10 Terrible Habits WWE Commentary Team Need To Break

4. Please Stop Selling Us Things For Just One Second

Again, this isn't really the commentator's fault; they're just doing as they're told, but the constant stream of stuff to buy is poisoning the commentator's credibility. There's nothing that kills the excitement for Wrestlemania quicker than seeing those fluorescent green Mountain Dew bottles on the announce table. The issue isn't the commentators, or even the advertising itself (that's just what comes with being part of an increasingly brand-lead media industry) - the problem is with the combination of the two. The WWE clearly doesn't truly appreciate the value of a commentator that people like. If Brock Lesnar has F5ed JR, the crowd would be shocked, up in arms. When he F5ed Cole, cheers rained down from on high. The WWE don't care, they're glad they've got someone they can ritually humiliate on TV, but the product does suffer. If the fans don't like the voice of the WWE, and Cole is just that, like it or not, that's a problem. Engagement with the show suffers. And why don't people like him, because they don't trust a damn word that comes out of his mouth, because everything's a sell. He, and the rest of the commentators (King's his right-hand man in this regard), are constantly on the pitch, selling us the Network, the WWE Movies, the corporate sponsors, the WWE App. It gives them an slick, untrustworthy quality, which makes getting caught up in their 'passionate' calls all the more difficult. If you're going to have ads, have them come from Tom Phillips backstage. Sacrifice one broadcast talent as being 'the ad guy', not the commentators, not the wrestlers. Let us hate him and his constant corporate credos. You could even create someone the fans love to hate. But let the commentators be independent.