5. The Commentary Is Still Incredibly Flat In Places
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXcyUvQvAYQ WWE's commentator teams have gone through all sorts of shakeups over the years, JBL and Cole's combo being a particularly lifeless moment - but something that's ebbed and flowed alongside is their implementation in the games. First introduced way back in 2001 with Just Bring It (and featuring the brilliance of Tazz commentating on his own match), Yukes implemented a 'slot name in' system that sits alongside larger chunks of generic dialogue, the combination of the two supposedly meant to create the atmosphere of a real match. Now obviously guys like Cole, J.R., Lawler etc. aren't going to be able to spend a huge amount of time in their booths recording endlessly specific lines, but you need only look at the current crop of entrances to hear completely flat, immersion-breaking lines like "Both of these superstars look geared up and ready to go!" or "I hope this superstar has everything he needs to win this one!" Seriously, "this superstar"? It's painfully obvious they're recording lines that could be applied to any scenario, and surely stuff like "I think that *KANE* has a good chance to win!", although patchy, could be edited together better from a better batch of original recordings, giving us something that sounds a bit more authentic and energetic.