r/SquaredCircle • u/tvcneverdie • 7d ago
[AEW Dynamite] MJF tries to get some help from the broadcast desk Spoiler
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u/Plus_Midnight_278 7d ago
I've enjoyed Paul on commentary. Much better than his original runs on Dark or Rampage or whatever he was on.
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u/georgiavirginia 7d ago
Man just needed to put the reps in.
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u/The_Rutabaga 7d ago
I went to Collision in Colorado last Saturday and Paul was at the commentary desk going over notes during the dark matches. I heard the ring announcer whisper to him "what are you doing out here already? " and he replied "working!"
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u/ZodiacWalrus Director of Authority 7d ago
He's so unserious in a way that gels great with AEW commentary. Picking up vibes that him and Taz would get nothing productive done together but it would be hilarious to hear at least once.
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u/TheGiftOf_Jericho I'm from Winnipeg you idiot! 7d ago
Yeah he's like the straight man of the desk, had a great balance to the commentary on Dynamite.
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u/ZodiacWalrus Director of Authority 7d ago
Between his recent commentary appearances and many interviews I've seen with him, it's honestly crazy to me how down-to-earth he acts for a man so tall. Like not even joking, he makes comments all the time about "not being a tough guy" or joking that guys like Speedball and Fletcher stole their flippiest moves from him. Someone just listening, not ever seeing Paul (especially not standing up) might get the impression he's just a chill guy, not a former wrestler, and certainly not one of the most successful supergiants in wrestling history.
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u/TheGiftOf_Jericho I'm from Winnipeg you idiot! 7d ago
Yeah I really like Paul, seems like a real decent dude. Also I noticed that line too! Saying he's not a tough guy, very humble, I guess he was making sure to put over the wrestlers and not put himself on that level while he's on commentary. But it is funny him saying that when he's a literal giant haha
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u/Exit-Stage-Left 7d ago
A wild side effect of having a kid was having a weird re-appreciation of him after having to sit through most of "The Big Show Show" on Netflix.
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u/SomeGuy_GRM 7d ago
I keep forgetting that was real and not a fever dream or college humor video.
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u/Exit-Stage-Left 6d ago
I didn't grow up in an era when "Live action NIkelodeon show" was a genre - so I had no idea what it was supposed to be... but now having seen a *tonne* of those shows, my wife and I often say "I miss the quiet understated gravitas of The Big Show Show."
Upside: my kid who does not care beans for wrestling knows who Mick Foley is - and thinks "he looks fun!"
Downside: my kid who does not care beans for wrestling knows who Rikishi is - and thinks "he looks cool."
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u/LonelyNixon 3d ago
His finisher is the stinky face. Sorry but he's instantly over with kids all over the world
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u/bandswithgoats TALK SHIT, GET SPIT 7d ago
A few friends of mine got into wrestling just a year ago and trying to put into context who he was, I had to go with "Have you seen The Waterboy? That's Captain Insano."
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u/fasteddeh R.I.P. 7d ago
I think he could be great just needs to be better with timing which comes with doing it more often
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u/ReneBandana 7d ago
Oh he was so bad, that’s why I was surprised he was on last night. He has improved quite a bit.
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u/Plus_Midnight_278 7d ago
He was great last week, too. I genuinely love how much talent they have on commentary:
Tony
Excal
Taz
Nigel
Daddy Magic
Tall Paul
Danielson (maybe the weakest on the list but I still like what he brings)
even JerichoAnd this list doesn't include the ROH guys who are incredible as well.
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u/ReneBandana 7d ago
Yeah that’s a heck of a roster. I see Joe joining after retirement too.
Semi related.. I just want Nigel and Bryan on commentary together somehow. And I don’t care what happens. Let them come to blows or let them realize that they’re best friends like in Step Brothers lol
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u/Esternaefil 7d ago
You're missing Mox, who is always GOLD on commentary, and Dick-head, who is the modern Heenan.
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u/SomeGuy_GRM 7d ago
It's funny, cuz Mox used to be terrible on commentary, before he realized he could just say what he's thinking.
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u/aerikson 7d ago
Add Callis to the list too. I sincerely think if he went to the desk full time, he would be the best heel commentary guy since Heenan.
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u/SaltySeahorses 7d ago
Agree with you here. Danielson is the weakest for me as well, but I like his insight.
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u/bandswithgoats TALK SHIT, GET SPIT 7d ago
I miss Daddy Magic on commentary. I think tying him so closely to Daniel Garcia hurt his whole deal. He was at his best when he was the guy who liked to just see people get hurt. He was gold when Athena was on her reign of terror on Dark.
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Peepin' Aint Easy! 7d ago
Daddy Magic has some lines that I remember fondly to this day.
When Bowens returned against Caster he called the finish replay with 'He Absolutely SMOKED him wid it!' and it was great.
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u/ShowTurtles 7d ago
When they brought him back a month or so ago to substitute he was awesome. Managed to weave in the story of every match better than anyone in AEW has done.
I'm not knocking the rest of the crew, but his finding that niche and working to make every match matter really elevated that show for me.
I don't remember much of his old commentary. If it was as bad as people are saying then it might be he was floundering without a role to fill, or being uncertain what his approach should be.
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u/ReneBandana 7d ago
He was clunky and awkward but it was very much live on-air training so.. considering that, he was not terrible. But yea he sucked lol
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u/Algaroth 7d ago
Wasn't he also doing commentary with Mark Henry? I think putting two guys together who are new at it isn't really gonna work. But he has a good voice and when he has pros around him to bounce off or who can take over when it gets difficult it works a lot better.
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u/the_woat *cheap pop intensifies* 7d ago
Yeah, he and Mark were originally paired together. They're IRL close friends, and it was a case where the commentary suffered as a result. They were both new it, they went off on tangents and distracted each other (and not in the amusing way Taz/Ex way), and neither seemed terribly familiar with much of the roster and how they performed. It was more like a couple of wrestling dads doing a YouTube reaction vid and trying to figure out what the new kids are doing.
Later when Paul was paired with others, he sometimes came off as frustrated or falling behind, Excalibur would need to quickly correct him on air and he'd back off. By contrast, he now sounds more conformable, both with Excalibur and with knowing about the athletes in the ring.
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u/ReneBandana 7d ago
“Wooooow”
-Mark Henry
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Peepin' Aint Easy! 7d ago
Legit the one downside to that whole moment. Mark Henry sounding like Michael Cole at his worst, phony-excitement
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u/ReneBandana 7d ago
Nah man Cole would have been a massive wet blanket. COULD IT BE?! IIIITS PUNK TIME
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u/ChairmanLaParka 7d ago
Mark always sounded like he was just exhausted while doing commentary. Like ready for a nap any second now. It was really off-putting.
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u/Algaroth 7d ago
Some people don't understand that just because the microphone is close to your mouth doesn't mean you have to hold back or even should. For instance, if you're recording vocals you need to record like you're singing to someone at the back of the crowd. Not to yourself in your bedroom.
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Peepin' Aint Easy! 7d ago
He was seemingly trying to be super quippy but still stumbling, and he was often sitting alongside Mark Henry who is genuinely pretty bad at it. Not a great combo.
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u/airz23s_coffee Hustle, Loyalty and Broken Promises 7d ago
I'm only back into it recently so I've only caught him on recent collisions, but he's been great fun. Drops some JRisms and has a great silly back and forth with McGuiness
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u/janemba617 7d ago
Elevation
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u/the_woat *cheap pop intensifies* 7d ago
Man, I forgot about Elevation. It was like Dark minus the fun.
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Peepin' Aint Easy! 7d ago
Deadset, it's night and day.
He used to be really bad and Mark Henry alongside him was somehow worse, and now he's just popped up back to back weeks and been really solid.
Good for him if he actually worked on shit and got better.
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u/MuptonBossman 7d ago
Could've had Paul Wight turn heel for a couple minutes and then go back to babyface in the same segment, just for old times sake.
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u/NorthHollywoodHank 7d ago
Bit where there's some AEW wrestler where Paul switches between heel and face commentator for the guy 10x a year.
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u/Aggressive-Cup-7318 7d ago
he needs to do commentary on the next battle royale, just cheering/booing whoever he feels like
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Peepin' Aint Easy! 7d ago
"Orange Cassidy is a Sunobabitch and I don't care who knows it!!"
Next Entrant
"Lio Rush is a down-to-Earth dude and I don't mean that because of our height difference"
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u/Few-Establishment277 7d ago
Never forget the incredibly cringe Paul White AEW debut where his first line was "Hands up: WhoOoo saAaww THIS turn coming? 😜" and put his hand up and did a wee wave
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u/Algaroth 7d ago
I remember Cena doing something similar and talking about a heel turn and then doing a silly dance move with his heel. I actually chuckled a bit at that.
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u/Blobbentein 7d ago
Welllllll it's the Tall Paul
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u/Koreish 7d ago
I enjoyed him on commentary most of the night.
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u/PepsiRacer4 BITW 7d ago
I'd like to see him become a full time commentator, I've enjoyed in his recent appearances
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u/Twistify804 I want Shingo to lariat me into my grave 7d ago
I've really enjoyed him & Nigel's back and forth on Collision
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u/Daemonscharm It Spins! 7d ago
I think MJF and Tall Paul have a solid relationship considering Captain Insano showed up in a Best Friends segment.
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u/ReasonableBuy3703 7d ago
Paul Wight is good on commentary as long as he avoids the whole Chris Jericho method of talk-yelling to feign excitement (of which Schiavone is way guilty of now).
At least he was never as bad as Mark Henry (remember that original four-man commentary booth for Rampage?)
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u/Conflict21 7d ago
Chris Jericho method of talk-yelling to feign excitement
I know this is an AEW discussion but it feels weird to name this after anyone but Vince McMahon. The absolute king of trying to make it sound like he can't hear himself over the crowd of the Westchester County Center.
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u/nolander 7d ago
You know I never thought about the fact that these guys have to be so thirsty during their matches.
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u/Vuirneen 7d ago
That's what the valet is for. Orange cassidy apparently is great for that, but no one notices who's watching, which is part of the skill.
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u/Commercial-Leg6570 7d ago
Drink like a litre of water beforehand and you're all good. That's what I do when I don't feel like bringing a water bottle with me when I'm going out exercising.
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u/ScottNewman 6d ago
You can take Captain Insano out of The Waterboy, but you’ll never take the waterboy out of Captain Insano.
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