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Good observation. Well said for sure! I agree with you, they do go over the top a good bit.
On the other hand, it's not their choice to do so. I have some leaked commentary notes from Vince in 2008/2009 saved on my computer that talk a lot about euphemisms and how to extenuate them instead of downplay them.
He says to say the word, "spine" when referring to the back. So, that's why you hear newer commentators that have only learned the WWE way to commentate say things like, "He just cracked the spine with that move" or like you said, they love to use the words like "shatter", "crush", "decimate" rather than "destroy", "beat up", and "break". They even go as far as saying "sternum" instead of "chest" and "gut" instead of "stomach." The jaw and chin seem to have become interchangeably too...that's one recent gripe I have at least with WWE commentary.
Their grammar sucks ass too. I'm ok with Cole saying "An Historic...", that's technically right even though it doesn't sound right. But, every last one of them always says something to the effect of, "I don't think [insert wrestler here] knows where he is at right now"...."at" is totally useless and incorrect here. They do it at least twice a show it seems like. They also do things like when they could say "darker"...they say, "more dark." I hate that shit too. News anchors do that all the time and it pisses me off to no end.
It's surprising how much less serious you would take it if they used more bland words like "beat up" and "break" over and over again instead of changing it up. I do that in any article, paper, speech or whatever I write...I try not to use the same adjective or adverb twice because it gets annoying to the reader when they see the same word in about three different contexts throughout a paper...and the same thing goes for a full night's show. They have to keep their language fresh all night long. Vince vehemently says throughout the sheets to not say the word, "interesting" all night...that is one that I've found impossible for me. But, I continue to work on it. It seems like an overkill and a bit silly.
I'm not nearly as good, but I have been paid a couple dozen times for my play-by-play wrestling commentary at live shows while doing it over a hundred times unpaid. I do the same thing ever since getting a hold of those notes, but I don't go to the extreme that Corey Graves and crew do. I just try to work my inflection and cadence more than anything as I tend to mumble a lot in regular conversation.
So, in a really long-winded way, my answer is: It's a common thing in commentary across the board in most sports. It's just taken to the extreme to help illustrate what is going on a little better. Yeah, it's preposterous...but, at this point, your disbelief is suspended so high, what's a few more feet???
Last edited by Fish (Thu-22-Dec-2016 14:27:03)
Wrestling commentary has always been exaggerated. JR did this all the time. "Bah gawd, he's been broken in half" "He's killed him!" etc. Today's commentary is no different.
What annoys me though is when some big spot happens and the commentators go into "sad mode" where they speak in a sombre, low tone that just pisses me off.
Also, Cole can go fuck a cactus for all I care. He has a whole vocabulary I fucking despise.
It's surprising how much less serious you would take it if they used more bland words like "beat up" and "break" over and over again instead of changing it up. I do that in any article, paper, speech or whatever I write...I try not to use the same adjective or adverb twice because it gets annoying to the reader when they see the same word in about three different contexts throughout a paper...and the same thing goes for a full night's show. They have to keep their language fresh all night long.
I wish WWE had this common sense.
Last edited by rhys (Thu-22-Dec-2016 16:45:13)
Thanks Taker_2004 for the banner!
It's something that's always annoyed me. Broken in half and he's killed him doesn't bother me too much - you can watch stuff on YouTube and be like "shit he's dead... nope, he's okay". You can even excuse that as a response for the times when they're just lying there perfectly still with their eyes open. Even when you see someone do something like fold themselves over a wall backwards (because they were messing around like a retard) you can have the reaction of "shit he's broken himself in half". Can deal with those. But saying that someone shin has been shattered when you can see that they're putting weight on their legs is just beyond ridiculous. It's not a normal reactionary thing to think.
Lesnars kimura lock always bothered me when it came to commentators. "He's snapped his arm in half". Nope, can clearly see that hasn't happened and would you look at that, he can still move it. Just make a comment on how bloody painful it is, it's not like people wouldn't know that it's a painful move.
Sad mode is hilarious. At times it's so stupid that I can't help but laugh. Does get pretty annoying though, but at least they don't play shitty soppy music to accompany the "sad mode".
Sometimes it's just the wording that needs to change. I think the Sasha and Charlotte one you mentioned might be when someone said that her knee was totally destroyed, as she was stumbling to her feet. Sasha wouldn't have been able to attempt getting up if he knew was totally destroyed. The wording is important, as if they could have said that Charlotte is destroying her knee, Charlotte is trying to destroy Sasha's knee, etc. All better than Sashas knee is destroyed.
The Lesnar one... Just say that he's trying to break someone's arm. It's believable. More believable than he has (unless it's legit of course as accidents do happen).
I remember Gorilla Monsoon used to love using the line that someone just "blew out their knee"...especially with Bret Hart, because he is one of the few that sold properly in the early 90's hahaha!
I remember Gorilla Monsoon used to love using the line that someone just "blew out their knee"...especially with Bret Hart, because he is one of the few that sold properly in the early 90's hahaha!
I've heard that used in recent years too. Another one that annoys me. You can generally tell when someone legit has and when someone hasn't. If you can stand, you blatantly haven't blown out your knee. Drama and all that shit can be conveyed easily without over exaggerating to the point of just talking shit.
Does over the top commentating bother you? There are times where certain phrases are said that make me laugh at the ridiculousness of it. You'd think that it's not something that would make potential fans want to keep watching, hearing such shit spouted from the commentators mouths. You hear some comments and you realise why some people laugh that you're a wrestling fan. Watching wrestling on mute is just weird, commentary is a big part of it and so when they come out with stupid shit it doesn't make you laugh in the way that it should, it makes you laugh at how over dramatic is it and doesn't allow you to take any of it seriously.
Recently, Graves seems to be coming out with the worst ones. Not too long ago on a PPV he made the statement that a move had just shattered someones shin. Shattered their shin? If that had happened they wouldn't be stumbling to their feet, they'd be crying on the mat like a little bitch not just in agony but at the end of their careers as well. A shattered shin. Fuck me, what a stupid comment to make. If only that was the only stupid thing to come out of his mouth in a bid to dramatise matches. It doesn't need that level of drama, it's just way over the top to the point of ridiculousness.
There was one at Roadblock as well during the Sasha and Charlotte match. Can't remember what it was right now, but it was another one where you just think that if what they're saying has actually happened, then they'd be stand on their own in the next few months, not a minute or two later.
Anyway, that's my rant over. How about making this a thread to discuss the most ridiculous comments a commentator comes out with each week, that leave you shaking your heads at the ridiculousness of it?