WWE NXT War Games 2018

[SomethingSavage]

"Pete Dunne may live a vegan lifestyle, but he's got a preference for FINGER FOODS!"

Ya know. Because he snaps fingers, y'all.

...

Fucking hell.

Some of his stuff is witty and COULD work, if he didn't drown you in thirty other forced references for every good one he stumbles across. It's just all so excessive.

I do know this much - Mauro really, really wants you to know he listens to hip-hop. If you never know anything else about him, he oh so badly needs you to know that.

[KB8]

It always surprises me how little I'm negatively affected by Mauro. I mean, he's woeful and it's clear why folk find his hyperactivity super grating, but I always somehow manage to tune out for the most part and rarely end up being actively bothered by it. I'm someone who usually can't stomach that sort of shit, either. Like, I know he's not deliberately trying to be cringey, but that sort of cringey nonsense would usually force me to mute the TV. I've had to do it PLENTY of times for main roster commentary over the years and that's rarely as bad as Mauro. I've been re-watching episodes of the US Office as background noise lately and I need to mute it for some of the more cringey shit. I don't do well with cringe comedy, basically. And I know Mauro's not doing cringe comedy on purpose but good grief even reading back some of his soundbites I'm shocked I've never reacted to those like I have Michael Scott at Diwali. 

I'll probably never understand it.

And I've probably jinxed it now. 

[Jimmy Redman]

Yeah I'm largely unaffected by Mauro. I see how people would get the shits with him, but like you I guess I just tune it out. It probably helps that NXT has a lot of built-in goodwill and there are too many awesome things going on to really get hung up. If he was the same Mauro on the main roster I'd probably be a little more bothered, although I don't remember specifically if he did bother me on SD.

I think what helps is that he comes across as genuinely, 100% himself. He's just that big of a hyperactive dork who's purpose in life is making bad plays on words.

[DMJ]

Like most things with the WWE, I think, for me, it comes to limiting viewing. I only really watch the Takeovers, the occasional NXT episode, and the PPVs. I also watch a lot of it while doing cardio on an arc-trainer/eliptical (sorry, the humbebrag is non-intentional). Because I watch shows while exercising or when I get a spare 30 minutes at lunch or other times, I end up watching shows in chunks and rarely in their entirety. It makes enjoying them much easier and limits how annoyed I get with things that I would probably despise if I watched these shows in one setting - from the non-stop advertisements to the corny commentary. 

 

I don't think Mauro is a great commentator, but when you only hear him once every 2-3 months, its not so grating and the enthusiasm works. I also think distance and time help. I used to think Schiavone sucked - but when I rewatch the WCW stuff from the early 90s, I think he's pretty solid.

[NintendoLogic]

If I was feeling charitable, I would say that Mauro is a mixed bag overall but a net positive because he seems genuinely enthusiastic and doesn't sound like an overproduced WWE automaton. I mean, as grating as his shtick may be, at least it's authentically his. So I was pretty baffled to see people on Dave's Twitter feed talking about him like he's Lance Russell.

[Mrzfn]

17 hours ago, Jimmy Redman said:

I think what helps is that he comes across as genuinely, 100% himself. He's just that big of a hyperactive dork who's purpose in life is making bad plays on words.

This is me with Mauro. The feeling of sincere excitement makes up for a lot of commentary faults with me. I get why some dislike him and I do think he's overrated in some circles, but I can't get on board with this "worst ever" stuff.

[sek69]

If he would just put like, 25% less effort in trying to cram in his pop culture refrences I bet most people would be fine with him. For example, I've always had a soft spot for David Crockett. He's absolutely no good as an announcer but he's so happy to be there watching the action it's like having a friend to watch with and mark out along with you. If he was constantly making Duran Duran song references it would be far less endearing.