10 Terrible Habits WWE Commentary Team Need To Break

3. JR Is Gone. Stop Copying Him.

Sorry, Cole. This one's about you again. JR still calls wrestling. In January he and Matt Striker did a hell of a job calling Wrestling Kingdom 9 for New Japan Pro Wrestling. The point is, if you want JR, hire JR. Michael Cole is not the same thing. It's unclear if this is a company-mandated thing, or if Cole has simply not be able himself to find a unique voice, but the Oklahoma Native's shadow looms large over Cole's commentary, especially on PPV. So often, pale imitations of JR crop up in Cole's delivery and when they do it immediately takes fans out of the moment. Look at this moment from Wrestlemania 30 for example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTfUH5Ajjf8 This moment is the climax of the evening, and of Daniel Bryan's journey to the top of the mountain. Our capacity for emotion, our human feels, should be at an all time high, but instead, and this is perhaps a subject viewpoint, Cole's constant barked repetitions, his cracking voice, his prepared colourful prose, all ring horribly false. They sound like someone doing a JR impression at a party, and they mar what would otherwise be a fantastic moment.