[WCW] Role of announcers in WCW
John Proulx
posts bashing WCW's announcers. Heck, I have even taken part myself in
the bashing, and I often literally turn off the sound on my TV and
announce the matches myself to my wife so that she can follow the
action. Recently, I thought about this, wondering why WCW would continue
to employ such incompetents in the broadcast booth. The answer came as
an epiphany: because they're good at their job.
This statement may seem like a contradiction, but bear with me. I am
coming to believe that WCW does not see the roles of their announcers in
the same way that they have traditionally been seen. Instead, WCW has
decided to make the announcers actors in the drama -- in fact, they
serve as the voice of the fans. Each announcer plays a specific role,
i.e., a specific _type_ of fan. Let me demonstrate by comparing the four
main announcers used by WCW to posters on these newsgroups. Please note
that for the purpose of this post, I am ignoring WCWSN and Worldwide and
focusing on the two major weekly shows.
Tony Schiavone's role is the easiest to discern: he is the "pure mark".
He is the person who doesn't know the names of the moves, doesn't know
the histories of the wrestlers and sometimes doesn't even know the
wrestlers' names, yet he can thoroughly enjoy the matches in progress
and speculate on what might be happening down the road. He doesn't care
about the "mid-carders" or "jobbers" and their matches, so he drones
incessantly about the "superstars" and upcoming pay-per-view events.
Occasionally, he may ask for information, but often "forgets" that
information by the time the next show rolls around so that he can
continue to be a "pure mark". This is also important, because he gives
those of us who _do_ have more information to ridicule him and laugh at
him.
Mike Tenay's role is that of the keeper of the FAQ, the person who can
answer Tony's questions and sit in the relative background while
Schiavone and the third member of the team, whomever that may be at the
time, run the show.
Larry Zbyszko plays the role of the "smart mark". He likes to discuss
the history, the psychology, the inner workings of the match, like his
constant references to the "human game of chess". He has access to
certain "inside information", sometimes even information Tenay does not
have, partially because he was once in the business and still has
friends therein. The problem is that this person, while somewhat
knoledgeable, sometimes goes overboard and bores everyone with his
continual analysis and seeming inability to "mark out" as even Tenay
occasionally does. That is why he is not blessed with working the entire
Nitro, because he would truly get on people's nerves.
Enter Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Whether you like it or not, Heenan's
role is that of a troll -- not the nasty dredge variety that we have all
come to know and hate, but the "hit-and-run" troll, if you will. His
entire purpose is to make Schiavone (the "pure mark") look foolish. He
does this by throwing zingers, "working" Schiavone into believing
disinformation, and generally insulting everyone, up to and including
the wrestlers. When threatened, Heenan immediately becomes a
brown-noser, toadying up to the wrestler/manager/promoter sitting next
to him, then immediately turning around and hurling insults at him as he
leaves. That's why Heenan's slavish devotion to Goldberg seems so out of
place with Heenan -- trolls are supposed to hate _everyone_.
Each of these men has a task, and each of them does it to the best of
his abilities. So go ahead, yell at Tony when he can't remember the name
of a move ("SIDEWALK SLAM!!!", "OH, WHATTAMOVE!!!", because we are
_supposed_ to make fun of him -- that's his purpose. Just don't expect
any of these guys to give you play-by-play, because that's not in their
job description. Sometimes I think we all get annoyed at them because we
see them reflecting some of the very things we hate reading on our
newsgroups. :)
Any other thoughts?
"Gentleman" John Proulx
Candidate for RSPWM Moderator
RSPW JOB Squad
fun...@my-dejanews.com
dew...@banet.net write:
>
> Enter Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Whether you like it or not, Heenan's
> role is that of a troll -- not the nasty dredge variety that we have all
> come to know and hate, but the "hit-and-run" troll, if you will. His
> entire purpose is to make Schiavone (the "pure mark") look foolish. He
> does this by throwing zingers, "working" Schiavone into believing
> disinformation, and generally insulting everyone, up to and including
> the wrestlers. When threatened, Heenan immediately becomes a
> brown-noser, toadying up to the wrestler/manager/promoter sitting next
> to him, then immediately turning around and hurling insults at him as he
> leaves. That's why Heenan's slavish devotion to Goldberg seems so out of
> place with Heenan -- trolls are supposed to hate _everyone_.
Dusty Rhodes must be the poor spelling newbie!
Eric Bischoff is the Phil Stromer of WCW...
Mike Hudson is the insider-wannabe.
Good post, John!
"You can't expect me to take a question like that seriously. I refuse
to answer that question on the grounds that it is stupid."
-- FunkyM's personal hero, Roger Waters
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Jeff Amdur
> Tony Schiavone's role is the easiest to discern: he is the "pure mark".
> Mike Tenay's role is that of the keeper of the FAQ
> Larry Zbyszko plays the role of the "smart mark".
> Enter Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Whether you like it or not, Heenan's
> role is that of a troll
> Any other thoughts?
Yep :)
All that being said, I kind of miss the announcer-as-sportcaster persona
that has seemed to die out with the exception of Jim Ross (on occasion).
Gordon Solie and Lance Russell were perhaps the last two masters of that
craft. Schiavone also used to fit that mold in his previous incarnation
which lasted until the early part of this decade. They treated wrestling
the way I like it to be treated, as SPORTS entertainment rather than
sports ENTERTAINMENT. They called the play-by-play, rarely getting
distracted by other stuff.
If you want to give the sportscaster persona a sidekick, give him a couple
(one heel, one face), but don't metamorphose the successors to Solie,
Russell, Ray Morgan, Jack Brickhouse, Dick Lane, Bailey Goss and others
into the "Mr. Clueless" persona that the once-competent Schiavone has been
saddled with.
--
Jeff Amdur
Quality foreign language instruction since 1971 (Oy, gevalt! THAT long?!?)
Quality timekeeping for sports events since 1973
Lavender
Jeff Amdur wrote in message ...
>All that being said, I kind of miss the announcer-as-sportcaster persona
>that has seemed to die out with the exception of Jim Ross (on occasion).
>Gordon Solie and Lance Russell were perhaps the last two masters of that
>craft. Schiavone also used to fit that mold in his previous incarnation
>which lasted until the early part of this decade. They treated wrestling
>the way I like it to be treated, as SPORTS entertainment rather than
>sports ENTERTAINMENT. They called the play-by-play, rarely getting
>distracted by other stuff.
I agree; I also enjoyed that type of broadcaster. But given the nature
of the "sport," today, don't you think that a "straight" sportscaster would
come across rather tongue-in-cheek?
I mean, the shows are mostly hoopla, now - wrestling is the side-dish,
not the main course.
>If you want to give the sportscaster persona a sidekick, give him a couple
>(one heel, one face), but don't metamorphose the successors to Solie,
>Russell, Ray Morgan, Jack Brickhouse, Dick Lane, Bailey Goss and others
>into the "Mr. Clueless" persona that the once-competent Schiavone has been
>saddled with.
Skeevone was once competent?? Jeez, I'm sorry I missed that! ;^)
----
*~ Lavender ~*
John DeJong
news:36C5617A...@banet.net...
This is the first time in the 2 years I've been here that someone has
actually 'got it,' in the matter of the announcers. good job.
Beware the Lollipop of Mediocrity
Lick it once, and you suck forever
http://net.bastard.somewhere.net
David E. Powell
>In article <36C5617A...@banet.net>,
>> come to know and hate, but the "hit-and-run" troll, if you will. His
>> entire purpose is to make Schiavone (the "pure mark") look foolish. He
>> does this by throwing zingers, "working" Schiavone into believing
>> disinformation, and generally insulting everyone, up to and including
>> the wrestlers. When threatened, Heenan immediately becomes a
>> brown-noser, toadying up to the wrestler/manager/promoter sitting next
>> to him, then immediately turning around and hurling insults at him as he
>> leaves. That's why Heenan's slavish devotion to Goldberg seems so out of
>> place with Heenan -- trolls are supposed to hate _everyone_.
>
>Dusty Rhodes must be the poor spelling newbie!
>
>Eric Bischoff is the Phil Stromer of WCW...
>
>Mike Hudson is the insider-wannabe.
>
>Good post, John!
It is a good post.
Perhaps the devotion of Heenan to Goldberg could indicate a possible heel
turn for Goldberg, or a massive heel move against Goldberg by Heenan at a
later date.
David Powell
Jeff Amdur
<netba...@usa.net> wrote:
> This is the first time in the 2 years I've been here that someone has
> actually 'got it,' in the matter of the announcers. good job.
Just as with the current direction of the WWF (its being the World
Werenotaboutwrestlinganymore Federation), "getting it" is one thing, and
agreeing with the "it" once you "get it" is quite another.
As I said before, I'd much rather see a Solie- or Russell-type announcer
working it straight as a sportscaster while his heel and/or face color
cohorts provide the bias. Something close to that should happen as soon
as Jim Ross gets back on television.
That Big Jabrone
> Larry Zbyszko plays the role of the "smart mark". He likes to discuss
> the history, the psychology, the inner workings of the match, like his
> constant references to the "human game of chess". He has access to
> certain "inside information", sometimes even information Tenay does not
> have, partially because he was once in the business and still has
> friends therein. The problem is that this person, while somewhat
> knoledgeable, sometimes goes overboard and bores everyone with his
> continual analysis and seeming inability to "mark out" as even Tenay
> occasionally does. That is why he is not blessed with working the entire
> Nitro, because he would truly get on people's nerves.
You hit the nail on the head with this one...I kinda like Larry, kinda
don't...could never put my finger on why...I see now why he never
commentates main events...total lack of emotion and heat. He'd be a downer.
Carter Eberly
John Proulx wrote:
<Fascinating post snipped.>
I was thinking along the same lines the other day while I was watching
Heat. After listening to JR and Cole talk for awhile they started to remind
me of the choruses from old Greek drama...weird. One thing I like about
wrestling's current blast of popularity is that it's inviting deeper looks.
Pro-wrestling is starting to get to that same "zone" Circus Maximus used to
be in...but the nice thing about pro-wrestling is that all the combatants
will be alive for next week's show. (Theoretically, anyway...)
yankee7
<36C5617A...@banet.net>...
>
> Tony Schiavone's role is the easiest to discern: he is the "pure mark".
> the histories of the wrestlers and sometimes doesn't even know the
> wrestlers' names, yet he can thoroughly enjoy the matches in progress
> and speculate on what might be happening down the road. He doesn't care
> about the "mid-carders" or "jobbers" and their matches, so he drones
> incessantly about the "superstars" and upcoming pay-per-view events.
> Occasionally, he may ask for information, but often "forgets" that
> information by the time the next show rolls around so that he can
> continue to be a "pure mark". This is also important, because he gives
> those of us who _do_ have more information to ridicule him and laugh at
> him.
..and if you've seen the NWA tapings from the TBS Studios in the early to
mid 1980s, you can see how much (little) Tony learned from his sidekick,
David Crockett. DC is the epitome of a company boy, who never seemed to
mention anything even remotely intelligent. He used to be in stitches
when the Road Warriors would threaten to kill someone. He would kiss
Dusty Rhodes' ass something terrible, week in and week out. The only
thing I remember him saying is "No Tony No!" when Schiavone tried to take
a commercial break in the middle of a match. As bad an announcer as Tony
Schiavone is, David Crockett was ten times worse. Problem is, it's hard
to tell the difference sometimes.
>
> Larry Zbyszko plays the role of the "smart mark". He likes to discuss
> the history, the psychology, the inner workings of the match, like his
> constant references to the "human game of chess". He has access to
> certain "inside information", sometimes even information Tenay does not
> have, partially because he was once in the business and still has
> friends therein. The problem is that this person, while somewhat
> knoledgeable, sometimes goes overboard and bores everyone with his
> continual analysis and seeming inability to "mark out" as even Tenay
> occasionally does. That is why he is not blessed with working the entire
> Nitro, because he would truly get on people's nerves.
Exactly. His speech to Bischoff on Nitro, while intelligent, sounded
totally contrived and memorized from a book. Larry Z tries WAY too hard
to prove what an intelligent, well-read man of the 90s he is, and an hour
of it is more than enough. At the same time it would be nice to have Arn
Anderson step in as a guest announcer to bounce ideas off Larry Z.
Couldn't make the first hour of Nitro any worse.
> Enter Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Whether you like it or not, Heenan's
> role is that of a troll -- not the nasty dredge variety that we have all
> come to know and hate, but the "hit-and-run" troll, if you will. His
> entire purpose is to make Schiavone (the "pure mark") look foolish. He
> does this by throwing zingers, "working" Schiavone into believing
> disinformation, and generally insulting everyone, up to and including
> the wrestlers. When threatened, Heenan immediately becomes a
> brown-noser, toadying up to the wrestler/manager/promoter sitting next
> to him, then immediately turning around and hurling insults at him as he
> leaves. That's why Heenan's slavish devotion to Goldberg seems so out of
> place with Heenan -- trolls are supposed to hate _everyone_.
I kept thinking that the perfect role for Heenan two years ago would have
been manager of the WCW team fighting the nWo. Given Heenan's
longstanding feud with Hogan, it made perfect sense. Heenan's kissing up
to Goldberg is indeed nauseating at times, and he hasn't tossed out any
good one-liners in quite a while either. But hey, at least Bischoff isn't
announcing any more......
--
The Mick --"I am a lover of women,
I am a leader of men,
and I am a surprisingly good dancer
for a big man."
--Mick Foley
Mike Holcomb
>After listening to JR and Cole talk for awhile they started to remind
>me of the choruses from old Greek drama...weird.
Hey, you spelled "geek" wrong. :) Seriously, Cole is quickly becoming
intolerable to me. Every time I start to get a grin from Vince's pained
reaction to 15,000 people chanting "asshole", Cole has to jump in and point
out, "There's that chant again, King!", as if we're all idiots. I think he's
every bit as bad as Tony S. has gotten over at Nitro.
--
Mike Holcomb
RSPW JOB Squad
ICQ# 28395916
MHolcomb68 on AOL IM