Before I begin, I just want to say that it was a real pleasure to write the TBL @ 10 series. I thank all of you for your great feedback during the series and I hope that the rest of you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any additional comments on the TBL @ 10 series, please feel free to send them over.
Announcers should not be a part of storylines. Please read again. Announcers should not be a part of storylines.
Every couple of years we suffer through some bullshit with Jim Ross that either takes him off television for a few months or disables him for a few weeks. Enough is enough already. Let the announcers call the damn matches and let us fans enjoy the show for once. Why do we have to suffer through some stupid, ill-planned, poor television sketch that has Jerry Lawler, Coach, and Jim Ross apologizing to the McMahon clan? What was the sense of that a few months ago? It was horrible TV!
And why is WWE so intent on killing a storyline before it even has a chance to succeed? Listen, I know that Joey Styles is needed for the new ECW brand, but why did it have to be a tough break with the RAW brand? Why couldn’t Paul Heyman come out in a month, announce that ECW will be returning, and ask Styles to come back and announce? Is it so bad to just have a television skit that would follow along the lines of reality for once?
But what might be the most insulting part of the entire “switcheroo” with the announce team is that WWE.com announced Jim Ross would be back on a “probationary” period as per Mr. McMahon. Come on, dude. I don’t understand how WWE can attempt to make WWE.com a hot spot among wrestling websites (which they admitted in a recent move, promoting Michael Cole to the head of their Web Division) and not acknowledge that wrestling news websites exist and are really accurate when it comes to these particular storylines. Just about every “news” site out there called both Coach being asked to leave the announce booth (we’ll get to that next) and Jim Ross’ imminent return. For WWE to try to make this some stupid storyline with Jim Ross being on probation…bleh. It almost makes me not want to watch (except that Ross and Lawler have a great chemistry).
All of this brings us to the Coach factor. What is this guy’s purpose again? They hired him to do some of the backstage promo stuff, then they allowed him to call some of the sublevel shows (which he sucked at), then they made him Eric Bischoff’s bitch, then they forced him down our throats with that horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE three person announce team, and now he’s been squashed by Viscera? Hey WWE – NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS GUY! When I see this guy involved in some “storyline,” he gets the same treatment that Jean Paul Levesque gets – I change the channel. He’s a boring character, he should NEVER be allowed to take television time away from guys like Helms, Haas, Benjamin, or even Flair and Umaga and that ridiculous mess. The guys has got no purpose on television and the more he is allowed to be on the screen, the less I want to watch.
On top of all that – he absolutely sucks at announcing. He couldn’t even have called WCW Main Event on TBS. He’s the worst. And listen, I don’t say this because “that’s what we want the fans to think.” No. This is similar to X-Pac Heat or Levesque Heat – no one likes Coach, he’s a waste of time.
What I’m asking for here is just some common sense in the show. Don’t hire Styles knowing his style of announcing (pun not intended) and then tell him he sucks at it. Don’t fire Jim Ross…ever. He’s the best play-by-play man/storyteller on the planet today for professional wrestling/sports entertainment. Get Coach out of the announce booth and never put him back ever again. He’s terrible at calling a match and it’s obvious if you just listen. And for the love of God, keep Jerry Lawler happy! That man may have old, used up jokes, but they’re hilarious.
Isn’t it funny that Smackdown!, the so-called “B Show,” has had the best, consistent announce team in the business?
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