Even the most popular wrestlers only get a few segments per show maximum, but TV viewers have to deal with announcers throughout an entire broadcast. The problems with WWE commentary have been explained over and over, but the heart of the issue is that Vince McMahon has his own ideas as to what a broadcaster should sound (and look) like, and they don't mesh with the opinions of his fanbase. For proof, look no further than McMahon's repeated (and ultimately successful) attempts to remove Jim Ross from his position as lead play-by-play man. Fans revered Ross, and to a generation of them, he was the voice of wrestling, plain and simple. Though Michael Cole is talented when not playing a gimmick, there was no reason to give him Ross's job. The fact that McMahon would later turn Cole heel and make him an incredibly repellent part of each broadcast was further proof that the WWE Chairman doesn't understand the value of an announcer. The solution? Either re-hire Ross, or put Smackdown! announcer Mauro Ranallo in charge of all broadcasts. Moreover, McMahon needs to stop feeding announcers lines and let them interpret the product themselves. The commentary is just another way that the WWE product feels sanitized rather than authentic.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
