Over the past few years, Bobby Heenan seems to be given a pass for his shitty color commentary during the last days of WCW by saying "I didn't care" the company was going down hill and he decided he'd mail it in too.
Can't the same be said for Tony Schivone. He seems to have been made into some sort of bad guy in the aftermath of WCW. Maybe he got fed up too.
The reason I am bringing this up now, is if you listen to him on the 4 Horsemen DVD, or the Flair DVD or any other match from JCP, he sounds like a completely different person. Isn't it possible that he decided to go through the motions because of the frustration he faced everyday watching the company burn to the ground?
Rusty Shackleford is just the name he uses to order Pizza with.
Originally posted by MisterHendersonCan't the same be said for Tony Schivone. He seems to have been made into some sort of bad guy in the aftermath of WCW. Maybe he got fed up too.
Screaming "THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT!!!" didn't help his credibility.
IMO, his decline can be traced at the height of Monday Nitro around 1997-98 when he became an amped-up pitchman in addition to announcer.
I do think Schiavone gets a bit of a hard time. He was never in JR's league but for the most part I thought he did a fine job. By 1999 he had pretty much lost interest in the whole thing but anything prior to that was up to standard I thought.
If you want to talk about announcers falling from grace, what the hell happened to Mike Tenay? He was arguably the strongest announcer WCW had during its dying days and yet he became totally unbearable as soon as TNA debuted.
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Originally posted by CTXIf you want to talk about announcers falling from grace, what the hell happened to Mike Tenay? He was arguably the strongest announcer WCW had during its dying days and yet he became totally unbearable as soon as TNA debuted.
Tenay, I think, is a case of being put in a bad position. He works best as the third man in a three-man booth, a guy who can give perspective and analysis and teach the viewer something about every match. He's not good as the lead guy, which is what TNA has asked him to do. He's also been paired up with Don West, which would make any commentator's life harder.
In an interview I did with Bobby Heenan he gave his opinion on Schiavone....he flushed his toilet.
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I always thought Tony had a hard time too. Sure, he got a lot of things wrong, but he was twenty times better than Rhodes and Zbysko right? I always thought Tony had a very 'professional' timbre to his voice.
Screaming "THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT!!!" didn't help his credibility.IMO, his decline can be traced at the height of Monday Nitro around 1997-98 when he became an amped-up pitchman in addition to announcer.
You can't fault him for that. He's repeating lines that he's either fed on the headphones, or told to say. He sells the moment as best he could. What about Jim Ross? For years he shit on Hulk Hogan every chance he got. But soon as he came back to the WWE, he becomes an Icon again, and Ross can't say enough about him. Does that hurt JR's credibility? No, because he was towing the company line...same as Schivone.
Rusty Shackleford is just the name he uses to order Pizza with.
I always felt like Shivone was trying to make Heenan look bad. There were times where it was almost embarrassing to listen to them because of their choppiness.
The problem (and decline) of Tony Schivone came when he was passed over as the head of WCW in favor of Eric Bischoff. Schivone had the longest tenure in the company after the whole Bill Watts/Kip Frey/Jim Heard era and assumed he would get the job. But Turner went with the brash Bischoff instead and the rest is history. Schivone just phoned it in from there on out. But as an old-school NWA fan it's hard not to smile hearing his voice calling a Rock & Roll Express or Dusty Rhodes match.
I thought that was on purpose, to imply that she`d found..another way into the building. And Kawshen`s right about Rocky being Main Event Jobber. Jericho will certainly retain at the Rumble.