There was a time, not all that long ago, that Michael Cole was at the very bottom of the barrel. His heel work was so over-the-top and obnoxious that it made WWE television impossible to watch if you didn't have your television on mute. Now that Cole has shifted back to just being the "straight man", he's arguably the only part of commentary that deserves to still be there. My, how things have changed. Raw has become tough to listen to once again, but now, it has to do with the overall repetitiveness of both JBL and Jerry "The King" Lawler. It has been said, but Lawler's shtick has barely changed at all in the last 20 years. He's still the "horny old man" that ogles women in a creepy fashion, only his act has been toned down slightly with the change from TV-14 to TV-PG. JBL, though, is the worst of them all right now. He brings zero passion to his commentary, which is a stark change from his previous run in that gig, when he was a breath of fresh air. He speaks and yells in monotone fashion. His arguments often don't make any sense from a logical standpoint, which is especially odd for such an intelligent character. He just doesn't seem to care anymore, so, in turn, why should any of us? Some fans don't think that commentary is a huge part of the overall viewing experience, but it really is. Look back at the aforementioned "Michael Cole as a heel" era. Look at Jim Ross and his legendary calls during the Attitude Era. Go ahead and watch any five-star wrestling match from Japan, with commentary in Japanese, if you don't understand a word of the language. Commentary can easily make or break wrestling programming, and right now, what we're getting on the average WWE show is trying its best to break things.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
