My Top Wrestling Commentators

Hi guys,

When I started watching wrestling, there were so many things I admired about the business from the hard work each wrestler put in to the storylines but I never aspired to be a wrestler (yet) because I'm small, not flexible and just weak. However, as soon as I heard the commentators day in and day out calling the action, I knew that it's what I wanted to do some day if I could - maybe it stemmed from my childhood dream to be a TV presenter or just how much they add to the matches and product. I always seem to write about the wrestlers but the commentators are just as important to me, so here are my top 5 commentators in the business.

1. Kevin Kelly
Ever since I started watching NJPW, Kevin Kelly became one of the things that made this product one of the best in the world in my opinion- I mean every time I turn on a NJ show, hearing Kevin Kelly on commentary just makes me smile from ear to ear. What's funny is that most commentators have one person that they'll have this perfect chemistry with but, with Kevin Kelly, he seems to create magic with whoever's on the team with him from experienced commentators like Don Callis to the wrestlers themselves like Chase Owens, Rocky Romero and even Best Friends. Put that chemistry and his knowledge of the business and the New Japan product with his ability to actually have fun and you've got one of the best commentator's in the world. This all means that when Kevin Kelly isn't on the commentary team, I get really sad because he is NJPW to me. I mean could probably write an entire essay about why Kevin Kelly is my favourite commentator (I mean I was so jealous when I saw people at All In commentating matches with him), but he is my inspiration and, if one day I ever get to live my dream, I want to be able to sit next to him and learn from the best!

2. Nigel McGuiness
Just to note, I'm not just putting Nigel on here because he's a fellow countryman - I actually love his commentary. For me, if I was ever lucky enough to be able to commentate, I'd feel like Nigel would influence it so much. The great thing is that Nigel isn't your stereotypical heel commentator which makes everything he does sound evil, it's the subtle things that make him the obvious heel on the team instead of just spouting rude and horrible stuff. We've got him calling Lucha House Party 'Loser House Party', his reactions to anything Percy says and the way he almost fangirls when Drew Gulak is on commentary with him. There's then this funny side to him like when he sang Prince Ali and replaced 'Ali Ababwa' with 'Ali Mustafa' and the big brother side whenever he asks Vic if he's okay whenever the fight ends up near the commentary table. I love watching him on 205 Live, Main Event and NXT - he combines personality and experience and that's what makes him such an amazing commentator.

3. Mauro Ranallo
I was really sad when Ranallo stopped doing commentary on Smackdown Live but now that he's back on NXT, it reminds he how amazing a commentator he is. I think it's his passion for wrestling and commentating binded together with his knowledge that really makes him a great commentator, which is pretty similar reasons to why I love Kevin Kelly so much. His MAMMA MIA is so loved amongst the fans and when I hear it, I realise that Ranallo is a wrestling fan like all of us watching and finds things amazing just like we do. Also, with his experience, I can imagine that he's so helpful to new talent because he just seems like the kind of guy to help whoever he can to elevate them and he's doing that with every new commentator he sits with. He is also so amazing with being able to speak truthfully about his experiences living with bipolar and how it impacts his life. He's making mental illness in sports more accessible and saying that it's okay to speak about it - he's an advocate for men's mental health and that's so important in this day and age.

4. Vic Joseph
I was a little bit sceptical when Tom Phillips and Corey Graves announced that they weren't doing 205 Live again because they'd always been the voice of the show and I linked it with one of the best WWE shows around. Luckily for me, bringing in Vic Fuentes was probably the best thing they could've done and I now can't imagine the show without him. What I think is great about Vic is the neutral, middle ground he holds on the commentary team to help be the calm voice between Percy and Nigel. He's always trying to see the good side of everyone but isn't trying to battle the other guys to get his point across, it's so subtle that sometimes you don't even realise he's doing it. Also, even without a past in wrestling, he's so knowledgeable about the product and it's great to see someone like that call the action move by move accurately as well as knowing the wrestlers he's calling to add extra information bites throughout the show.

5. Renee Young
Renee was the perfect choice to be the first full time female commentator and the only reason she is at number 5 is because I've listened to the others for a lot longer. She really is inspiring to me as a female who wants to be a commentator for so many reasons. Renee started off as a backstage interviewer because of her love of sports and slowly became one of the faces of the show even though we only saw her for a few segments a show. She then worked her way up to gain the respect of all the people in the back as well as the fans who saw her passion for the business and how her personality and on screen presence grew in front of our eyes. For me, Renee is the perfect example to show that women can be amazing commentators because she holds her ground with the other guys on the desk with her sassy personality but still inputs proper knowledge and insight on the matches through her experience of the business she's been involved in for so long.

I also want to give a shoutout to Rocky Romero for his commentary too even though he can't really make because he's in-ring talent. Romero has been on commentary for so many of the New Japan shows with the likes of Kevin Kelly, Don Callis and Chris Charleton and he has been so amazing that I can't not mention him in some way on this list. His experience in the ring and links to the NJ talent and company makes his commentary unique because he knows so many amazing facts, he can name all the moves and he is just a mix of knowledge and charisma which just oozes with everything he says! I'd definitely have Rocky on commentary all the time if I could and, even though I love seeing him in the ring, I do get really excited when I see him tweet that he's doing commentary on the live shows.

So, all I can say is that for me, the commentary team a massive part of wrestling and I couldn't imagine not having these people enjoying wrestling with me. I can even admit that I sometimes take them for granted but I've realised that it's so hard to get good commentator's nowadays... Hopefully one day, when I manage to live my dream of being a commentator, I can be as good as them and even sit next to them to learn from the best.

I hope you enjoyed my little look into another side of wrestling and, like always, let me know in the comments or on social media (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB) what you thought of this post!

Until next time,

Bye!