5. The Faith In The Announce Desk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRXA5kUe-SE If I've
said it before I'll say it again, sports entertainment is storytelling at heart. And while what happens in the ring goes a long way towards that end, it helps having someone narrating along to help fill in any gaps and efficiently sell it. There tends to fall certain types of announcer, which include "storyteller", "play-by-play" and "veteran", and how these characters play off against each other can sell the match in the best way possible. Sadly, on the flagship programming, these all seem to be replaced by a new kind of announcer which equates to "home shopping network" ("The WWE Network is now streaming live on the WWE App, which is now currently trending on Twitter!" "You said it, Maggle!") Not the case in NXT, though. Here, they have a revolving door of regular commentators, including Tensai (who shows a great deal of personality) and William Regal, who excels at the combined roles of play-by-play and veteran. While a play-by-play announcer calls the moves, the veteran personality will constantly give his opinion on how that specific move feels in the ring, how it affects your strategy, what the wrestlers gameplan should now be to compensate for this setback. It all helps tell the tale of ring psychology, which in turn helps to tell the story that is being told. Regal is one of the finest minds in pro-wrestling, and he understands his role perfectly and how to do it to the best of his ability. In the past, WWE seem to have dropped the ball with the announce table by assuming that anybody could go behind the desk and it would work fine, which is not the case. By allowing Regal and his colleagues to do what they're doing, it gives me hope that they will turn this situation around