Ring Announcing Philosophy According To:
Many people wonder, "Why would anyone want to shell out money for a guy like Kevin Harvey to do what he does?" You know that's a very good question. Why would a promoter on an already tight budget give out a little extra money for my services? Hopefully the next few lines will let the fans, and maybe even a few new promoters, know exactly why Kevin Harvey is worth the money.
Issue #1: Presentation/Personal Appearance:
I'm sure many of you out there know what an ideal professional wrestler's look should entail. Usually there are tights or spandex of some kind, something made to look unique. Hopefully, there will be wrestling boots or some variety of wrestling shoe with a professional looking kick pad.
If your audience sees a group of wrestlers with no unique look to them whatsoever, they will barely respond, if they do respond whatsoever. Each wrestler on the card needs some sort of look to attract attention. If they don't look like a wrestler, then they will not be treated as one.
This same concept also applies to the ring announcer. A ring announcer should look like a consummate professional. A suit, tie, and dress shoes are very appropriate. If the announcer has a personally higher budget, then maybe a tuxedo will be in order. Whatever the case, the announcer must look clean, well groomed, and poised.
If your audience sees a radio DJ in a pair of jeans and his station's T-shirt, they will respond to him as such.
Would you rather have a person in T-shirt and jeans dressed like every other person there, or a person in suit and tie in front of your viewers? Which are the fans likely to pay more attention to?
One would think the latter.
Issue #2: Here's a Quarter, Buy a Clue:
The ring announcer for any show must have some knowledge of how ring announcing should be done. If they have never ring announced before in their life or even watched wrestling for that matter, they will likely sound like an idiot and make your show look bad.
If they don't know how the business works, they will be lost if anyone tries to explain anything to them. If they are lost, so shall be those who purchased tickets.
Issue #3: Sound:
On the independent scene, most shows are run in very small venues. There's no way you can duplicate the sounds and sights of a 25,000-seat arena in a two-level nightclub. I don't care how many disco balls, laser lights, and sub woofers you have. It's impossible to duplicate the sensory overload one might get at a World Wrestling Federation show.
Now, the question is what's one way to kick a small show up a notch? The answer is one word: sound. Wait, didn't I just say something about sub woofers? Yes, but they don't do a bit of good if they drown out the name of the character the fans are supposed to boo and cheer.
This is where a ring announcer comes in. The ring announcer must have a sound that does two things. 1: Their voice must be loud and articulate enough so fans know who the person in the ring even is and 2: Their voice must have sound that will catch attention. During ring introductions, the announcer has his or her one and only time to shine. This is the one time the fans are paying attention to them.
If you sound like an annoying DJ introducing caller number 13 who just won movie passes, you'll get a negative reaction. On the radio, people can change the channel. In the venue, they can't change the channel, but they can certainly tune out what the ring announcer is saying.
If a ring announcer has a strong voice, the fans will pay attention. They really do want to know the name of the person they will be chanting for. Lots of people may know from an independent group's web page. But, let's face it. The majority of wrestling fans are still not online. Even if they are, they may not have any idea where to find the promotion's URL, much less the profile links found within.
For most of the fans, the only experience with (wrestler) and knowledge of (wrestler) is right there in the arena.
The choice for a promoter in a ring announcer is this. Do I want the fans leaving this venue not knowing who (wrestlers) are or do I want them to talk about (wrestlers) at work, school, or the local supermarket the next day?
One would think it's better for the company to have fans who cheer (wrestler) instead of "that one guy with the black boots and muscles."
Issue #4: Inflection:
A picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, a word can invoke a thousand emotions. If an announcer can nail the inflections of certain words, they can either send an audience into a nearly orgasmic cheer or kill them right there in their seats.
Let's look at the phrase, "Here is your winner, and new (independent promotion) champion, (wrestler)." The ring announcer can hit certain words in that phrase and send the audience over the top in their reaction to a title change. Or, it can feel like any other match on the card.
Inflection is all too often overlooked. One or two words' inflections really can be the difference as to whether a wrestler is cheered as a baby face or a god among men.
Issue #5: Bell to Bell:
For every show, there is one man who is in front of your audience from the opening bell to the main event's end. It's not a wrestler, it's not (usually) a referee, and it's certainly not a promoter. Yes, you guessed it; it's the ring announcer.
The ring announcer really is the person who will hold a show together. In the highly detailed equation of what makes a wrestling show work, the one constant variable throughout the card is the ring announcer.
Who was there to start the show? The ring announcer. Who was there to introduce the new champion? The ring announcer. Who was there to give the cover story as to why a name wrestler wasn't there? The ring announcer. Who was the last person to talk to the audience and thank them for coming to the show tonight? The ring announcer. Are you seeing a pattern here?
Since this person has so very many responsibilities for your whole show, wouldn't you want someone who does every aspect well from bell to bell?
Issue #6: Heat:
In most wrestling shows, the ring announcer is the one person who will not have any heat. If they do, it's so very minimal that it will probably not be remembered by anyone but the announcers themselves. The announcer has a very hard job for heat.
They have to do the unthinkable. They have to put all the heat on everyone but themselves. More than any WWF TV taping jobber, the ring announcer has to put everyone he introduces over. If a wrestler has a solid introduction, the audience will already have a great idea of who their character is. After the introductions, it's all up to the wrestlers. But, any wrestler, no matter how inexperienced, will have an easier time drawing heat if the fans know what to call them in the first place.
It really does take a special person to put all the heat on other people while he or she sits silently, waiting in the wings to announce the match's end.
Now, how does this relate to me? I am a ring announcer and a ring announcer only. I focus on these issues and these issues only. When a person books a radio DJ to announce, they are there for one reason, themselves. They want to put their morning show, their radio character, and their stations' new shirts over. I'm not saying DJs don't work hard at what they do. I was a DJ once. I know it's not entirely easy. I do know that unless they work in professional wrestling on a regular basis, they have no clue and make ring announcing and often times whole shows look like a bad rib.
The promoters who book me look at all these issues and ultimately have to make a choice.
Do I book a DJ or another person who is not a wrestling announcer and risk having many parts of my show that need to be solid have little to no strength?
OR
Do I book Kevin Harvey?
