13 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown On FOX (Oct 4)

9. The Two-Man Booth

Corey Graves Michael Cole
WWE

What a joy to see WWE return to a two-man booth on last night's SmackDown, with Renee Young moved away from the announce team to focus on other tasks, leaving Corey Graves and Michael Cole to handle the show.

The result was a smoother viewing experience largely devoid of the usual commentary complications. WWE's third announcer too often feels like a third wheel, no matter who it is, with the likes of Young and Byron Saxton bringing little to the table other than a handful of excited yelps. In removing them, WWE have hit the sweet spot.

The commentary still wasn't perfect (and never will be with Vince McMahon's overproduction), but this was a definite improvement, and it was good to see Cole and Graves going out of there way to make the show more accessible to new fans as well. They went into much greater detail than usual with their descriptions of what was going on, contextualising everything with FOX's bigger viewership. A smart, smart move, though they'll need to remove the kid gloves as the new audience's familiarity with the product increases.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.