Just to clear it up because a lot of people seem to be confused. This is a list of play by play announcers. Tom Phillips and Micheal Cole are currently the play by play announcers. So, guys like jerry lawler, Corey Graves and Jessie Ventura won't be on the list. There job is to establish more of a character and usually either side with the heels or the faces. Play by play guys take the lead role in unbiasedly calling. The action in the ring. Hope that makes sense, great list guys!
Lol they only allow Michael Cole to say 5 moves and if it's a different move, he says it's a modified version of one of the 5 moves. I like Cole, I'd just appreciate if he would stop with the "Ohhhhh Myyyy".
The thing I like best about Michael Cole is how he handled Jerry The King Lawler's heart attack. You can see how sad and concerned Michael Cole was after it happened.
he's great but i personally value corey and mcguinness over him there's no skill related reason why one's another than another, i just personally love corey's smartass attitude over Ronallo's wrestling-lover kid attitude
let's not forget Vince McMahon on commentary gave us probably one of the best.. at least top 5 introductions to a character we've ever had.... *Clears Throat* "THAT'S... THAT'S GOTTA BE... THAT'S GOTTA BE KANE!...THAT'S. GOTTA. BE. KANE!"
Unhindered, bipartisan Michael Cole *IS* one of the best WWE play-by-play guys ever. His work during the Smackdown Six era helped put everyone over in the fans' eyes. It's his horrible heel work, talking down to the audience, and having Vince's fist up his arse that puts him where he is, Maggle. Also, a LOT of people don't know the difference between play-by-play and color commentary, it seems..
In my opinion Tom Philips had to be #10. And I was going to complain about Ranallo being #4 and not #2, but then I saw who #3 and #2 were, so I calmed down.
Matthews was actually quite good in WWE. He called matches well and kept his ego in check. I've also heard that JR grilled him and made him do commentary over and over again until it was pitch perfect though. Tom's inoffensive as a commentator, but he has at least three flubs a show. He doesn't come off as a someone wth a knowledge of wrestling or even as a fan. He's essentially new Cole. Matthews, at the time, was very knowledgeable coming fresh off of a wrestling career of his own, and he definitely cared and did banter way better than what he's doing in TNA. But, again, that could all be attributed to JR molding him into something decent.
Tom Philips needs to be here. I’ve noticed how he always brings attention back to the action when Someone like Byron is talking about what happened 3 months ago
Dharmil Doshi I've noticed this on SD too. Corey and Byron tend to ramble off on dumb arguments sometimes (which is funny once in a while, but they go on too long sometimes), and Tom Phillips most of the time does a decent job of forcing them back to the action.
Cole at number 5 is totally deserved. No one below him has commentary that comes remotely close to his call of Mankind winning the title on Raw. Just a shame that he can't reproduce that kind of raw emotion and excitement these days, or seem to focus on the competitors the way he used to. The way he kept highlighting Foley and putting him over as much as possible over Lawler trying to talk about Austin was awesome.
very glad to see Kevin Kelly on here. His work with Corino always seemed so relaxed and realistic. Listening to them call WK 11 was like listening to two friends just discussing and enjoying a good show
Hopefully one day they will unleash Cole and he will be able to do what he obviously loves the way he has when he has been free. the UK championship showed how good he genuinely is.
I watched Scott Hudson commentate, He makes Cole look like Solie. He's a good commentator, they can't all be Solie, Ross, Raunallo, Styles... we had a period where we were spoilt.
I think you hit the nail on the head with Cole. At one time, he was truly excellent. My favorite commentary team ever was Tazz/Cole. It wasn't the uninspired binary face/heel dynamic you see on raw/smackdown now. It was a perfect mix of various elements. Their characters contrasted in interesting ways. Cole was a nerdy ruleshark. Tazz, with his ECW background, was more accepting of wrestlers "bending the rules" to get an advantage. Tazz's NYC accent and use of slang were the perfect splash of color to accompany Cole's more conventional play-by-play style. I was always hype to hear Smackdown commentary back in the day. Especially compared to RAW's commentary at the time, which could be accurately summarized as: The King makes a lewd comment about a woman. JR groans.
JR and Gorilla had to be 1 and 2 in one order or the other. I remember watching Wrestling Challenge on Saturday mornings in my teens, listening to Gorilla talking about someone getting hit in the "external occipital pertuberance", followed by Heenan's exasperated "Just say the back of the head". Pure awesomeness.
I really miss an entry for the one and only Hugo Savinovic. He is the best in Spanish and the voice (with Carlos Cabrera) for the millions of wrestling fans in Spanish (specially in Central and South America) English is not the only language, listening the comments in Spanish gives an experience that is unique. Greetings from Chile!
JR deserves the top spot! But Tony Schiavone deserves to be alongside him in the HOF! I grew up watching WCW and he was the voice for them. He is underrated.
McMahon was great in a 3 Man booth I’ll stick to my guns that 97 Lawler Ross and McMahon was the best commentary Lawler was heel color Vince was neutral play by play And Ross was face analysis
Cole’s work with Nigel at the UK tournament showed he’s a fantastic announcer when his job is to simply call a match. He deserves more credit than he gets.
"CLIMB THE LADDER KID! MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS!" As silly as a line like that should be, Jim Ross made it passionate, believable and downright epic. He represented the passion and excitement that is lost on many wrestling fans today, and I miss him on commentary dearly.
i think hes very underrated as a whole, but im still glad Mauro Ranallo got on this list. in my opinion he could be the next Jim Ross. The "Ba Gawd" of Ross and the "Mama Mia" of Ranallo, the "Austin has shaken hands with Satan himself" of Ross and the "Damn you Tomasso Ciampa" of Ranallo. both have that ability to capture, voice, and truly connect with what the audiance is thinking and feeling. a gift that is rare with play by play commentary nowadays. Ranallo has a gift, i just wish wwe would see it
Monsoon's body part references... I can only remember one at the moment, the "external occipital protuberance". What others were there besides "bread basket"?
I think NXT's Nigel McGuinness is a commentator who is fairly underrated. He's not as obnoxious as some heel commentators and his extensive knowledge of the sport greatly compliments Ronalo's energy.
The Gorilla was terrific ! And one of the most important non-McMahons inWWE history! Wrestler, commentator, part owner, genial backstage presence! There's a reason he was one of the first Hall of Famers
Mauro is a gift and is part of what's making NXT so great and compelling right now. God forbid he get called back up to Raw or SDLive, he'd be wasted there. At least until Triple H finally takes the shows over from Vince.
I would have put Mauro higher tbh. He's become the voice of the best NXT product we've ever seen and he's called 5 star matches absolutely perfectly. A truly fantastic commentator.
I've heard people say over the years that if one were to compile a list of the greatest calls in all sports history, Jim Ross's "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" would make the list.
Jim Ross was I feel the quintessential reason that wwe was such a successful company without him I don't think WWE is that Juggernaut of a business in the late 90s you need someone who can check the pulse and be relatable and Jim Ross could be relatable and make you feel like you was actually watching something worth watching and he did that in spades
As a Spanish speaker myself there is only one voice of Wreslting and that is Carlos Cabrera, Since 1993 he is the voice of WWE in Spanish(Latin America).
Can't wait for the Color commentator list. I really think Corey Graves has to be somewhere decent on that list. The man saves botched moves like babies from a burning building.
To quote part of a John Cena segment from the mid-2000s, “Ladies and gentlemen, king of the stupid question: Todd Grisham!” (Can’t remember which episode of Raw it was from. I’ll try to look that up.)
1. Gordon solie 2. Jim Ross 3. Lance Russell 4. Bobby heenan 5. Gene okerlund 6. Kent Walton 7. Dick lane 8. Paul boesch 9. Doctor Alfonso morales 10. Jesse Ventura
Just to clear it up because a lot of people seem to be confused.
This is a list of play by play announcers. Tom Phillips and Micheal Cole are currently the play by play announcers. So, guys like jerry lawler, Corey Graves and Jessie Ventura won't be on the list. There job is to establish more of a character and usually either side with the heels or the faces. Play by play guys take the lead role in unbiasedly calling. The action in the ring.
Hope that makes sense, great list guys!
TaylorTalksWrestling “Their Job”** great list tho.
Can't believe people don't even know there are different roles in commentary.
Lol they only allow Michael Cole to say 5 moves and if it's a different move, he says it's a modified version of one of the 5 moves. I like Cole, I'd just appreciate if he would stop with the "Ohhhhh Myyyy".
Heenan is/was the best color commentator
TaylorTalksWrestling a
The thing I like best about Michael Cole is how he handled Jerry The King Lawler's heart attack. You can see how sad and concerned Michael Cole was after it happened.
@Mr T lol he was playing a character calm down, literally everyone in the wwe play a character. Don't take things so seriously
I mean, we ALL know who number one is.
It's David Otunga.
nah Booker T
Charlie Wolfe but Booker T is funny.
BenWhat52 😂😂😂
No it should be JR
BenWhat52 who really is byron saxton!?!
If JR isnt number 1 we riot
Mauro Ranallo is the best one WWE currently has
Is this a debated opinion? I don't think anyone can dispute that
Agreed
MAMMA MIA
he's great but i personally value corey and mcguinness over him
there's no skill related reason why one's another than another, i just personally love corey's smartass attitude over Ronallo's wrestling-lover kid attitude
Jamie Holmes ur right man MAURO RONALO!!!
let's not forget Vince McMahon on commentary gave us probably one of the best.. at least top 5 introductions to a character we've ever had.... *Clears Throat*
"THAT'S... THAT'S GOTTA BE... THAT'S GOTTA BE KANE!...THAT'S. GOTTA. BE. KANE!"
Unhindered, bipartisan Michael Cole *IS* one of the best WWE play-by-play guys ever. His work during the Smackdown Six era helped put everyone over in the fans' eyes. It's his horrible heel work, talking down to the audience, and having Vince's fist up his arse that puts him where he is, Maggle.
Also, a LOT of people don't know the difference between play-by-play and color commentary, it seems..
Guest Friends Play Cole was entertaining during the Attitude & RA eras
Really sucks cause I loved him in the r a era
Mitchell Cole belongs nowhere near this list, and I can't even thing of 10 play-by-play guys.
In my opinion Tom Philips had to be #10. And I was going to complain about Ranallo being #4 and not #2, but then I saw who #3 and #2 were, so I calmed down.
Sebastián Baquero renello is an overrated high pitched bitch anyway ... so it dont matter, to me he should have been out of the list to begin with
@@grimreaper9477 he isn't a bitch but i agree he is pretty annoying
Guys keep in mind that this is not a color commentator list. This is a play by play list. This is why Lawler and Bobby heenan aren't on the list
Hopefully they'll do a best color commentator list too
...or Jesse
I freaking love your videos guys keep up the good work
Alex G stfu u idiot
@@H-nan604 no,you shut up,and let this guy enjoy what he enjoys
Y'all went with Josh Matthews over Tom Phillips? okay then.
The Kirby T this is what I was thinking. Tom Phillips is the best play by play guy they have right now.
Tom Phillips is to Michael Cole what Roman Reigns is to John Cena
Matthews was actually quite good in WWE. He called matches well and kept his ego in check. I've also heard that JR grilled him and made him do commentary over and over again until it was pitch perfect though. Tom's inoffensive as a commentator, but he has at least three flubs a show. He doesn't come off as a someone wth a knowledge of wrestling or even as a fan. He's essentially new Cole. Matthews, at the time, was very knowledgeable coming fresh off of a wrestling career of his own, and he definitely cared and did banter way better than what he's doing in TNA. But, again, that could all be attributed to JR molding him into something decent.
I know right he was really good in nxt
*BAHHHHH GAWWWWD*
*HE BROKE'M IN HALF*
*THAT LIST HAD A FAMILY*
Tom Philips needs to be here. I’ve noticed how he always brings attention back to the action when Someone like Byron is talking about what happened 3 months ago
Dharmil Doshi I've noticed this on SD too. Corey and Byron tend to ramble off on dumb arguments sometimes (which is funny once in a while, but they go on too long sometimes), and Tom Phillips most of the time does a decent job of forcing them back to the action.
Cole at number 5 is totally deserved. No one below him has commentary that comes remotely close to his call of Mankind winning the title on Raw. Just a shame that he can't reproduce that kind of raw emotion and excitement these days, or seem to focus on the competitors the way he used to. The way he kept highlighting Foley and putting him over as much as possible over Lawler trying to talk about Austin was awesome.
I think he's being forced to stay on a script so he isn't able to produce the same emotion when it's all BS'ed
@@theatagamer90 that's exactly what happened, there are shows where he has no script (such as the UK tournament) and he's absolutely outstanding
This is honestly one of the most important aspects of this business, and this is one of the best lists that y'all have done
When I first saw the thumbnail I was like “JR’s not dead too is he??”
very glad to see Kevin Kelly on here. His work with Corino always seemed so relaxed and realistic. Listening to them call WK 11 was like listening to two friends just discussing and enjoying a good show
Hopefully one day they will unleash Cole and he will be able to do what he obviously loves the way he has when he has been free. the UK championship showed how good he genuinely is.
I watched Scott Hudson commentate, He makes Cole look like Solie.
He's a good commentator, they can't all be Solie, Ross, Raunallo, Styles... we had a period where we were spoilt.
I'm mexican and I can tell you Carlos Cabrera is one hell of a commentator in spanish
I think you hit the nail on the head with Cole. At one time, he was truly excellent. My favorite commentary team ever was Tazz/Cole. It wasn't the uninspired binary face/heel dynamic you see on raw/smackdown now. It was a perfect mix of various elements. Their characters contrasted in interesting ways. Cole was a nerdy ruleshark. Tazz, with his ECW background, was more accepting of wrestlers "bending the rules" to get an advantage. Tazz's NYC accent and use of slang were the perfect splash of color to accompany Cole's more conventional play-by-play style.
I was always hype to hear Smackdown commentary back in the day. Especially compared to RAW's commentary at the time, which could be accurately summarized as: The King makes a lewd comment about a woman. JR groans.
"Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!"
I love Adam Pacitti .
Thanks for uploading this video.
Love your channel
Oh you.
Brilliant list. Excellent work
Mike Tenay is honestly my favorite
BY gawdddd im early
JR was my favourite commentator of all time his voice made the matches more awesome
This was a great video! I totally agree with the list.
You guys should do a Top 10 Best Heel play by play commentators
Jesse "The Body" Ventura was my favourite. And I loved it when he got into insult throwing with Vince 'Mickman'.
Cole is better than Vince makes him seem
My Favorite line: "Oh my Gawd! He Killed him! By Gawd All Mighty He's broken in half!" ~Jim Ross Aka Good Ole JR
I love Mauro’s in your face end of the world energy
Color commentators next! I'm sure there will be color all over the comment section after that one.
Best wrestling commentators
Raw: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Vince McMahon
Smackdown! :Micheal Cole, Tazz, Booker t, JBL
Be real we all knew JR was gonna be #1
“as popular as syfullus flavored water”
Bravo whoever wrote that line. Bravo.
JR and Gorilla had to be 1 and 2 in one order or the other. I remember watching Wrestling Challenge on Saturday mornings in my teens, listening to Gorilla talking about someone getting hit in the "external occipital pertuberance", followed by Heenan's exasperated "Just say the back of the head". Pure awesomeness.
Your JR tribute was ace!
I wonder how Michael Cole would rank now.
I really miss an entry for the one and only Hugo Savinovic. He is the best in Spanish and the voice (with Carlos Cabrera) for the millions of wrestling fans in Spanish (specially in Central and South America)
English is not the only language, listening the comments in Spanish gives an experience that is unique.
Greetings from Chile!
JR deserves the top spot! But Tony Schiavone deserves to be alongside him in the HOF! I grew up watching WCW and he was the voice for them. He is underrated.
Ranallo is a brilliant commentator on all combat sports. His enthusiasm at big moments is perfect, and he is not nearly as biased as rogan.
McMahon was great in a 3 Man booth
I’ll stick to my guns that 97 Lawler Ross and McMahon was the best commentary
Lawler was heel color
Vince was neutral play by play
And Ross was face analysis
Cole’s work with Nigel at the UK tournament showed he’s a fantastic announcer when his job is to simply call a match. He deserves more credit than he gets.
Jim Ross:MY GAWD (crazy moments)
Jerry:AAAHHH ( crazy moments)
Michael cole: OH MY GOD (A closeline)
And give props to Tom Phillips (Smackdown Live) and Vic Joseph (205 Live) as well.
"CLIMB THE LADDER KID! MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS!"
As silly as a line like that should be, Jim Ross made it passionate, believable and downright epic. He represented the passion and excitement that is lost on many wrestling fans today, and I miss him on commentary dearly.
JR is the greatest thing to happen to commentary.
No offense to Michael Cole....but when it terms of heart and hype commentating Mauro Ranallo is close to Jim Ross style
I love this video and I agree with the number 1 pick- N-pool
i think hes very underrated as a whole, but im still glad Mauro Ranallo got on this list. in my opinion he could be the next Jim Ross. The "Ba Gawd" of Ross and the "Mama Mia" of Ranallo, the "Austin has shaken hands with Satan himself" of Ross and the "Damn you Tomasso Ciampa" of Ranallo. both have that ability to capture, voice, and truly connect with what the audiance is thinking and feeling. a gift that is rare with play by play commentary nowadays. Ranallo has a gift, i just wish wwe would see it
Monsoon's body part references... I can only remember one at the moment, the "external occipital protuberance". What others were there besides "bread basket"?
2021/2022 Michael Cole and Pat Mcafee are a perfect duo and probably Cole's best reactions that he has done (minus sasha vs belair at mania)
I think NXT's Nigel McGuinness is a commentator who is fairly underrated. He's not as obnoxious as some heel commentators and his extensive knowledge of the sport greatly compliments Ronalo's energy.
PurpleConvict I agree. McGuinness and Mauro work together extremely well IMO.
Gorilla and the brain in my mind best broadcast team. Jim Ross best. Loved all 3
Oklahoma should’ve been number 1
The Gorilla was terrific ! And one of the most important non-McMahons inWWE history! Wrestler, commentator, part owner, genial backstage presence!
There's a reason he was one of the first Hall of Famers
As a former wcw fan I miss schiavone calling matches. Hes no jr but he deserves more credit than he usually gets
you forgot 'forget about it!' you could play a drinking game every time vince said that.
Mauro is a gift and is part of what's making NXT so great and compelling right now. God forbid he get called back up to Raw or SDLive, he'd be wasted there. At least until Triple H finally takes the shows over from Vince.
Hope you do a list of colour commentators as well good video guys
when i think of good old JR the first thing i think of was his reaction of Austin turning heel
Wasn’t lord Alfred Hayes a play by play announcer? Always loved that guy
I would have put Mauro higher tbh.
He's become the voice of the best NXT product we've ever seen and he's called 5 star matches absolutely perfectly. A truly fantastic commentator.
Jim Ross is the best play-by-play announcer in any sport in history. He’s THAT good.
Joey styles in ecw was incredible
I love the intros
Maruo’s play-by-play calling, was sometimes the best part of the NXT
Keep grinding guys close to 1 mill
But who could forget Todd Grisham and his best call: Its. Its Christian.
Before the video even started we all knew JR was gonna be 1. I’m so glad he’s back for AEW
I've heard people say over the years that if one were to compile a list of the greatest calls in all sports history, Jim Ross's "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" would make the list.
"flavorless Ken dolls"? you know, you shouldn't throw stones when you live in a glass house
Vince was underated as an overall commentator.
Jim Ross was the unnerving country accent who gave us such excitement. Who was his co-commentator? They were both so good in the attitude Era.
I dont know if Matt Striker is a play by play guy...but i like him
Edit: A huge fan of Joey Styles and Mauro Ranallo
Don't forget Joey Styles was the solo announcer for the original ECW. He was play by play, color and everything in between all by himself.
Cole is underrated. Watch his performance when Mankind won the title the first time and his years with Tazz.
I didn't know i wanted this until watching this video but could you do a list on the top color commentators
The best McMahon line is, "THAT'S GOTTA BE KANE!"
Paul Heyman and JR was my favorite combo.
Jim Ross was I feel the quintessential reason that wwe was such a successful company without him I don't think WWE is that Juggernaut of a business in the late 90s you need someone who can check the pulse and be relatable and Jim Ross could be relatable and make you feel like you was actually watching something worth watching and he did that in spades
As a Spanish speaker myself there is only one voice of Wreslting and that is Carlos Cabrera, Since 1993 he is the voice of WWE in Spanish(Latin America).
JR is the goat
Lovely words about jr adam
ADAM I SWEAR TO GOD PUTTING MICHAEL COLE AT 5 IS COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE BECAUSE IT IS YOUR OPINION
I'll be honest, I always had a soft spot for Maggle b/c of his work with Taz. For at that time Smackdown was my favorite show.
Can't wait for the Color commentator list. I really think Corey Graves has to be somewhere decent on that list. The man saves botched moves like babies from a burning building.
I despise josh Mathews and todd grisham
brock lesnerd we as a species need to grab Matthews and launch him into the sun
brock lesnerd Josh Matthews I agree with, Todd was a bit tolerable at least, not as arrogant as Matthews.
that would actually carry some weight if you weren't a fan of a piece of shit like brock.
To quote part of a John Cena segment from the mid-2000s, “Ladies and gentlemen, king of the stupid question: Todd Grisham!”
(Can’t remember which episode of Raw it was from. I’ll try to look that up.)
Grisham was only more tollerable cause he wasn't in as big a role as they attempted to put mathews in lol
Good gawd almighty what a list
1. Gordon solie 2. Jim Ross 3. Lance Russell 4. Bobby heenan 5. Gene okerlund 6. Kent Walton 7. Dick lane 8. Paul boesch 9. Doctor Alfonso morales 10. Jesse Ventura
Jim Ross is legendary
Will you guys ever do a top ten best color commentaries
Mauro Ranallo is the best today, we need him on RAW and the Mae Young Classic
Can't wait until the top color commentators. Heenan, Ventura, King, etc.
My top 5 are
5. Jesse Ventura
4. Gorilla Monsoon
3. Joey Styles
2. Paul Heyman
1. Jim Ross
Cameron Hart this vid is about play by play
My Guy Paul Heyman was a play by announcer in 2001.
Randy Orton Yes he was, look up any ppv from WrestleMania 17 to Survivor Series 2001. He was on commentary during that time.
Cameron Hart he was on commentary with JR. JR was play by play, Herman was colour
Cameron Hart yup. He was there. Sure as hell wasnt play by play
Joey Styles deserves a higher spot...maybe not his time as "WWE commentators" but just as a commentators in general, hes one of the best.
Mauro Ranallo is the GOAT of Play by play.
Michael Cole us so underrated
What a maneuver
Now you guys need to do top 10 color commentators and Matt Striker better be on the damn list