Excalibur

[4.0] "Clearly knows ball. Clearly. Also is a guy who does not know when to shut up. I know he has made it a joke about himself and I think he outta be a decent guy to take it in such stride. Like homie I don't want to hear about your crush on Kyle Fletcher amidat an interesting match I was having a great time and then I did the mental math like, aw man that age gap is bad excaliber why did you say that. He has at least one monent like that, amidst an excellent match, per show. Perhaps not as strange but, surely distracting even afteyears of getting used to him. His style doesn't elevate matches and as much as he knows, his expertise does to me come off as a little too inside baseball for me. I believe it does hurt storylines at times as well when needless personal anecdotes are thrown in like, it's AEW, most of these guys have run the indie circuit. I don't give one shit what bingo hall you called a match for them in 15 years ago. He always does that and it drives me insane. Oh well, he seems a nice fella and I don't want to see him lose his job or anything, I think there is a decent balance between him Taz and Tony as the main team. He works well when he is calling the moves inside the ring and leaving the other two to add the spice, same goes for Nigel, or even Paul Wight. He has a role to play here but its often overextended and I hate to say does affeft my enjoyment of the show at times."

[7.0] "Gets a lot of stick, much of it gratuitous, as he's a very solid main commentator. Conveys the story naturally without excessive drama and an extensive knowledge of moves and holds. Even when he's rebranding stuff like Manhattan Drop and avalanche bumps. Clear at times early AEW that a phoning it in JR didn't think that much of him, he's infinitely better than the main PbP guy on the other side and much less of a sap."

[8.0] "AEW's Michael Cole, not flashy, not the best commentator in the world, but the most reliable out of the bunch. Being one of the OG owners of PWG gives him alot of experience, which can be seen when he comentates. He is the voice of product placement unfortunately, which is why some people are going to hate him, but I digress. Really reliable."

[4.0] "Can do the job alright, but honestly he takes me out of matches. Doesn't always put focus on the psychology of the match first because he too busy making sure you know that he knows the name of every move. Also doesn't always seem invested in what he's calling. Lacks gravitas as an announcer. The mask doesn't bother me, but I don't see why it's important for him to keep it on. Too each their own I guess."

[7.0] "Really want to like this guy, he has such a good voice, he, at times, consistently corrects himself when he misspeaks. Very fixable, but he's so good and with the action"

[7.0] "Seems a very knowledge and passionate guy, by no means the best commentator in wrestling history or anywhere near it but decent enough and I don't find him offensive like some seem to. I think he's good at explaining the stories in AEW and I like that he mentions things that happened in AEW's history even if its way back in 2020 or something which adds more depth. Solid 7 for me."

[5.0] "As a wrestlers, none of his work stood out to me outside of his tag team with Beef Wellington in CZW, this is also the most promo time I've ever seen him given. It wasn't the funniest thing I've ever seen, and it certainly wasn't the best wrestling, but it was solid and added variety to a year of CZW that was all about variety. As a commentator, I will not be as harsh on him as some other people. Early PWG commentary was an afterthought, you actually had to go to the second audio track to hear it. The default was no commentary. This was full of a lot of silly side tangents and roasting the PWG regulars. But when PWG became THE super indie I think he actually did a really good job. Much like his tag team with Beef Wellington, when given something to work with he matched its energy and got on it's level. Which is why I think his AEW commentary is poor. The AEW house style is hard, if not impossible to call. Someone can get dropped head first on the apron and you don't know if this is a pivotal part of the match or something they're going to ignore a few seconds later. All you can really do is yell "holy shit that guy got dropped on his head" and that's what Excalibur does. I also have to assume when he rapid fire lists off upcoming shows and matches that's a production issue where he's given too many things to talk about without enough time and not a delivery choice he is making."

[8.0] "I never saw him wrestle so this is based on his commentary. He is no worse than other announcers who dance on the table and generally do everything they can to draw all the attention. He's as knowledgeable as Mike Tenay and equally as affable."

[2.0] "im not into excalibur at all i very much dislike the way he has come to introduce people with "oh i fought so and so in basement in 1997! " rewatching the old aew he didnt have that and he wouldnt just ramble on if that excalibur was still on TV that would be great but sadly its not which is why my rating is so low to me he has go away heat with me anyway, where i will give him credit is he does know his stuff hes very smart on the bussiness i just dont think its in a way where he should be the main commentator on the show, i feel thats where old aew worked as he was the secondary guy with Ross being the front guy."

[10.0] "My favorite play by play/commentator in the business. Been listening to him since PWG and is the perfect voice for AEW. Excalibur brings ton of knowledge, excitement and fun to the pro wrestling world. Also, adds a hip look to the commentary desk by being one of the few pro wrestling commentators to rock a lucha mask echoing back to his own days as a professional wrestler."

[6.0] "In terms of calling it in ring, he's great. He knows the name of moves and he understands the history of pro wrestling, which is helpful for casuals but recently it's like "If you don't know, I won't explain it." In 2021 though, he explained the history really well and I think that people don't give him credit for how much he knows about wrestling. But he doesn't call storytelling, he calls moves, he can explain storys well but doesn't call out callbacks, doesn't call out the subteltys, the nuiance's. That's the one thing that he can't do and that can really hurt a match."

[8.0] "Pretty unfair hate towards Excalibur. The guys knows his stuff, he was a big part of PWG, so yeah I think he deserves to be here, and not only because he is friends with the Bucks or some stuff I saw. I agree he can improve on some details, especially by bringing nuances to his style when it's needed, or to be at the level of the big events happening on the shows. Other than that, I think he is solid."

[9.0] "Excalibur was good as an announcer and has grown excellent in recent years. I find that he has a tremendous ability to remain neutral in matches and is quite great at presenting the match. He has something on the table to get to when it comes to selling grave moments, but he's truly very very good at being a play-by-play commentator."

[10.0] "Probably my favorite commentator of all time. Some of the negatives that I'm reading here are positives for me. The joking around with Taz and Tony makes the commentary for me. Man in the mask is great. Never saw him wrestle so can't comment on that."

[2.0] "Like many, I only know him as AEW's announcer, but man do I not like him. His tone is not professional, he jokes around in the booth with Tony and Taz, brings out the worst in both of them, and sounds like a Mark dubbing over video tapes in his basement. Kevin Kelly and Ian Riccaboni do such a night and day different job than this joker. It's embarrassing to watch AEW because of how he sounds and what he says. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I want someone with actual broadcast experience on there, and not some guy, which is who this guy is. I'll take Michael Cole or whoever over this guy any day. Very hard to take AEW serisously when he is on the mic."

[8.0] "I am rating him purely for his commentary as I don't recall ever watching him wrestle. He is as far as I am concerned the voice of AEW and fits perfectly with what the promotion is about. He is not going to give you many iconic calls or feel like part of the family like some of the commentators from the territory days are but for what he aims for he delivers very well."

[1.0] "While his knowledge of wrestling is impeccable, but to me, he just comes as a big smartass, which is one type of person no one wants to be around. And I often hate how he screams signatures/finishers as they happen, it gets very annoying."

[7.0] "As a wrestler, solid enough and had a pretty good match with Super Dragon years ago, but didn't really leave much of a mark, of course, other than that infamous line. As a promotor on the other hand, a really important centerpiece of PWG, his ideas and vision of indie wrestling has helped to put many of the wrestlers that would become the main characters all around the world on the map in the 2010s, that no one can doubt. As a commentator, it's true that he is always complimented as "knowledgeable" and "an encyclopedia of wrestling moves". Unfortunately, his play-by-play commentary follows very tightly to a pattern, whether it's the "1, 2, noooo" or specific phrasing. He leans into the witty/smarky persona far too deep, especially when he explains a lore/date in a very fast manner, which is a great piece of information but at the wrong time. Unfortunately, his flaws are amplified because he has to do everything at the booth, calling the moves - advertising the shows - explaining stories, since JR and Schiavone are too old for that (Tony is getting better at it, it's really just a bad team dynamic thing). He would be great as a side piece instead when hopping in when needed. Basically, he talks too much, he never shuts up. He's still good though."

[4.0] "I've never seen the appeal of Excalibur as a commentator. No doubt he is knowledgeable but he expects all the viewers to be the same which is incredibly counterintuitive to attracting new fans on a national TV show. AEW leans way too much into the insider fan tropes and Excalibur is arguably the worst one for it. He also has the bad habit of overloading the viewer with so much information that it's almost impossible to absorb any of it. If someone reigned him in and made him aware of his environment then he could be a decent commentator but when he's allowed to run amok it's generally more bad than good."

[9.0] "Excalibur is one of these great commentators that combines wrestling information/history and a great sense of humor based on puns and everything and that's making the show easy to watch."

[10.0] "A great wrestler, a great commentator and key man to the success of PWG. I've always been very impressed with his work!"

[9.0] "Very passionate guy for this industry since day one. One of the most valuable non-wrestler persona for whole AEW."

[10.0] "For me, Excalibur is the best commentator in history of Professional wrestling, aew is really lucky to have Excalibur, he has a great voice."

[10.0] "In my opinion the best commentator in the game right now. Great voice, cadence, intonation, is basically an encyclopedia on pro wrestling, can get you hype as hell. And it's funny seeing a dude all formal with a suit and everything but wearing a rubber mask."

[10.0] "Excalibur is a fantastic commentator-- great energy, voluminous knowledge about pro wrestling, and he's got a great sense of humor. Sometimes has trouble clicking with a partner because he's too clever for them and they can't keep up, but he usually can establish a good rapport regardless. Definitely one of the best in the business and I don't know where AEW would be without him."

[10.0] "No idea how good a wrestler he was (this site really needs to have separate profiles for people who wrestled but then go on to have more prominent non-wrestling roles in my opinion) but as a commentator he is one of the best. His knowledge of wrestling is absolutely insane!"

[10.0] "He should just take the mask off at this point. No reason to wear it. The best announcer in wrestling and barring any disasters he will be the top guy in announcing for many decades to come."

[5.0] "He speaks way to fast trying to rush 15 matches coming up later while failing to actually call the match in the ring. It's become almost a game with him and Tony to see how fast he cram as much information into a 30 second spot. It's incredibly irritating and off puting. The best thing about having Ring of Honor in AEW is having Ian Riccaboni call the play by play. Ian is the best play by play commentator in the United States."

[9.0] "Rating him solely on commentary. He's phenomenal. Informative, funny and articulate. When business is serious he talks up the guys and comes with the stats. But on Dark he can relax and joke too."

[7.0] "I better know him for his commentary. I surprised to know he's also a legend and legendary coach. In my eyes he is nt bad, and an above average star."

[10.0] "I'm pretty sure I can say that Excalibur is the best American Play-by-Play Commentator going around today, and that's something that's difficult to obtain. Not difficult because the abundance of good commentators but by the absence of them. It really feels like Excalibur is a glimmering shining light when there are barley any play by play guys you might consider to be at least "decent". But Excalibur is not just as good as the times are now, but he's been as good as I've first heard him years ago. I think wrestling commentators are either really old or they have a bland stuffiness to their voice that has zero passion or concern for the wrestling they're calling. Excalibur reminds me a lot of Mike Tenay in his knowledge about pro wrestling, feeling like a genuine fan of the sport. But he also reminds me of Mike Tenay when Tenay had Don West at his side, but the bonus with Excalibur is that his voice carries his enthusiasm without having the color guy losing his mind beside him. He has Tony Schiavone there and Tony always sounds like he's having the time of his life, but he doesn't really factor Excalibur's commentary one way or the other. And Jim Ross nowadays is funny but awful to listen to and only effects Excalibur negatively. Meanwhile him and Taz are a joy to listen to on Dark with their comedic commentary. So overall he's the best commentator not just in AEW but also every single english speaking wrestling promotion going around today."

[6.0] "As a wrestler, standard indie guy with zero look or any real interesting matches from what I've seen out of him. His more....controversial material I won't mention here but it's pretty horrible as a whole and soured me on him immediately. His commentary work is pretty mixed: his genuine love for his business shines through at the best moments and he's clearly very knowledgeable when it comes to wrestling holds and callbacks and whatnot; but he acts way too smarky at times and will rattle off things that virtually no one else at the announcer desk can follow or discuss because it's just THAT specific. Everyone just either has to say something vague (which makes them look ignorant) or completely sandbag what he's talking about and talk over him because he's still busy doing so. He's fine enough on the B-show stuff where the stakes aren't very high and he can be more relaxed, but he tends to suffer when trying to call big events because he'll tend to get a bit too involved in the action and go into Matt Striker mode where he's not really calling the match, instead just marking out or SCREAMING THE MOVE THAT JUST HAPPENED SO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED which gets very grating when you realise it's a consistent pattern with him. Good knowledge and can bounce off fairly well with others but does need to rein it in at points. There's quality there but it's a struggle for it to come out sometimes."

[7.0] "Excalibur is a mixed bag for me. He carries the AEW commentary booth but his delivery and enthusiasm could feel very overexaggerated and amateur. He's still stuck in PWG. This isn't entirely bad because he knows how to call the moves and fill you in on a storyline or match psychology. But it's a struggle for me to call him a truly great commentator because he sounds like a wrestling fan calling a match from his basement.."

[9.0] "I wasn't sure about Excalibur when he took on the role of commentator in AEW - the mask threw me off a bit, honestly. But colour me shocked, Excalibur is the best commentator in AEW and perhaps the best commentator in wrestling today. He does the unthinkable - he actually calls matches. He commentates on what he sees in the ring! Unbelievable, truly. Jokes aside, Excalibur brings up the energy for a home viewing experience and his extensive knowledge on wrestling manoeuvres has taught me a thing or two - I love that."

[10.0] "Absolutely brilliant with everything he did in PWG. His commentary always leaves me laughing and he is so witty. Booking is always great. And commentary on aew is always great"

[6.0] "I haven't seen enough of Excalibur's wrestling to comment on that, but after watching/listening to him on AEW since its inception, I feel comfortable rating him on his commentary work. Excalibur is very mixed. His knowledge of wrestlers' backgrounds and feuds is obviously quite vast and very useful for getting new fans up to date on stories, and he fills in a lot of holes in match psychology when its appropriate. The issue I have with Excalibur relates to his tone and delivery. He loves to get himself all worked up to try match -- or make up for the lack off -- the intensity of a match. The way he emphasises words and increases his volume comes across very amateurishly, like he's really forcing every exchange and spot to be this SHOCKING and EPIC moment, and as a result I find it difficult for his commentary to add any extra excitement to the match at hand because it all feels artificial. Basically, he has the knowledge of a wise 60-year-old and the voice of a skittish 18-year-old. He's still far more good than bad, but I wish he had a more professional voice so that when I hear him on AEW I can really feel like I'm watching a major wrestling product instead of watching 2005 PWG."

[10.0] "Excalibur wasn't any great shakes as a wrestler, even he will tell you that, but he came up and worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, key among them El Generico and Kevin Steen, and that helped in his next role as a booker and commentator for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where the indie explosion of the late 2000s and early 2010s helped expose him to many more fans. His working relationship with the Young Bucks in particular led to him being hired by the startup All Elite Wrestling, where alongside industry legends Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone, he has become the voice of the fastest rising promotion in the world over the past couple of years. Excalibur has shown he can do serious main event commentary, and also revert to PWG mode when he does Dark with Taz. Simply put, he is my favourite wrestling commentator, and he does it all while still wearing a mask he never lost while he wrestled."

[10.0] "He is the very best play by play commentator in professional wrestling today. From PWG to AEW, which means from the Indies to the Mainstream, Excalibur is absolute gold at what he does, and he is an encyclopedia of professional wrestling knowledge as well."

[10.0] "Hands down best commentator in wrestling today, his career in-ring had a few highlights in PWG, but on the booth he found his true calling, a wrestling encyclopedia."

[10.0] "A passable early-mid 00s wrestler with a handful of very good matches to his name, but the reason you talk about Excalibur is as a great booker and a top-tier commentator. The amount of knowledge he's displayed on commentary is extremely impressive; there's almost nothing in wrestling he can't call correctly, and he can banter with the color commentator in-between excellent play-by-play. His work in PWG was already top-notch as he called fantastic matches (which he booked) and now he's at the core of AEW's commentary team. Really happy for him being one of the voices of a massive rising promotion, and his work behind the scenes of PWG has benefitted a massive number of stars over the years."

[9.0] "Man Excalibur knows his shit. Love his commentary on dark. He knows all the moves, the history behind the wrestlers on the mat, etc. Very good."

[7.0] "Kind of goofy, but I'm not sure where AEW would be without him. He knows the backstory on all the AEW talent better than anyone else & can convey a lot of info to the audience. He pretty much gets JR & Schiavone through the show every week & they would be completely lost without him. He often goes above & beyond with his research & what he is willing to do for the company. His excited style of move calling can be a little obnoxious."

[10.0] "I never really thought much of him as a wrestler, and he'd retire shortly after I became aware of him. As a commentator though, I love Excalibur enough to give him the full score. He's probably not a 10 on any kind of objective scale, so think of this as a personal rating."

[8.0] "Five-six stars in the ring for his indie wrestling days but an easy, easy nine stars in the commentary booth. The Voice of PWG and AEW and an absolutely huge asset to both promotions."

[8.0] "I don't know anything about his wrestling career or anything he has done outside of AEW. Strictly based on his commentary work done in AEW. He is imo the best in the AEW commentary booth and a great commentator."

[9.0] "Excalibur was the only unfamiliar face (for me) in AEW's announce crew, but he's become my favorite of the bunch. His commentary is excellent and he gels well with the rest of the commentary team. I actually like him even better on Dark than on Dynamite. Don't get me wrong, Dynamite is obviously the better show, but since Taz became a regular on Dark, he and Excalibur have developed a rapport that I really enjoy."

[9.0] "Haven't seen him wrestle a whole lot. Wasn't really impressed with it either. Rating him primarily on his work as a commetator, which is excellent. He knows the wrestlers he talks about and has great knowledge about the aciont going on. AEW made the right choice to hire him. Will remain a great asset for them in the coming years."

[9.0] "This rating is for his work on commentary. He's probably the best choice AEW could have made for the role he's in, considering how well he knows most of the roster. His knowledge and consistency make him a solid backbone for the AEW announce team. He doesn't get to use his sense of humor too much, but it's always welcome when it makes an appearance."

[6.0] "A very solid in ring performer, was never going to be a main eventer. Definitely need a separate rating score for his commentating and his booking."

[10.0] "Excalibur is an okay to good wrestler and an excellent commentator. This score is based on his commentary. A big part of what PWG really good and seems to good to excellent chemistry with whoever he commentates with."