By and large, NXTs announcers are head and shoulders above those on WWE Raw and Smackdown. They are younger, convey stories more clearly and focus on the action in the ring, getting the product over rather than themselves. Its a breath of fresh air to listen to NXT after hearing JBL and Michael Cole argue for three hours about stupid things and make dated references about television shows and music that came out before most of the talent was born. NXTs lead announcer Rich Brennan does yeomans work calling the action. He does an admirable job calling the moves and drawing attention to the significance of each situation. However, one thing that can easily take fans out of the moment is a poor, overused catchphrase, and Brennan has two. During most broadcasts, hell belt out, My God! or Oh my goodness! after a high-impact move. Wednesday, he used both so many times that if someone was playing a drinking game, they wouldve passed out by the time the Zayn-Owens match was over. It might go unnoticed on first viewing, but if you rewatch Rival having it now pointed out, it will start to grate on you. Its something small, and its exactly the reason you have a developmental system to work out kinks like that.
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.
