10 Totally Dumb Booking Tropes Wrestling Is OBSESSED With
7. The Heel Commentator
It used to make sense when the wrestling commentator aligned as a heel or babyface.
In the golden era of the WWF, Bobby Heenan's deranged grasp of reality - in addition to being genuinely piss-funny - underscored the vile actions of the heel characters. Those actions were so unconscionable that there was zero justification for their conduct, and listening to Heenan scramble made that all the more apparent. Jim Ross in the Attitude Era was an inspired inversion. His pearl-clutching act underlined the heinous antics of Triple H, Vince McMahon et al. He was indignant, and his role was quietly crucial. He made it feel as if the WWF had a soul to save, and that Steve Austin was the man to do it.
This is another thing that happens in wrestling years and years later purely because it has always happened.
In 2023, all commentators should play it neutral with a moralistic bent, unless of course a heel is guesting. Corey Graves is an obnoxious d*ck for the sake of it. He does not operate in harmony with the characters. He just does a diluted version of Heenan's act purely because Heenan was such a genius.
Wrestling is a less cartoonish landscape than it once was, particularly in AEW, and it's very jarring to hear Nigel McGuinness play heel on Collision. He rarely drills into the strategy of the in-ring, which is where Taz and Excalibur are so valuable in deepening the tension and credibility of a match, instead just siding with the heels for no discernible reason.
There was a psychology to Heenan's schtick, and only Jerry Lawler came close to getting it.