The Official Get Alex Riley Off Commentary thread

[mrbananagrabber]

Just watched NXT and, my God, talk about bringing down a good show. He's been bad before, but this time he sounded like an absolute moron.

"Thespians???" I think Renee sounded legit creeped out after the third repetition of that joke.
"The man gravity forgot? He comes down eventually, it should be The Man That Gravity Forget But Then Remembers."

Ughhh. Get off my TV.

[Slammy Award-Winning Cannibal]

Yeah I think he's workshopping some kinda lame, heelish colour role. But yeah, 100% falls flat. He can't last because he isn't any good at any of it. However, when he was with the Miz.........


I look forward to the eventual shoot interview with him because I'm dying to get his side of the story on whatever the hell happened to his career.

[Deleted]

I think this is a case where they literally have nothing else better to do with Riley, so they're experimenting with him on commentary. I would be annoyed, because to be frank he's not that good, but he'll probably be replaced in a few months so there's not much harm done. Plus, unlike Michael Cole, he actually calls the in-ring action.

["Gentleman" AJ Powell]

Say it to his face!

[Bo Rida]

Why doesn't he watch the f***ing show?
Surely the minimum you can expect from a commentator is for him to have familiarity with current storylines and characters but he repeatedly makes it clear he thinks he's above such things and has even mocked his co-commentators for doing research or for having basic knowledge (I think he said something about exams this week).
Examples are not knowing Summer was known as "the first lady of NXT" or what BFFs stood for and I think he was surprised by the roses this week although I'm not 100% sure as he tailed off at the end.

Then he makes it worse with his thespian style comments. Renee really did seem uncomfortable at times which says it all as she has an easy charm with everybody else she's interacted with.

I really hope his comments on Zayn's distraction weren't his fault as I don't think even he's that bad, it's feasible that he missed it due to the way the show is taped, I don't think anybody else mentioned the backstage attack to correct him which seems to support that.

[Amazing Kitsune]

I say give the guy a chance. NXT is the place where they are supposed to experiment with people and where he can get experience commentating without exposing himself on a national stage. If they brought him up to the main roster as the Voice of the WWE then maybe I'd see something to get upset about.

Who knows, he could learn from this experience and end up being the next JR.

[Bootista]

How about making this thread Alex Riley should be released thread. Honestly, nothing he does in or out of the ring impresses me.

[Bo Rida]

Dec 6, 2013 8:22:38 GMT -5 Amazing Kitsune said:

I say give the guy a chance. NXT is the place where they are supposed to experiment with people and where he can get experience commentating without exposing himself on a national stage. If they brought him up to the main roster as the Voice of the WWE then maybe I'd see something to get upset about.

Who knows, he could learn from this experience and end up being the next JR.

In theory I'd agree, I'm more than willing to make allowances for Renee and Tensai but I think Riley is missing the base level of professionalism and nobody seems to be helping him improve.
I can't imagine Michael Cole ever being so ill-prepared for a show so why isn't he or anybody else helping Riley follow the basics of his new role? Isn't one the ideas behind the new performance centre to help with that side of things as well as the in-ring product? You don't want people screaming in the new guys headsets as if it was Raw but the poor guy needs some guidance.

It's fine to make mistakes but he's on the verge of undermining other wrestlers and the show itself with no sign of him improving, it may be out of the spotlight to some degree but it is still and international TV show that plays a role in shaping the future of WWE so he shouldn't be put in a position to drag it down.

Like that big Riley fan in the NXT threads (sorry forgot your name) often says he should be in the ring, it would even help his commentary long-term as he'd have more experience to draw from.

[Kayfabe FAN don't want none]

f*** Riley. That is all.

[Ecks Ecks Ringout Ecks Ecks]

My brain parsed the thread title as some sort of erotic fanfic with running commentary.

More wrestling fanfics should have commentary. I can already hear Michael Cole calling an epic Orton/Cena love scene, blow by blow (so to speak).

[Amazing Kitsune]

I also imagine that title of this thread being read as follows:

JR: Bah Gawd Kang, it's The Official Get Alex Riley Off.......................Commentary thread

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Alex Riley is an underrated wrestler and deserves another chance. However, Alex Riley is a garbage commentator and should be banned from picking up a headset again. The first time that Riley did commentary, I was excited that they were doing something with the guy, but over the weeks it's become more and more of a disappointment. His first few weeks were pretty good, and were received well around here, but I think that all the good will for Riley's commentary was mainly colored by the general dislike of Miz (and his role on Main Event). But over time he just got worse and worse


If we have to suffer through A-Ry's commentary, can we just keep it exclusive to NXT (and hopefully let him wrestle on Superstars and Main Event) ? I get that he's supposed to be a color guy, but compared to others like Regal, King, JBL, Booker, Striker and even Miz, Riley just seems like a play by play guy who happens to be a wrestler rather than an actual color commentator. He just blends in too much with the PBP guys like Saxton, Phillips and Renee. He has a personality and he's funny. To be honest I actually laughed at the "The Man That Gravity Forgot, but Suddenly Remembered He Existed" or whatever joke, and Thespians was funny the first time, but then he ran it into the ground . He's energetic and charismatic and a great talker, but just can't put it all together at the announce table.

I think the fact that he IS a wrestler is part of the reason why he's being such a piece of shit on commentary. Guys like Miz and Tensai are still making regular in-ring appearances on TV despite being on the commentary team, but Riley isn't. Unlike those guys, Riley feels like he has something to prove, which is why he says the stupid, hit and miss things that he does. I think Alex Riley sees his commentating gig as basically HIS Z!TLIS, DiBiase Posse, Midcard Mafia, Jack Swagger's Topless Q&A, etc. deal; Because he IS a wrestler, he's still trying to connect with the fans and prove himself to management so they'll give him another shot. And honestly I think he deserves it. I facepalmed when Riley chewed out Tom Phillips for not defending Byron Saxton despite the fact that HE was the trained wrestler, but I couldn't even be totally mad about it because we all know the real reason why Riley didn't stop Cesaro is because WWE is intent on making him insignificant. Selfishly, I think Riley should be the one doing the announcer feuds, not Regal. Riley deserves to at least be in a position similar to Miz where he can commentate AND wrestle, even in a low spot on the card. If they let Riley wrestle, then he won't feel that need to prove himself, and he'll just relax and stop being such a little bitch.

I will always love Alex Riley The Wrestler. That guy put a smile on my face every week and I hope that one day he'll grace our TV screens with his awesomeness. Alex Riley the Commentator can go f*** himself sideways.

[ededdneddy]

Alex Riley in and out of the ring just plan out sucks

[Brickstone Kid]

You guys are nuts. I like Alex Riley on commentary and in the ring.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Dec 6, 2013 6:43:53 GMT -5 @burngun said:

I think this is a case where they literally have nothing else better to do with Riley, so they're experimenting with him on commentary. I would be annoyed, because to be frank he's not that good, but he'll probably be replaced in a few months so there's not much harm done. Plus, unlike Michael Cole, he actually calls the in-ring action.

The sad part is that the random garbled verbal diarrhea that A-Ry spews from his mouth every week would be perfect for an actual wrestling gimmick. If he were going on and on about frozen turkeys, thespians, and twerking in backstage skits with Hornswoggle, Santino, or a celebrity guest, or if he were given his own web show, this kind of stuff would actually be pretty awesome. But having him do it on the announce table during matches just ruins the wrestling product. It would be fine if he were a one off guest commentator, but not for a regular announcer. I can't even blame Riley too much because I sometimes get the sense that he's being exposed on purpose to ruin him. Since jobbing him out doesn't work, they'll just force him to turn himself into an annoying tryhard.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Dec 6, 2013 17:10:41 GMT -5 Brickstone Kid said:

You guys are nuts. I like Alex Riley on commentary and in the ring.

In ring yes. On commentary, no.

[Harry The Arrow was Wrong!]

I never got why people liked Riley. He was below average in the ring and now he's absolutely atrocious on commentary. The only good thing he had going for him was his entrance theme

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Dec 6, 2013 17:38:30 GMT -5 Harry The Arrow was Wrong! said:

I never got why people liked Riley. He was below average in the ring and now he's absolutely atrocious on commentary. The only good thing he had going for him was his entrance theme

I'll agree with you that Riley's commentary is abysmal, but as an in ring talent Riley is woefully underrated.

Yes, he absolutely stunk when they tried to push him, but that was because they tried to push him beyond his abilities when he wasn't ready. They went from 0 to 100 with Riley and it flopped for that very reason. When Riley was with the Miz, he was pretty much a glorified non wrestler. He never set foot in the ring except to get squashed by Cena or Orton or to eat a finisher. Riley never got the chance to put on a real match during his time as Miz's lackey. Not a lot of chances to improve your craft when you're just a bumping dummy. They basically shoved him into the deep end without teaching him to tread water.

But despite that, Riley buckled down and busted his ass to get better in the ring. Riley is far from the sloppy botch machine that he was in 2011 and he's now a solid hand.

Also Riley is over with both casuals and IWC alike against all odds despite the fact that he really shouldn't be. He's a former football player, He never set foot in an Indy ring, having been in the WWE system since 2007, he has "the look" and He doesn't have "teh workratez" yet he somehow endeared himself to the IWC despite the fact that he has all those "strikes" against him and they should hate his guts.

And despite not appearing on either of the main shows on a consistent basis for two years, not even in a reduced role like Gabriel, PTPs or Ryder, he's still over with kids and casual fans who really shouldn't even know who he is.

And Riley is not only over because of his theme song. The crowd rallies behind A-Ry during matches and they pop when he's on offense. Riley is very charismatic and energetic. I can remember two instances on SmackDown where he got a huge pop on a jobber entrance and being introduced to no music.

[Raskovnik]

I'm glad there is an official thread for this movement.

[klapaucius]

just fire him.