We’ve had the pleasure of hearing Chris Jericho doing commentary with Tony Schiavone the last few weeks on AEW Dynamite, and it’s been awesome. As awesome as Jim Ross and Schiavone are, Chris Jericho has reinvented commentary by bringing things full circle.
Two styles
Over the years, we’ve gotten to hear some of the greats at commentary, and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the best over the last twenty plus years. They reinvented the style for mainstream audiences by being themselves and allowing their charisma to shine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCArEbxtrtk
JR sounds like our best friend, parent, or grandparent that makes it fun to hear his stories. We can sit there for hours listening to him talk, and his emotional proclamations are timed perfectly to get us excited and awed by what’s happening in the ring.
Jerry Lawler is that friend our parents don’t like as he’s considered a bad influence (“PUPPIES!”) and there isn’t a joke that’s not funny. He was the perfect compliment to JR over the years and it feels like he’s wasting his talent with his current partners when compared to what he and JR did together.
They gave us the emotional and funny moments that defined the Attitude Era as much as the wrestling did.
Jericho’s style is more of a throwback to Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura. His one liners, while hilarious and awesome like Lawler’s, are often followed or preceded by a factual reference to what really happens in the ring. He and Schiavone remind me of Ventura and Vince McMahon/Gorilla Monsoon simply for their styles. Though Jericho doesn’t dress nearly as flashy as Ventura used to.
While he discusses what each in-ring move means and points out subtleties, he also sides with the heels while respecting the faces. Schiavone, while not as energetic as Vince McMahon was, plays his role perfectly by avoiding controversy by agreeing with Jericho when needed and passively countering his claims when necessary. In this, he fits in more with Monsoon’s style (“Will you stop?) than not.
What’s old is new
While there are more styles, these are the two most memorable in the main stream wrestling promotions. It also goes to show that despite the claims of new fans and wrestlers, the old school works and draws people in better than Michael Cole’s over the top shouting and arguing. The difference often comes down to one’s charisma and ability to work the crowd.
Currently, and this is going by the promos and interactions we’ve seen, either charisma is lacking or they’re being handcuffed by the powers-that-be in their respective promotions. Given how the WWE is micromanaged, the latter feels more along the lines of reason than not, especially when it was recently announced the WWE would allow some wrestlers the freedom to cut their own promos.
None of this detracts to what Jericho’s brought to the announcer’s table. In fact, it only makes his ability stand out more and shows us what we’ve been missing thanks to micromanaging and/or lack of talent. He’s reinventing the commentary role by bringing back the old school style, and it’s an amazing thing to watch.
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