7 Ups And 5 Downs From WWE Raw (April 27)

Ups...

7. Commentary Upgrade

Jerry Lawler
WWE.com

There are very few things that can cause as immediate of an improvement in the television product than having a superior announcer replacing a substandard one.

While Jerry “The King” Lawler is legendary and overall a credit to his profession, his performances since returning during the Performance Center shows have been spotty at best, and cringe-inducing at others. This doesn’t take into account the scary thought of a 70-year-old man who legit died of a heart attack is out in close quarters with other people at a time when older, vulnerable people are urged to stay at home for their own safety.

But Monday, Lawler was replaced by Samoa Joe, in his second tour of duty on commentary. Joe filled in several months ago and did an admirable job, winning huge praise from fans and shining a light on what could be a promising post-in-ring career for the Samoan Submission Machine.

Joe was an immediate upgrade, adding realism and credibility to the announce team, something that has been sorely lacking with a table that includes NXT washout Byron Saxton.

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Contributor
Contributor

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.