10 Ups And 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 4)
3. Play-By-Play Without Calling A Move
We all know that Michael Cole receives his marching orders from Vince McMahon and the higher-ups, so this cant really be held against him. But whats the point of having a play-by-play announcer who never calls a move? During the Kevin Owens/Neville match, the two reeled off several high-impact, visually spectacular moves, including Neville hitting a shooting star press from the top rope to the floor, Owens DDTing Neville off the top rope, and Neville hitting a 450 splash from the apron to a prone KO on the floor. Not a single one of those moves were called by name. Part of what helps casual fans associate with a sport or industry like professional wrestling is learning the terminology and understanding things so they can follow along. Using the names of moves doesnt turn off casual fans, it helps indoctrinate them into becoming regular, knowledgeable viewers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz2_iTg7zz0 How are new fans supposed to have any appreciation for the industry if the action just moves from nameless move to nameless move? Imagine watching an American football game where the announcers didnt tell you the route a player ran, the coverage the defense used or any other useful details, and instead just yelled, Look at that! Wow, what a move! Incredible!
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
