has a very large capacity in his brain for wrestling knowledge, just like Ross. It would be interesting to play wrestling trivial pursuit with both those men and see who knew and remembered more, I would bet on Tenay though. He tells good stories about what is happening in the ring.
Todd Grisam
I think Todd is trying extremely hard to fine tune his craft but there is just something lacking. Not in the same way Cole lacks though. I feel like I do with some of the wrestler rookies…When you first saw the Hardy boys there was quality there for sure but it wasn’t all put together yet, that’s how I still feel about Todd.
Taz
To me Taz is by far the best color commentator on the air at this point, maybe even the best announcer overall. He can do color but he can also be the straight man and he could do it alone if he had too. He is quite possibly better behind the booth than he was a wrestler and that is saying something because he was a fantastic wrestling performer. He is also quite fun to listen too.
And now for the teams…
Jerry and Michael
By far this is my least favorite team. They don’t complement each other at all. If Ross isn’t coming back than I honestly would rather see Lawler retire or do another on air role such as the one Bret Hart is doing. This duo needs to be put out to pasture. I would likely fire Cole or put him only behind the scenes of WWE.
Tenay and Taz
They are simply the best team out there today. The only “dream team” I could see as working better would be Ross and Taz as they were good for the short lived time they had together. Tennay and Taz just simply are who they are and they work stylisticly well together. I see this pair hanging around TNA for a very long time to come.
Grisham and Striker
These two are the up and comers. They are good at what they do but not great. They need some polish on their diamond in the rough persona. I think Grisom is really talented and that Striker elevates his status. I also think that since Ross is gone it I high time WWE goes to one announce team for all the shows they have, it would be nice for continuity anyway and this should be the team.
Others:
On occasion, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Ken Anderson, Jesse Ventura, Roddy Piper, Jeremy Borash, Christie Hemmy and even Vince McMahon have come down the aisle to the announce table. Heck, even Angelina Love didn’t a few weeks back. I think all of these people could do well on the mic, especially Nash. What about a Nash/Ross team for a 2nd TNA program? Wouldn’t that be sweet?
