9 Potential Replacements For JBL On WWE Commentary
9. Byron Saxton
Saxton might still be a new face in WWE, but so far he has done a pretty good job as a commentator on RAW. Though cut from the same cloth as Michael Cole, in that his voice seems relatively monotone, he has nonetheless done a great job so far of not only calling the matches before him, but of engaging in debates with Michael Cole without them degenerating into shouting matches.
Because of that, if RAW were to ever return to a two-man commentary team, it should be composed of Michael Cole and Byron Saxton, instead of Cole and JBL. Cole and Saxton play off of each other very well, even though both of them come off as a bit bland. But being bland is still better then sounding loud, brash, and obnoxious, which, is what JBL sounds like when he debates with his fellow commentators.
Saxton has shown that he can play the straight man to another commentator’s more eccentric approach to calling matches, and is doing a good job of evolving into the kind of company man and promoter that they’re looking for in a ringside commentator. That said, even if he’s plugging a WWE product during a RAW broadcast, his manner of speaking doesn’t come across as shameless of forced. He sounds genuinely excited to be on RAW, and that’s the kind of enthusiasm that he should be pushing onto the WWE Universe.