Attending a live wrestling event is an awesome experience. Feeling the energy in the arena as thousands of fans watch in anticipation makes for a unique view of any wrestling event. However, while attending a live event, fans miss out on one of the most important parts of the pro wrestling presentation, the commentary.
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Hall Of Fame announcer Jim Ross has often compared announcing to providing lyrics for the music being played inside the ring in the form of a match. Throughout its history, WWE has housed some of the greatest commentary duos of all time. Some have gotten their due praise while a couple of other tandems remain underrated.
10 Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler
Michael Cole has spent the majority of his WWE career in the shadow of the legendary Jim Ross. This made it extremely difficult for fans to appreciate Cole's greatness as a play-by-play commentator. For years, every word out of Cole's mouth was criticized by fans because of their unwavering support for Ross.
One of Cole's best-announcing partners was Jim Ross' longtime partner, Jerry "The King" Lawler. Cole and Lawler were the commentary duo for SmackDown throughout the Attitude Era. In 2008, Cole replaced Jim Ross alongside Lawler as "the voice" of Monday Night Raw. While their pairing on Raw wasn't well received by fans, Cole and Lawler's previous work on SmackDown still holds up today.
9 Vince McMahon & Randy Savage
As a promoter and businessman, Vince McMahon was unmatched. As a play-by-play announcer though, McMahon had mixed results. As a professional wrestler, "Macho Man" Randy Savage is undoubtedly one of the best performers ever. Like McMahon though, Savage's work as a commentator could be lacking at times.
For whatever reason though, as a team, McMahon and Savage just worked. Perhaps it was the energy that both men brought to the commentary desk or perhaps their unique voices. Regardless, McMahon and Savage on the call made the first year and a half of Monday Night Raw feel special and important. Unfortunately, Savage would leave WWE in 1994 and never do full-time announcing again.
8 Michael Cole & Tazz
As long as Michael Cole sat next to Jerry "The King" Lawler doing play-by-play commentary, he was always going to be compared to Jim Ross. Luckily for Cole, in 2001, during Lawler's hiatus from the company, he got to try out a few different partners. One of the color commentators Cole meshed well with was former wrestler, Tazz.
Tazz would eventually land a full-time gig as a color commentator for SmackDown when the brand split started in 2002. Cole and Tazz would announce some of the biggest matches and moments in SmackDown history until 2006 when Tazz moved over to ECW.
7 Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura
For many wrestling fans, Jesse "The Body" Ventura was the original heel color commentator in wrestling. Likewise, for many fans, Gorilla Monsoon was the original clean-cut, classy play-by-play announcer. For many Golden Era fans, the commentary tandem of Gorilla and Jesse can't be topped.
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After all, Gorilla and Jesse were the commentary team for five out of the first six WrestleMania events. They also hosted Prime Time Wrestling together for a couple of years before Jesse was replaced by Bobby Heenan. Gorilla and Jesse were a great duo which is impressive considering that they weren't even each other's best commentary partners.
6 Michael Cole & Pat McAfee
In 2008, when Michael Cole replaced Jim Ross as the play-by-play commentator on Monday Night Raw, fans' opinion of Cole drastically changed for the negative. To be fair, Cole was often shackled by Vince McMahon's instructions via his headset. In 2021 though, Michael Cole was reinvigorated by his new commentary partner, Pat McAfee.
McAfee brings contagious energy to the announce desk that fans simply cannot ignore. McAfee's energy coupled with McMahon's departure from the company has helped jumpstart Michael Cole's career renaissance. Cole has been arguably doing the best work of his career of late and McAfee is a big reason why.
5 Jim Ross & Paul Heyman
When Monday Night Raw became must-watch television in the late 90s, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were on top of the world. In 2001 however, things would change when Lawler abruptly left the company in protest over the firing of his then-girlfriend, Stacy "The Kat" Carter. Lawler's departure left a seemingly unfillable spot open at the commentary desk alongside Ross. Enter, Paul Heyman.
The former ECW head honcho would seamlessly fit into Lawler's old spot. Eventually, when The Invasion angle happened, Heyman would be the perfect mouthpiece on commentary, opposing Ross' pro-WWE announcing. Ross and Heyman's pairing only lasted a few months but they're still considered one of the best commentary tandems ever.
4 Michael Cole & JBL
Micheal Cole is a great example of just how difficult it is to replace a member of a beloved commentary team. Cole fought an uphill battle for years to escape the long shadow cast by Jim Ross. John Bradshaw Layfield didn't have that issue when he replaced Tazz alongside Cole on SmackDown in 2006. For some reason, Cole and JBL clicked off the bat.
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Cole played the perfect babyface commentator opposite JBL's biased heel role. JBL would resume his wrestling career in 2008 but would eventually make his way back to the commentary desk after once again retiring in 2009. Cole and JBL would go on to announce together again for several years but perhaps nothing will beat their initial run together in 2006.
3 Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
Jesse "The Body" Ventura was far from pro wrestling's first heel commentator. However, due to his incredible work during WWE's Golden Era, Jesse is widely viewed as the first true heel commentator to leave his mark on the sport. At the time, Vince McMahon was the silent owner of WWE and a play-by-play commentator.
McMahon and Jesse would end up making a fabulous team when they commentated together. The pair would mostly team up during Saturday Night's Main Event, calling some of WWE's most memorable moments. In 2009, McMahon and Jesse reunited to announce a Battle Royal on MondayNightRaw. The pair didn't miss a beat reprising their old chemistry with Jesse repeatedly throwing verbal jabs at McMahon.
2 Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler
Every generation of pro wrestling has a definitive voice. In the 80s, depending on where you grew up, the voice of wrestling was either Gorilla Monsoon, Lance Russell, or Gordon Solie. In the late 90s, Jim Ross cemented himself as the voice of wrestling for his generation. Ross and his partner Jerry "The King" Lawler were on the call for some of The Attitude Era's greatest moments.
They remained a tandem on WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw, until 2008 when Ross was surprisingly moved to SmackDown. Ross and Lawler would reunite a few times after that but their peak will undoubtedly always be their run together during the late 90s and early 2000s.
1 Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan
Some fans, especially younger ones, consider Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler to be the greatest commentary duo ever. While Ross and Lawler certainly have a rightful claim to that title, Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan will always be the gold standard of commentary duos. Gorilla and Heenan were the first set of announcers that transcended the commentary position.
Despite being labeled the "hosts" of Prime Time Wrestling, Gorilla and Heenan were the stars of the show. The duo didn't announce as many WrestleManias together as Gorilla and Jesse Ventura but their work on WrestleMania 7 & 8 is hard to top. Their constant bantering inspired generations of announcers that came after them, as they all aspired to match the legendary duo's chemistry and success.
