Gobshite
Man of a Thousand Holds  
Posts 1889
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 10:30 AM |
|
|
Lauren Mayhew = Braden Walker
quote:
According to Pwinsider.com, Lauren Mayhew, the new ring announcer that was brought into fill the void left by Lilian Garcia, is done with WWE.
She was working with the company on a "short term deal," and they could not come to terms on a longer contract. The word is that she and WWE parted
"on amicable terms," and the door is open for a return down the line. Her profile has been removed from WWE.com, and at tonight's ECW tapings,
Tony Chimel did the ring announcing.
I'd never even seen her announce, but know she was put on Smackdown because she was fluffing lines at the start of her stint. Can they not get
someone practising down in FCW if they desperately need a hot female to do this? Although I have no issue at all with Tony Chimmel and Justin Roberts
doing it - you only ever have two live shows per night, so is a third, untrained, female announcer even necessary?
|
|
|
TomS
Rated R Superstar 
Posts 477
Registered 7-7-2006 Location Liverpool, England Member Is Offline Mood: Moody
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 12:41 PM |
|
|
It's in German but this site sugggests Rosa
Mendez is being considered as a replacement?
How much faith you want to put into that I don't know... But Rosa?
|
|
|
Thom
The Rowdy One 
Posts 2292
Registered 1-14-2003 Location Not Haiti Member Is Offline Mood: Fuck Bubba
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 01:07 PM |
|
|
I think I like that idea - provided she can do the job. And seeing that she's already in the business, I tend to think she'd be fine with
it. It opens up possibilities we didn't have with Lilian. I mean, you wouldn't have Rosa wrestling much at all, but she could at least
take a bump if necessary - and it wouldn't be far-fetched for her to stand up for herself, if necessary.
Stay wet, my friends.
|
|
|
theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1273
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 03:07 PM |
|
|
Lauren Mayhew = Braden Walker?
I missed the part of the article where she gained a ton of weight.
|
|
|
Gobshite
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1889
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 03:44 PM |
|
|
I was just going for 'gone before anyone really notices she's there'...
In fact, I dont think I ever 'just noticed' her. If it wasnt for the interweb, I'd have assumed Lillian left and Chimmel / Roberts
were just doing one tour each now. But I generally watch DVR'd shows and FF intro's, so I know Im not a good judge of stuff like that.
|
|
|
Biff_Manly
Rated R Superstar 
Posts 471
Registered 6-16-2006 Member Is OnlineMood: Old School
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 04:12 PM |
|
|
Part of Lillian's job was singing the anthem. If Rosa can handle that I don't see what the problem would be.
As for the other girl I wonder what experience she had as any type of announcer before her WWE time. It takes skill and practice to stand up in front
of people and talk. Yes, some people are quicker learners but it isn't fair to expect someone to just jump up infront of 10,000 people an just
get it instantly.
"Walter: I can solve everything by making this gramophone have sex with time."
--SCSA's Fringe on Ice Holiday Spectacular.
|
|
|
punkerhardcore
The Great One 
Posts 3157
Registered 7-15-2005 Member Is Offline Mood: Lickable
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 04:24 PM |
|
|
Mayhew was pretty awful. She just didn't have an announcers voice. The first week it sounded like she was talking normally, then every week
after that you could tell she was trying to have some kind of captivating voice, but sounded like she was still talking normally but straining too
hard.
Is everyone mad here?
Of course they are, and you are too... otherwise, you wouldn't have come here.
--MySpace makes me way cool too.
|
|
|
Psycho Penguin
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 88
Registered 6-30-2002 Location Greenacres FL Member Is Offline Mood: No Mood.
|
| posted on 11-25-2009 at 05:59 PM |
|
|
They've had Tiffany and Angela doing it in FCW for a while.
Did I miss no one realizing Braden Walker was there? The dude was a legend from day 1.
[Edited on 11-25-2009 by Psycho Penguin]
|
|
|
Baron
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 53
Registered 2-19-2002 Member Is Offline Mood: No Mood.
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 01:55 AM |
|
|
I prefer Justin Roberts over all of them. That guy can make anything sound good.
Justin could announce to new parents that they've got a new baby boy and it would be amazing.
That man is the best ring announcer since Finkle, dare I say he is BETTER than Finkle.
|
|
|
FistHiccups
Showstopper
Posts 943
Registered 6-27-2007 Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 03:29 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore
Mayhew was pretty awful. She just didn't have an announcers voice. The first week it sounded like she was talking normally, then every week
after that you could tell she was trying to have some kind of captivating voice, but sounded like she was still talking normally but straining too
hard.
She also fucked up several announcements because she clearly didn't have a clue about wrestling in general or any of the guys she was
announcing. I think her announcing kind of sounded like the flat, lifeless studio job Lillian did for the videogames every year.
|
|
|
theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1273
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 04:17 AM |
|
|
Who cares? It's not like announcing takes anything remotely resembling talent and skill. All it takes is a nice voice and the ability to read,
and if you could look pretty while doing it, well that's just gravy.
I mean, this chick must have been really terrible to get shitcanned if Lillian could stay around for so long even with all her mistakes and that horse
face.
|
|
|
LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW 
Posts 11264
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is OnlineMood:
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 04:48 AM |
|
|
As the article said she wasn't "shitcanned" and it wasn't a performance issue. She was working on a short term deal, clearly a tryout
situation, and the two sides couldn't agree to a long term deal. Most certainly money based and probably at least in part due to her
performance or need to be trained and her desire to not be locked in to a poor paying job. But this is very quickly evolving into one of those "I
didn't read the one paragraph" stories where she was fired within weeks for being so terrible at her job in a way that reminds us of Braden
Walker's momentous performance and in a truly inspiring way since even Lillian couldn't get canned for her infamous flaws when she
started.
Personally, ring announcing is just about the last thing I give a crap about just slightly above "proper ring bell ringing." Clear guffaws stand
out, of course, just like I'd notice if the ring bell guy just started randoming ringing it mid match, but Howard Finkel and Michael Buffer
never in one little way contributed to me enjoying anything. Get someone with the proper speaking skills and poise to not blow lines on the stage,
and sure, make her pretty. If you don't I'll just mock her but if you do the only good that will come out of it is that I won't be
distracted from the ACTUAL product and performers.
|
|
|
Chris Is Good517
Posts 7715
Registered 1-10-2002 Location Little Rock, AR Member Is OnlineMood: OMG #1 Poster!
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 04:58 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by LuckyLopez
Personally, ring announcing is just about the last thing I give a crap about just slightly above "proper ring bell ringing." Clear guffaws stand
out, of course, just like I'd notice if the ring bell guy just started randoming ringing it mid match, but Howard Finkel and Michael Buffer
never in one little way contributed to me enjoying anything. Get someone with the proper speaking skills and poise to not blow lines on the stage,
and sure, make her pretty. If you don't I'll just mock her but if you do the only good that will come out of it is that I won't be
distracted from the ACTUAL product and performers.
A-fucking-men. If there are two things I cannot figure out why anyone gives an ounce of a shit about its ring announcing and referees. I get why
everyone gets warm nostalgic fuzzies about Howard Finkel but come on.
The OOficial 2009 Poster of the Year!
|
|
|
LuckyLopez
Reeks of WCW
Posts 11264
Registered 2-13-2003 Member Is OnlineMood:
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 05:10 AM |
|
|
Referees I can at least kinda understand since a genuinely lacking ref can screw up the match. Realistically the guy has to stay out of the way and
still be there when he needs to be, and that takes some level of skill and training. And given that they presumably have some level of responsibility
relaying messages from backstage to the wrestlers or helping clean up mistakes then they probably do have some legitimate contribution on making a
match what it is that we just don't see.
Not that I can tell the difference between an "adequate" referee and a "good" one. I'll just notice if he's staring at the
interference he's supposed to miss or the cadence of his counts constantly changes mid match or if it takes him 3 seconds to start the damn
count.
Which again, is all saying that these guys can only bring negative quality to the matches from my standpoint. A bad referee can take me out of the
match just like a bad ring announcer could force me to focus on his/her mistake. They're just bit parts that if done right should be invisible
and if done wrong shouldn't really be anything more than a distraction.
|
|
|
blackdragon
The Great One 
Posts 3377
Registered 11-9-2003 Member Is Offline Mood: Awesome
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 11:12 AM |
|
|
Remember that ref that used to throw his legs in the air all spastic like when he did his three counts? That was distracting as fuck.
|
|
|
Paddlefoot
Posts 657
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Circus Of Gay Member Is Offline Mood: F'd N Da A
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 12:09 PM |
|
|
Slick Johnson owns, especially when he wears the track shorts and uses the whistle.
I believe that some time ago, OOsters were referring to one of the refs as "Referee McDoucher", or some such thing. Who was he and what did he do to
get everyone honked off at him?
Now proudly using his 1985 high school year book photo as his avatar: I am the Lolrus, goo-goo-ga-joob!
The middle of the road is all the usable surface. The extremes of left and right are in the gutters. - Dwight David Eisenhower
|
|
|
TomS
Rated R Superstar
Posts 477
Registered 7-7-2006 Location Liverpool, England Member Is Offline Mood: Moody
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 12:34 PM |
|
|
I was thinking of the very same guy as I have NO idea who they were on about. Generally the only time I notice refs is when they take too long to get
into position for a count.
|
|
|
PyroFalkon
And I am AWESOME
Posts 244
Registered 11-17-2004 Location Xenia, Ohio Member Is Offline Mood: Squishy
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 04:22 PM |
|
|
Referee McDoucher is John Cone. I didn't realize anyone actually used that phrase outside of my recaps.
The reason I couldn't stand him is because of the exact reasons Lucky spoke of: the dude just didn't do any basic movements without being
way over-exaggerated with his movements. I distinctly remember one match where the guys made the pin, and Cone slid "into position" so fast that he
slipped out of the ring as he was making his 1-count. So, he kinda reset himself, then made the attempted 3-count from outside the ring and slapping
the mat. He also couldn't just STAND THERE when the action was going on; he always paced back and forth. For whatever reason, he always seemed
even more hyped whenever he was doing a divas match.
Cone himself admitted on WWE.com, in a roundabout way, that he's always got a little extra bounce that he doesn't need to have. I noticed
they've removed the line from the interview (I looked him up when I started using the moniker just so I knew what his real name actually was),
but it was something along the lines of "It's hard not to have so much extra energy when you're excited about being in a WWE
environment."
It was never a huge deal, it was just obscenely distracting. I made it my mission to call him "Referee McDoucher" whenever he annoyed me, but the
thing is, after like three months of shows, all his annoying traits slowed way the hell down, and now he's pretty much as invisible as the rest
of them. I don't think I've called him that in a good six months, maybe more.
Here's the guy, if anyone cares: http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwereferees/johncone/bio/
Spreading the HATRED since 1982.
|
|
|
chewey
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 85
Registered 6-17-2008 Location Baltimore, MD Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 06:26 PM |
|
|
Of course referees are very important in every match. But not in ways that we'd notice. I think more of that "Professional Wrestling Secrets
Revealed" show from the late 90s that shed light on the fact that referees help the flow of the match by communicating spots between wrestlers when
they aren't holding each other in headlocks. I wonder if some really experienced referees even get to help call a match between two
inexperienced wrestlers? Especially if the referee is a former wrestler himself like Steve Armstrong?
But yeah, as far as sentiment for established referees goes, do I miss referees like Earl Hebner, Tim White, or Nick Patrick? Not really.
"Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same."
--Bodie, HBO's The Wire
|
|
|
cardscott5
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 61
Registered 6-28-2007 Location wherever god takes me Member Is Offline Mood:
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 08:00 PM |
|
|
There is one referee that bothers me because he counts differently when the person is going to kick out and when the match is over, and I think
it's overtly distracting. It's the ref who got the concussion at Survivor Series. Even then, it's not like he does it all the time,
it's just the times he does it I recognize him and go 'oh it's that jackass.'
|
|
|
TomS
Rated R Superstar
Posts 477
Registered 7-7-2006 Location Liverpool, England Member Is Offline Mood: Moody
|
| posted on 11-26-2009 at 11:18 PM |
|
|
I think that's Scott Armstrong you're talking about there.
|
|
|
theflammablemanimal
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1273
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: missing his ava
|
| posted on 11-27-2009 at 03:19 PM |
|
|
The only time a referee made a match better for me was during that Angle/Benoit Rumble match. This guy was just dripping sweat from all the pinfalls
and it just made me appreciate the pace of the match even more that this guy was killing himself just reffing it.
|
|
|
Martman
And I am AWESOME
Posts 203
Registered 7-27-2005 Member Is OnlineMood:
|
| posted on 11-27-2009 at 03:24 PM |
|
|
quote:
That man is the best ring announcer since Finkle, dare I say he is BETTER than Finkle.
I think ring announcing is important in terms of the visual and production values. It can really make the difference, at least IMO, as to how the
arena/show/company come across on the screen.
And while Justin Roberts is the best announcer they have right now, he is in no way, shape, or form, better than Howard Finkel.
|
|
|
