Paid Members BomberPat Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpiritOfTheForest Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 That's a sin, his unabashed enthusiasm for everything made everything seem more fun when I watched TNA back in the day. Seemed a lovely guy. Oddly, I was actually watching a clip of him this morning from a match where he coined the name of AJ Style's move the Pele (which somehow until today it had never clicked with me that it wasn't called the "paylay"! I hadn't watched footage with Don West for years now on account of stopping watching wrestling then I see that clip and hours later read this. RIP Don, he will be fondly remembered by anyone who watched those early TNA days I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 Fuck, that's a gut punch. Don West was just the most likeable guy, his enthusiasm was second to none. Him and Tenay were a fantastic duo who you could tell just enjoyed working together and made TNA exciting during the peak years. Rest well, Don. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Arch Stanton Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 Really sad news this. Seemed like a really popular guy within the business and was a bit of a cult hero to fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FelatioLips Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 Say what you want about TNA but Tenay and West are up there with the greatest commentary duos in any company. He was the perfect colour opposition to Tenay's play by play and it's hard to think of any highlight of peak TNA without thinking of his voice. A true shame he's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIDDUM_N_STYLE Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Damn it no, that freaking sucks. Bloody loved DW, his enthusiasm about absolutely everything made TNA much more enjoyable than it should have been in the early years and he and Mike Tenay were genuinely at one point the best commentary team in wrestling until they needlessly turned Don heel then took him off to bring in Taz His shilling of merch on Impact’s socials was second to none too, especially with the brown bag specials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Ahh, shit. I was a huge fan of the TNA product, from its inception right through to the end of the Spike TV era. And for a large part of that, Don West was the voice of TNA. As others have said, his unbridled enthusiasm and energy overcame any limitations he might have had as an announcer - he made so many moments and matches genuinely exciting almost through force of personality alone. He was also a hell of a salesman. If you ever saw him shilling for ShopTNA, he nearly made me buy some stuff and I have NEVER bought wrestling merch. I dunno if TNA will ever get a definitive history or a place under the WWE umbrella, but imo he was one of the biggest elements of its success over the years, and also seemingly a genuinely nice bloke. RIP. Edit: Don West selling. Edited December 30, 2022 by Loki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Gutted. Don West was panned for the first few weeks but his sheer enthusiasm shone through and, as he learned about the product and business, became genuinely the best colour guy of his time. In his day job he raked in big merch money for the company and is also one of those guys that no one has a bad word reserved for. Loved this tribute vid Impact did for Mike Tenay and Don West earlier this year. Edited December 30, 2022 by garynysmon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 Really sad news. If heaven exists, they’ve just got their greatest shiller. Probably didn’t even get past the gates before selling a few T-shirts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddymagic Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Listening back to TNA the last few years he was actually a better announcer than anyone currently doing it. Great guy too by all accounts. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted December 30, 2022 Awards Moderator Share Posted December 30, 2022 It seems such an obvious thing, to have an announcer who sounds genuinely enthusiastic about everything on the show, but it’s rare to actually get someone who can do it. Don West was that person. He and Tenay were the soundtrack to TNA for the years I watched it, and every highlight I remember from that time will have an over-excited West call accompanying it. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinity Land Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Legend long before TNA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butch2000 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 ☹️ one of my favourite announcers ever. Had that whole Lance Russell/Dave Brown feel of watching the wrestling with your mates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gay as FOOK Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Taz replacing West as lead colour was the biggest nail in the coffin of 'proper' TNA. A sacrifice too far just to desperately look and sound as much like your competition as possible. Maybe it will be dead in six months now. RIP Don! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted December 30, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Fucking loved Don. He made wrestling fun at a time when it frequently wasn't. Came at each show with the enthusiasm of a ten-year old in spite of the frequently turdtastic programming he was sat in front of. Edited December 30, 2022 by Gus Mears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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