10 Biggest Mistakes Of WWE's New Era Thus Far

7. The Wrong Commentary Teams

Roman reigns
WWE

Bringing Corey Graves up from NXT will prove to be a great move in the long-run. Graves has taken to colour commentary like a duck to water following the end of his in-ring career, and while still relatively inexperienced, his personality, quips, and cutting wit have already drawn comparisons with the legendary Bobby Heenan.

Unfortunately, WWE have flubbed their lines by pairing him with Michael Cole and Byron Saxton on Raw. Cole is a company man through and through, and while experienced, his commentary style reeks of self-promotion and soundbite-chasing. His play-by-play methods grew stale a long time ago, and beside him, Saxton offers precisely nothing.

While the company’s best colour commentator works Raw, their top play-by-play guy is on SmackDown. Mauro Ranallo’s professional approach has been a breath of fresh air on SmackDown, yet he now finds himself sitting alongside David Otunga (why?!) and loudmouth burial-merchant JBL on the blue brand

WWE were right to address their previously dire commentary situation, but they’ve made the wrong moves. Ranallo had developed an excellent rapport with Jerry Lawler on SD, with King sounding more enthused alongside the former MMA analyst than he had done in years. Breaking them up was a truly strange decision, but if it had to happen, why not place Graves on SmackDown? Him and Ranallo is comfortably WWE’s most exciting commentary pairing on-paper, and working with Cole and Saxton will do little for Graves’ development.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.