Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE's Announce Team Making It Hard to Enjoy Matches

1. WWE Announcing Continues to Miss the Mark

The purpose of pro wrestling commentary is being lost on Michael Cole, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Jerry Lawler. Instead of elevating matches, they are holding them back.

Rather than amplify the stories that unfold in a ring, the trio consistently jokes around, seemingly more focused on entertaining themselves than the audience.

That was especially clear during the pre-show match before TLC.

WWE was trying to get the recently repackaged faction of Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston some momentum. They got a win against former tag champs Goldust and Stardust for that purpose, but that victory was hard to sit through.

When Stardust entered, Cole didn't sell him as being a strange, dangerous predator. Instead, he chuckled as he appeared, saying, "Look at this goof!"

Cole used that same dismissive phrase early in Daniel Bryan's career.

JBL talked at length about how much Stardust looked like The Great Gazoo from The Flintstones. He, and eventually his broadcast partners, proceeded to ramble on about the comparison throughout the action.

In fact, as the match neared its climax, Lawler was busy talking about the upcoming Flintstones DVD and wondering if The Great Gazoo would be in the film. He didn't seem to care that The New Day was closing in on a win.

When Big E and company battled Stardust and Goldust on Raw the next night, far too much of the commentary focused on how much Big E sweated. That's not exactly character development.

If the announcers aren't taking the matches seriously, then why should fans? If the in-ring action isn't compelling enough to keep JBL, Cole and Lawler from going on tangents, what does that say to the audience?

The pre-show match is supposed to act as the enticing tidbit that gets fans to sign up for the pay-per-view. The announcers didn't treat it that way, as James Caldwell of the Pro Wrestling Torch pointed out:

"

Announcers treating this pre-show match like a comedown match in the middle of Raw. Just no energy, going through the motions.

— James Caldwell (@jctorch) December 15, 2014"

This is not an issue limited to this bout. Commentary is constantly meandering from the action at hand, jarring us with how removed it is from what we see on screen.

So many matches are treated with such apathy that they come off as insignificant. Too often the commentary becomes a grating sound getting in the way of fans' enjoyment of the in-ring action.

That is the antithesis of what announcing should do.

2. King of Ladders

Dolph Ziggler outlasted Luke Harper in a Ladder match at TLC, The Showoff gutting out a win by taking risks and pouring himself onto the mat. That needs to be a recurring theme.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE can boost Ziggler's status by portraying him as a crafty, fearless competitor who is a master of Ladder matches.

The company already has a history to build on. Ziggler has won four Ladder matches in his career, going 4-3 overall and 3-0 in non-Money in the Bank versions.

Let him defend the Intercontinental Championship in these types of bouts outside of the gimmick pay-per-views. Let him go on an undefeated streak when ladders are involved.

WWE shouldn't overdo it considering how great the physical toll of these matches is, but there's an opportunity here to have Ziggler deliver outstanding ring action and thrive in a laddercentric niche.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net. 

3. Finn Balor Body Paint

WWE wisely didn't ask Finn Balor to leave his body paint gimmick behind when he came to NXT. The Irishman entered NXT Takeover: R Evolution showing off a stunning monster look with painted fangs covering his throat.

That's something Balor has been doing for a long time. The following video is a time lapse of him getting painted up with a Venom-inspired look.

He's also paid homage to The Joker and The Punisher. Here's hoping he continues to bring that level of creativity to NXT and beyond.

4. Cesaro's Best Tag Team Matches

It looks as if Cesaro is now firmly planted in the tag team division. He and Tyson Kidd have now teamed up a handful of times in a row.

As much as his fanbase wants to see him rise to the main event scene, it's clearly not going to happen at the moment. Instead of pining for him to get a singles push, it's best to sit back and enjoy what he will do with Kidd at his side.

Cesaro has proved over his career that he can thrive as one-half of a tag team. Be sure to check out the tag team excellence on his resume:

• Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal vs. The Briscoe Brothers: Ring of Honor—Respect is Earned
• The Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoe Brothers: Ring of Honor—The Big Bang!
• The Kings of Wrestling vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team: Ring of Honor—Glory by Honor IX
• The Real Americans vs. Sheamus and Christian: Raw—Feb. 10, 2014
• The Real Americans vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. RybAxel: WrestleMania 30

5. NXT's Divas Division Continues to Outshine Main Roster

Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on a tremendous show at NXT Takeover: R Evolution.

The title bout brimmed with tension. Banks not only looked to win the NXT Women's Championship but to embarrass Charlotte as she did so.

Both women executed well, created great emotion in the ring and elevated their stock.

Pro Wrestling Torch's Justin James said of the bout, "This was an outstanding match that demands a watch if you missed it." Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net called it "a match on par with just about any main event in WWE this year."

When is the last time anyone has said that about a main roster Divas match?

It's stunning to see the difference in how women are presented at both levels. Paige and Emma thrived at NXT, delivering fun, engaging matches. Since moving up, they have been asked to do a lot of benchwarming or else wrestle in two-minute matches.

As deserving of call-ups as Banks and Charlotte are, they have to be hoping that they don't get that call. NXT is where women's wrestling is treated with respect; Raw is where it goes to die.

6. Throwback Promo of the Week: The Ultimate Warrior 

As PWInsider's Mike Johnson noted, "WWE will be releasing a book celebrating the life of the Ultimate Warrior next year."

The print format can tell stories of his rise to the top of the company and his impact on the industry, but it won't be able to capture the nuttiness of his promos. Stardust doesn't seem so strange after watching the Warrior's pre-WrestleMania VI speech.

He most certainly made it hard to forget him with performances like these.

7. The New Day Needs Depth

Who are these guys exactly? WWE put them all in blue outfits, asked them to smile a lot and set them out onto the stage with little else.

If that trio is going to work, Big E, Woods and Kingston need to expand their characters. Being really positive isn't an intriguing enough character trait on its own.

They have received no reaction from the crowd thus far. You can't blame the audience for that either. WWE needs to give us a reason to care about these characters.

That begins with making the group more than a one-dimensional throwaway gimmick.

8. Dean Ambrose Can't Buy a Win 

Ambrose has had no luck when it's pay-per-view time. WWE has booked him to lose at every turn.

Wins and losses are of course not everything in pro wrestling, but pile on enough of either, and one starts to look at a wrestler differently. Fans bought into how unstoppable Goldberg was and now see Zack Ryder as a loser.

The Lunatic Fringe isn't heading into Ryder territory yet, but the company has failed to give him a single pay-per-view win since The Shield's demise.

Event	Opponent(s)	Stipulation	Result
Money in the Bank	Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger	Money in the Bank Ladder match	Rollins retrieved briefcase.
SummerSlam	Seth Rollins	Lumberjack match	Loss by pinfall.
Hell in a Cell	Seth Rollins	Hell in a Cell match	Loss by pinfall.
Survivor Series	Bray Wyatt		Loss by disqualification.
TLC	Bray Wyatt	TLC match	Loss by pinfall.

After this 0-5 stretch, Ambrose now heads into the Royal Rumble hoping not to make it six in a row. The hero has to win eventually, right?

9. Armchair Booking: Royal Rumble Qualification

Roman Reigns announced that he would be among the 30 men competing in the Royal Rumble. It's a wasted opportunity to have the rest of the field be decided by folks just saying they are in the match.

The focus over the next few weeks should be milking the drama of Superstars scrambling to get into the bout.

Competition should be fierce to get in. The process of deciding who earns it should be exciting.

Hold a 10-man Battle Royal on Raw one week, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the Rumble. Have a Beat the Clock Challenge to decide who gets the coveted No. 30 spot.  

Hold an NXT tournament, as WWE did two years ago, to give one prospect a shot at Royal Rumble glory.

Otherwise, seek out options that don't include WWE just listing who gets in or a Superstar entering by way of declaration.

10. Stone Cold on TLC's Opening Match

Few seals of approval have as much as weight as one coming from Steve Austin.

He has among the many viewers who thought highly of Harper and Ziggler's match to kick off TLC. The Texas Rattlesnake tipped his hat to both men via Twitter:

Ziggler's been giving performances worthy of that kind of praise for a long while now. Let's just hope Vince McMahon is paying as much attention to them as Austin is.