Originally posted by PWIDuring an interview on tonight's edition of the Live Audio Wrestling radio show in Canada, Rob Van Dam announced that Joey Styles would appear at the ECW One Night Stand PPV this Sunday to handle commentary for the event.
It is believed Styles quietly agreed to terms with WWE about two weeks ago. The addition of Styles is a major piece of the puzzle for the ECW product to be presented as an authentic recreation of the company.
Thank God. You can't have an ECW show w/o the voice of ECW, Joey "Oh My God~!" Styles. They must've thrown one hell of a check at him since he wasn't exactly shy about critiquing Vince and friends.
"The way I feel right now, I'd trade my mother if the right deal came along." -- Isiah Thomas.
What about Joel Gertner(SP?) I want him and one of his poems. I miss those. On a kind of related note does anybody know of a site with all of his poems on it?
This is good news and I'm starting to get excited about this PPV.
I'm still a little skeptical at Joey coming in. Not because I don't think he'll do a great job, but I have a feeling he won't be on his best behavior should something go wrong. As much as it's branded ECW, the whole "anti-ECW" storyline reeks too much of WWE creative and I don't know how Joey would call it if JBL or Snitsky were to hit the ring. He's never exactly been a "company man" or he would have jumped aboard the WWE bandwagon a long time ago.
Am I the only one who feels that Joey Styles was vastly overrated as an announcer? Virtually every ECW match I've ever watched, he makes the product sound hokey and amateurish with his high-pitched shrieks into the mic and constant knocks against the competition.
Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I'd much rather hear, say, Heyman and Tazz call the action at the PPV.
I mean... I suppose it IS more nostalgic to have him as the announcer, and that's fine, but as It's False mentioned, what's to stop him from going into business for himself during the show and wrecking some of the less authentic ECW aspects WWE may or may not have planned?
He was always a bit overrated I realized. I used to think he was awesome, but now you look back and he really overcalled every match, with the relentless knocking of ECW and WCW. He was really Schivano-esque in his constant shilling, it was like every match was just the greatest match in history.
Of course, like most announcers his work went down when the quality of the promotion went down.
ECW was pretty lousy during its last few years and his work reflected that.
Originally posted by flairforthegold13I used to think he was awesome, but now you look back and he really overcalled every match, with the relentless knocking of ECW and WCW
He knocked his own company? No wonder they went out of business.
But on the subject i thought he was good but not great. I always thought single announcers was not the right way to go.
I've always been a Joey Styles fan. He calls the moves, he gives backstory, he shuts up during the right moments and he pays attention. I know he overreacts at times, but so do all play by play guys. I also thought his best work was done solo, but then again he may never have had the right partner.
Originally posted by CANADIAN BULLDOGAm I the only one who feels that Joey Styles was vastly overrated as an announcer? Virtually every ECW match I've ever watched, he makes the product sound hokey and amateurish with his high-pitched shrieks into the mic and constant knocks against the competition.
Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I'd much rather hear, say, Heyman and Tazz call the action at the PPV.
I mean... I suppose it IS more nostalgic to have him as the announcer, and that's fine, but as It's False mentioned, what's to stop him from going into business for himself during the show and wrecking some of the less authentic ECW aspects WWE may or may not have planned?
Heyman and Tazz are NOT play by play guys though. They are color commentators. And Tazz is supposed to be wrestling anyway.
I always thought Styles was pretty good and fun to listen to. He focused on the matches that were going on and sold them perfectly. He had a tremendous energy and eloquence that's lacking in guys like Jim Ross and Michael Cole, though Cole has shown improvement.
At the show it should just be Styles commentating on his own. I think Styles was always best when it was just him on his own in the booth. Though when Cyrus would do color he would be a good foil to the more outlandish moments of Styles' commentary. "Calm down Joe, its just a wrestling match."
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
Originally posted by CANADIAN BULLDOGAm I the only one who feels that Joey Styles was vastly overrated as an announcer? Virtually every ECW match I've ever watched, he makes the product sound hokey and amateurish with his high-pitched shrieks into the mic and constant knocks against the competition.
I'm glad I read the entire thread before replying, because I was going to say almost the exact same thing. ECW had some of the most entertaining wrestling ever in the mid 90's, but it became almost embarassing to watch it with friends unfamiliar with the product because the announcer was so ridiculous. It gave off a real amateurish sense of production, and not in the "charming" way the small venue did.
Never understood the appeal. He may "sell stuff properly" or whatever, but when he starts screaming into the mic and telling bad jokes or making unfunny sarcastic comments, I want to hit mute.
I'm for him being the announcer on Sunday so the show seems all the more authentic, but I hope he's not doing it by himself to bring some levity to the commentary.
Thanks Guru Zim. I know my User name sounds a little "commercial" but I am a true fan and I did post my info responsibly. That is just the name of my store in which we always get WWE wrestlers to show up. By the way, just as another update.