Gordon Solie

[9.0] "He wasn't perfect but his presentation style of wrestling as a legitimate contest is right up my street. Him, Kent Walton and Lance Russell.... my perfect commentary line up, people who treated wrestling like a sport not a circus."

[10.0] "THE DEAN! I guess since we can't give a rating of "Over 9000", we must settle with only a 10. He called wrestling as it should be called, he actually mentioned the names of the maneuvers. In fact, yknow the "side Russian Leg Sweep"? He invented that term, everyone else called it some form of a neckbreaker or suplex. Solie approached the announcing as if it was a legitimate sport - giving it credibility from the ground up, this importance and significance can not be understated. While it's true he only had one octave, he also was able to express disgust when a heel did something truly underhanded and was able to make the faces seem like honest to goodness super heroes. Without Solie we wouldn't have a single announcer who has been well lauded aside from Jesse Ventura. From Jim Ross to Tony Schiavone to Joey Style to *gag* Michael Cole to _____________________________. Any and EVERY announcer who is better than terrible looked up to Gordon Solie. One of the best things about pro wrestling altogether."

[6.0] "I find Solie's commentary to be greatly overrated. He's a glorified sleep aid. He knew his stuff & had legitimacy, but his voice only had one octave. No range of emotion. I know Jim Ross sites Solie as a big inspiration, but I think the two are night & day. JR shows so much passion in his voice & Solie is dull as dish water. He was undoubtedly the voice of the generation, but just because he monopolized the commentary of the time doesn't make him undeniably great."

[10.0] "Gordon Solie was the voice of wrestling. Best announcer ever. He would influence many announcers over the years. You will not get other Solie like him int he business. He was natural."

[10.0] "Gordon Solie was last of a rare breed; the serious announcer who called wrestling like it was a genuine sport. Solie's background meant that he sounded like a real sportscaster, and it was a treat to listen to. Solie was also one of the few wrestling announcers to correctly pronounce the term suplex; it's actually pronounced su-PLAY."