WyattSheepMask Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) I think it’s more to do with him no longer being a wrestler. His last match was in 2007, which the ‘casual’ viewers that they have probably won’t even know. If he was still wrestling it wouldn’t matter, but to most people he’s just some guy, some guy who looks a bit of a pillock It would be like Pele turning up to do punditry in his Brazil kit Edited December 4, 2019 by WyattSheepMask
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 2 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said: It would be like Pele turning up to do punditry in his Brazil kit Hardly. More like Edgar Davids doing it in them big glasses. The mask exists for a reason. A masked wrestler becoming a masked commentator makes perfect sense. Or at least as much sense as a white american wrestling in a mask ever makes. Maybe the mythical non-wrestling fans will find it embarrassing when they don't watch?
Paid Members gmoney Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 El Santo was buried in his mask wasn't he? How embarrassing.
Paid Members BomberPat Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 I've worked a few shows were guys did double duty - working one match unmasked, one in a masked gimmick later on. I've done it myself - refereeing a show, then entering the Rumble later on under a mask. Early on, a few of the guys involved were convinced that people in the crowd would be spending all their time trying to work out who was under what mask. But they don't. Because when "casual" fans see someone on a wrestling show under a mask, they don't say, "I wonder if the guy in the mask is the same guy who worked the opening match, or the bloke who took our tickets on the door", they just think, "oh, he's wearing a wrestling mask, because that's what wrestlers do". I don't think the distinction of him not being a wrestler any more matters in the slightest. He's still a character on a wrestling show. It's no weirder than having the mild-mannered, suit-wearing babyface announcer use the name "Gorilla Monsoon" from when he'd worked a wild-man gimmick twenty years earlier that none of the contemporary audience had seen, or Jerry Lawler sitting at ringside in a singlet and crown even when he hadn't wrestled on TV in months or even years. If someone's going to get turned off a wrestling show the moment they see someone dressed weird, they're not going to last very long. The idea that it's "embarrassing" suggests that someone is embarrassed by it. Why, what for, and on who's behalf?
Wrasslin Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) i completed fucked this post up. IGNORE Edited December 4, 2019 by Wrasslin
Mr Butternut Squash Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 Why is he wearing it? Is he a luchadore or some white bloke from Detroit? Its completely bush league. Whenever he pops up as a serious talking head during the hype videos it looks even more ridiculous. Jarring as fuck.
Loki Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 I kind of agree. I think he'd look a bit more professional without the mask. Has he really not had a match in over a decade? Joe wears a bad boy suit when he commentates, and he's an active wrestler. Be more like Joe
King Pitcos Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 The commentator wearing a mask isn’t great, but it’s not AEW’s biggest problem - although it is a symptom of AEW’s biggest problem, which is assuming everyone watching has already watched all the indies and NJPW shows over the last decade. It looks shit, but no more shit than half the roster.
Paid Members BomberPat Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 You don't need to know who Excalibur wrestled in PWG in 2006 to understand why he's wearing a mask, though. I think it does even the dimmest of wrestling fans a disservice to suggest that without an extensive knowledge of his wrestling career, they wouldn't be able to understand why a man on a wrestling show would be wearing a wrestling mask. Again, I think it's no less egregious than having "Gorilla Monsoon" on commentary decades after he stopped working a gimmick in which that name made sense. It's mad that we near constantly bemoan how wrestling needs more characters, yet a retired wrestler still wearing his mask as an announcer is apparently wholly unacceptable for reasons that still no one's really managed to explain, beyond "it looks bad". Why does it look bad? What's wrong with it?
Paid Members gmoney Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 Plus for years in WWF you had a sleazy old man in a crown commentating, wearing a suit jacket over his bare flesh. I thinks it's a plus to have a masked commentator. Wrestling is weird and it should have some weird elements. My problem with Excalibur is he's not that good, and he's not got a voice for broadcasting (he sounds like a nerd).
Mr Butternut Squash Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 He isn’t a character. He’s a straight play by play guy. Gorilla didn’t have his bloody face covered up. It’s unprofessional and bush league as fuck.
Paid Members Carbomb Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 Great Sasuke as an MP in the Japanese Parliament. That's about as far from bush league as it gets. Also, I don't see how it's unprofessional - Excalibur's profession is in wrestling, which says wearing a mask is acceptable. Don't they have masked commentators and even refs in lucha?
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 Excalibur saying "it's the Blade! The Blade!" was one step away from sounding like he was playing with action figures. He's alright at calling matches, but anything else he's the worst. Excitement, shock, selling an angle, running down the card etc. He's horrible wrestling storyteller.
Paid Members Supremo Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 Much better opening to go with now the war has heated up.
Paid Members FLips Posted December 4, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 4, 2019 I haven’t popped like I did for that Billy Gunn bit since Billy Gunn was in the Battle Royale.
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