A lot of changes have been put in place since the brand split back in the summer, and one of the biggest has been the commentary teams. On Raw, we have the three man team of Corey Graves, Michael Cole and Byron Saxton with Austin Aries chipping in for Cruiserweight matches.
Over on SmackDown Live, we've got a four man announce team of Tom Phillips, JBL, Mauro Ranallo and David Otunga.
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Let's set this straight right out of the gate - that's too many. There are so many good things happening on both shows right now, but we simply can't get away from the fact that things feel way too stacked the announce tables of both the shows as well.
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You can argue that it allows every man to receive some form of relevance, but in the grand scheme of things, it's doing more harm than good.
It's one of the biggest issues in WWE right now for the fans, and it's probably the only way in which Raw are beating the blue brand right now. That isn't because they've got an all-round better team, but instead because they simply have one less person calling the action.
It really is that simple, and there's a lot of evidence to back it up. So with that being said, let's take a look at five reasons why WWE should have two-man commentary teams.
#1 Smoother
The problem with having more than two people on commentary is just how convoluted it all feels. All three or four guys are trying to talk at any given time, and you just aren't able to invest your interest or energy in everyone. When you've got two people, however, it allows things to run a lot more smoothly because everything they're saying is important.
Take Ranallo and Bryan at the Cruiserweight Classic for example. They were able to play off of each other without a third party filling the air time with unnecessary comments.
Also read: 5 Necessary changes that should happen in WWE commentary team
It gives the people watching at home time to breathe, listen to the fans reacting to what's going on and they can actually digest what the two men are saying. It can't be understated how important this is.
Onto the next entry focused around the two guys more specifically.
#2 Form a bond
When you have a multitude of people at the commentary desk, not every possible partnership receives the chance to make an impact together. There are always cross references with one partnership being favoured over the others, and it leaves at least one of the commentators feeling like the weak link by comparison.
However, when there are two men in play and no more, it allows them to form a bond. They can really start to build a chemistry which is vital in a role like this because it makes things feel all the more natural on a week to week basis.
Members of the WWE Universe will be able to tell when something like this happens, and it can only serve to benefit the overall product.
For our next entry, we go on to something that's just a little bit too annoying.
#3 Lesser catchphrases
"Vintage" this and "Ballgame" that - it needs to stop. If you cut down on the amount of commentators in play, all of this nonsensical catchphrase stuff will slowly start to fade away.
The two men in the booth will be forced into commentating on the actual matches as opposed to just going straight for their catchphrases, which is a painful exercise that we see all the time on Raw and SmackDown Live.
Fans won't get behind those kinds of bland statements because it just makes things feel like they're on auto-pilot. If you bring them out once ever so often, it's fine, but whipping out catchphrases several times during the same show makes no sense.
When the two-man team comes into effect, they'll be too busy reporting on the action to remember that frustrating sentence that Vince McMahon wants to force down our throats.
Now we go back into the past to look at some examples of successful partnerships.
#4 Track record
There only needs to be a few things said here - Jim Ross & Jerry "The King“ Lawler. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. Paul Heyman & Jim Ross.
If you weren't emotionally invested in those three partnerships then you're lying to yourselves. Any time these combinations would call the action together, fans would instantly be more interested in the product.
They were bonafide teams that knew how to grab the attention of the audience because they'd been together for years on end.
They had established a connection which, as we previously stated, was important, and they're the hard proof that this kind of attitude guarantees success. Very rarely do you find two man partnerships that fail, and these men are the proof to back up that statement.
We conclude with perhaps the most important point of them all.
#1 Identity
If you have Mauro Ranallo and JBL on SmackDown Live, with Corey Graves and Michael Cole on Raw, those two shows have an identity.
Members of the WWE Universe will tune into the red and the blue brands knowing exactly what they're going to get because much like the actual rosters, the commentators are set in stone from the minute the first bell rings.
You'll never tune in and wonder who you're going to be hearing for the next two or three hours because it'll start to feel like second nature.
If you treat the fans like they're a part of the family and welcome them in with familiar voices, then they're likely to be hooked for the remainder of the show. WWE needs to start building a legacy not just in the ring, but at the commentary table as well.
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