WWE News: Update on Titus O'Neil's Commentary

One of the hottest topics coming from Monday Night Raw last week was the commentary of the Prime Time Players, most notably Titus O'Neil. From "washrag" to "pay window," O'Neil sparked an instant reaction as a result of the seemingly unscripted, witty and incredibly humorous verbal exchange between him, Michael Cole and—mainly—Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Vince McMahon was the one who surprisingly gave O'Neil a huge endorsement after the segment, even to the point of desiring for him to be behind the booth even more.

Well, that's what we got on SmackDown. Only this time it wasn't the same.

Recent reports state that O'Neil's commentary was not nearly as well-received as his efforts on Raw. The feeling backstage is that it didn't come even minutely close. (h/t Wrestling Inc.)

Although Raw would be the preferred show out of the two to make the biggest impression, his momentum indeed stalled a bit after joining Josh Matthews and JBL behind that commentating booth.

In all fairness, I can't put all the blame on O'Neil for this one. Unlike Raw, his commentary on SmackDown seemed very scripted and restricted—something that conversely caused his Raw antics to become so popular.

Another factor that could have led to the momentum stall was that both Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are babyface commentators, which helps O'Neil take jabs at them as a heel. Both of them are also quite witty in their ripostes, making it more interesting to hear.

While JBL is great on commentary, Josh Matthews is—for the most part—by-the-book. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't give much room for spontaneity. As two heels, the dynamic of JBL and Titus O'Neil taking jabs at each other just isn't the same, and Matthews just isn't witty enough to go back and forth with O'Neil.

Do you think O'Neil still deserves another chance to be a guest commentator on Raw or SmackDown? Comment civilly below.

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