7 Massive WWE Changes WresteMania 32 Highlighted
4. The Announcers Have A Completely Different Job
Let me preface this by saying that I don't hate the WWE announce team. I mean, I don't like them…but I think because every utterance they deliver is barked at them through an earpiece by Vince McMahon, they do an okay job in an unenviable role. But given just how important announcing is to the spectacle of WrestleMania, it becomes painfully noticeable just how ludicrous their job has become compared to what it once was.
Traditionally a wrestling announcer always had the task of watching the match and calling the action to make the Kayfabe seem as real as possible. It is truly an extraordinary art form because no matter which way you spin it, the sport isn’t real, and the results are predetermined. Finding people who do a good job is difficult, and that is why Jim Ross is so beloved by fans. He told a story as he spoke and added to the drama. One liners came about organically to Ross, and he enveloped viewers in a story.
Announcers now are being forced to repeat snappy one liners that make no sense, and only sound good when they are isolated in a highlights package. For example, at one point during WrestleMania, Michael Cole said something like ‘from the revolution a rebellion has arisen’ in regards to the so-called Diva's revolution. It sounds kind of neat for about 2/10 of a second until you realise that a revolution is far more extreme than rebellion. Rebellion is acting against something – a revolution is destroying it.
In other words, for the announcer, it is now their job to merely say things that sound like something an announcer would say…as opposed to simply being announcers saying things.
When you cram in all the never-ending references to social media, the WWE Universe, the WWE Network, and all the other garbage that they have to shill, you realise that these guys probably deserve a whole lot more credit for managing to get through a broadcast without breaking down into tears of frustration.