An Adamle Defense

It's the easiest thing in the world to disparage the ECW commentator, Mike Adamle. Brought in at the turn of the year, he hasn't exactly shone in terms of both interviewing and commentating on matches. It's obvious enough that he did not follow wrestling (and probably still doesn't, judging by the current standard of his commentary).

Nevertheless, the amount of criticism that has been fired his way bordered on the horrendous, so much so that despite my own reservations of the man, I feel compelled to offer a more reasoned consideration of the factors at hand.

Firstly, that he comes in from the cold to work in the WWE. Despite having had a long career in the broadcasting business, the wrestling world is a completely different animal in terms of style and delivery. While that may have seem obvious, I am merely suggesting that a transition between the other fields of broadcasting would have been a smoother one.

I doubt whether he knows that he actually wants to be a commentator to begin with. Brought in to work the interviews with the superstars, he actually began earlier in the year by introducing segments and vignettes, where his shallow depth of knowledge with regards to even the names of superstars was painfully obvious.

Nevertheless, the jump from that to sitting behind the commentator's desk is a huge leap. It is the sort of leap that would probably have been better served by others (I think Josh Matthews would have been a good candidate). More importantly, it is the leap of faith and the decision of beings higher than him.

I don't know how much Mike Adamle actually wants to be a wrestling commentator. I do know that people like Vince McMahon are the ones who decide whether he actually becomes one. Just like how Joey Styles probably didn't decide by himself to be moved to the Internet division; such decisions are out of the hands of those who merely speak the words on air.

In that light, I don't think that blatant criticisms of his commentary skills are totally fair; other factors like these should make for a more considerate take on things.

Having said all of that...Mike Adamle really does suck. I hope for his sake, Tazz's sake, and also ours, he will improve.

And soon.