Matt D Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 I do kind of hate his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 When he smirks, or..? I never watched ROH week to week, but Cole was a genuine heat-seeker in PWG. A lot of his stuff eventually caught on with the crowd, and they ultimately started to play along, but he was a freaking furnace for awhile after the heel turn. The guy had no problem shitting on the people or embracing it when it came time for them to give it back to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 Now that you guys mention it, Cole's face IS pretty fucking annoying. I'd say Roode has the better entrance and character, but it all evaporates once he's in the ring. Cole has no discernible character that I can see yet, but he's okay in the ring. In a more gimmicky era, I would've cast him as a David Koresh cult leader type. That's who he reminds me of, and I think he could do that type of role a lot more justice than the putrid Bray Wyatt. Hard to say who has the edge between Roode and Cole, because I'm so apathetic about both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Way late to the party due to work, but I finally got to catch the first 2 hours or so. Still have the NXT Title match and the main event on reserve for Thursday or possibly Friday. I was wondering how awful Mauro could possibly be oj this show, and yeah. He's borderline unbearable at this point. I still think he was worse at War Games - dropping at least a dozen Mama Mias on that one - but then I haven't even heard him call those last two matches yet. The comparisons to Striker certainly seem justified, too. It's like Mauro has this constant need to sound like the wittiest guy in the room - above all else, at all times. Everything else takes a backseat until he's hammered in a good nine or ten pop culture references or some shit. And I get that analogies and alliteration are tools to get your talking points to stick, but those tools don't work so well if you're smothering people in them every step of the way. It's just too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 The comparisons to Striker certainly seem justified, too. Not at all. Striker comes off like an overbearing pro-wrestling board smark only at times, but he also sounds fun and like a friendly, cool guy. Mauro sounds like an overbearing pro-wrestling mark all the time mixed with the worse of Joey Styles and the worse of Jim Ross. On speed. He's truly awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 You're right. To clarify, I meant more along the lines of Striker in WWE. That shit doesn't hold up well AT ALL and sounds similar to what Mauro's doing at the moment. Striker is a lot more laid back and tolerable in the LU setting. I've greatly enjoyed him at times there. That being said, I found him to be generally terrible (again) when he did some New Japan English commentary with Jim Ross a few years back. So, to be fair, I think at least some credit should go to Vampiro and the weird chemistry they've cooked up together. It's an almost inviting conversation between those guys at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 I don't think I've heard much of Striker in the WWE. And I'm a LU fan. So, to be fair, I think at least some credit should go to Vampiro and the weird chemistry they've cooked up together. It's an almost inviting conversation between those guys at times. Agreed. I really enjoy their duo in LU and it brings me back to the times wrestling announcers did not speak like robots and actually sounded like friends arguing at times too, which I always enjoy. There's something old-school, warm and familiar with the way they work together. I must say Striker was decent at the IMPACT vs LU show too and really carried the team, while Matthews was all over the place. (and I'm not biased against Matthews, it's the very first time I heard him. I know his rep is that he's awful). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 I think the difference between Ranallo and Striker is that the latter can be fucking hilarious in his awfulness. At 2016's Triplemania he was just... out of this world. I usually go back to watch those videos because they are so ridiculous: There are more, it's just incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Come on, it was straight hilarious, not bad hilarious. Vamp was drunk, they were bullshiting around. I take this over any English WWE announcing team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB8 Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Ranallo somehow hasn’t really bothered me on NXT despite being mostly terrible and probably worse than he was on the main roster, when I literally found him intolerable and had to mute certain matches. I can’t explain how he hasn’t broken me yet, but he hasn’t. Maybe I’m better at tuning him out at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Come on, it was straight hilarious, not bad hilarious. Vamp was drunk, they were bullshiting around. I take this over any English WWE announcing team. In hindsight, yeah, but at the same time they were NOT calling the match, so we gotta factor that shit in. I still like Striker better because like you said, shit's hilarious, but you gotta wonder about paying for a service and actually not getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Come on, it was straight hilarious, not bad hilarious. Vamp was drunk, they were bullshiting around. I take this over any English WWE announcing team. In hindsight, yeah, but at the same time they were NOT calling the match, so we gotta factor that shit in. I still like Striker better because like you said, shit's hilarious, but you gotta wonder about paying for a service and actually not getting it. I dunno, for me having legit fun announcers to listen too often beats the hell out of guys who blandly or annoyingly call a match. I can remember to this day Eddie Carpentier & Guy Hauray calling some god awful match between SD Jones & Mike Sharpe at the garden and making fun out of the old, immobile referee and just being hilarious about everything. To me it's always been part of pro-wrestling. Like those WCW matches were Dusty Rhodes & Bobby Heenan were going insane. Ok, they weren't putting the matches over, but it was entertainning as fuck and I never got enough of this stuff. The one thing I'll remember from the Braun match at Mania will always be Christophe Agius (he's playing heel) basically shouting "Fuck him up ! Fuck him up !" at Cesaro when the kid got in the ring. I mean, I was tired as hell by then, but I died laughing. I'm pretty sure they aren't micromanaged and Vince has no idea what is happening in the French booth, and the fact they are funny as fuck is what makes me come back to watch these PPV too, even when they're really just saying shit for the sake or it (for the record, they don't do that only, they are actually a really great duo of announcers). This is something I always loved in my pro-wrestling and that the corporate environement (or the über serious stuff I hear in NJ in English or this week-end on the EVOLVE shows, which had awful announcing, for instance) really ruins for me. Maybe it's a French thing, I know that Roger Couderc always had the kinda tongue-in-cheek tone to his announcing in the days of classic french wrestling in the 50's and 60's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Striker bugs me and he can be downright offensive at times, but he also had an all-time great call when Cortez Castro took a taser to Joey Ryan's crotch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 With both Striker and Mauro the issue is their smarkiness. They're basically the worst stereotype of a 1999 online wrestling fan given the power to spout off about it in a legitimized, national setting. I see absolutely no difference between their excesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 The thing is, we're in 2018, not in 1988. Referring to pro-wrestling history as any other kind of pop-culture today is absolutely acceptable. The way you do it is what can be annoying or not. And really, Mauro's issues go way beyond that. The guy just won't shut the fuck up or settle the fuck down, ever. He makes TNA announcing circa 2003 seems like Gordon Solie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 That's one of my major gripes with him, honestly. Nothing he says is allowed to sink in or settle. He just continuously throws shit at you without subtlety. It's one pop culture reference after another - after another - buried in a heap of alliteration and analogies. It's a relentless assault on your senses as a viewer, and it makes for an exhausting experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 And Im sorry, hearing a middle aged white guy drop references to hip hop musicians and youth culture sounds awful.😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 And Im sorry, hearing a middle aged white guy drop references to hip hop musicians You know hip-hop is a well past 40 years old culture and everyone listens to it, right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 And Im sorry, hearing a middle aged white guy drop references to hip hop musicians and youth culture sounds awful. Exactly. Of all the many things I hate about Mauro Ranallo, that is one of the things I hate the most. I'll never forget at one of the NXT shows in New York he tried to quote Biggie and said "If you don't know, now you know." WTF? And there was the line he used on this show that I already quoted, about Velveteen Dream dropping elbows like DJ's drop needles. I don't even understand what he's trying to do when he says stuff like that. He can't possibly think he comes across as contemporary with an urban, hip hop vibe or something...can he? Is he trying to be ironic and funny? Like he knows that a pudgy middle aged white guy wearing horn-rimmed glasses and wearing a suit saying stuff like that sounds ridiculous? Whatever it is, it's just so damn annoying. I am not a violent person by nature, but after watching an NXT show I find myself fantasizing about punching Mauro Ranallo in the mouth as hard as I possibly can. Mama Mia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 And Im sorry, hearing a middle aged white guy drop references to hip hop musicians You know hip-hop is a well past 40 years old culture and everyone listens to it, right ? Sure, as do I. But when its that voice going on about "This is hotter than the beef that went down at HOT 97 last week!", it sounds like the lame Dad trying to be hip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Exactly. Of all the many things I hate about Mauro Ranallo, that is one of the things I hate the most. I'll never forget at one of the NXT shows in New York he tried to quote Biggie and said "If you don't know, now you know." WTF? And there was the line he used on this show that I already quoted, about Velveteen Dream dropping elbows like DJ's drop needles. I don't even understand what he's trying to do when he says stuff like that. He can't possibly think he comes across as contemporary with an urban, hip hop vibe or something...can he? Is he trying to be ironic and funny? Like he knows that a pudgy middle aged white guy wearing horn-rimmed glasses and wearing a suit saying stuff like that sounds ridiculous? He was probably quoting Christian. #wrestlingbubble But yeah, presented that way, totally agree. That's yet another case of Striker being way different. I can picture myself having a few beers with Matt Striker and talk shit about pro-wrestling, music and movies and have a good time. With Mauro, I'd just want him to shut up or roll my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Sure, as do I. But when its that voice going on about This is hotter than the beef that went down at HOT 97 last week!? it sounds like the lame Dad trying to be hip. Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Basically Ranallo is that "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme but pandering enough to BC shirt wearing smarks that he still gets a good rep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 Striker strikes me as the goofy, slightly nerdy friend that can blend in with you at a bar and be social with everyone. He's the guy you could shoot the shit with about normal stuff, but also talk shop about geeky shit you secretly dig like comics & wrestling. Mauro just strikes me as the guy who's unnecessarily loud and obnoxious about all the things he knows. Like I said, he seems so fucking thirsty for attention or something. Like he yearns for people to acknowledge that he knows so much about so many things or some shit. It's an incredibly grating trait in people, and Mauro's just dripping with it. "Like Cardi B's dripping with..!" Awww, fuck it. I got nothing on Mauro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted April 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 I'm no fan of Mauro's commentary, believe me, but seeing him mark out like crazy while commentating is cool. Percy too https://twitter.com/WWE/status/984144841427664896?s=09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.