Award Description:

To be given to the commentator/announcer who makes the most insightful and
entertaining comments while pushing his product.  "Ring announcers" don't
qualify here.  As of 1992, the difference between this and colour
commentator will be enforced.

Previous Winners:

  1990: Jesse Ventura
  1991: Jesse Ventura
  1992: Jim Ross
  1993: Jim Ross
  1994: Jim Ross
  1995: Jim Ross
  1996: Jim Ross
  1997: Jim Ross
  1998: Jim Ross
  1999: Jim Ross
  2000: Jim Ross

**2001**: Jim Ross

274 first place votes
238 second place votes
212 third place votes

197 28 15 1099   Jim Ross
 38 73 30  469   Joey Styles
 12 47 43  293   Scott Hudson
  3 28 27  153   Michael Cole
  5 17 33  142   Mike Tenay
  2  7 16   63   Kevin Kelly
  3  8 10   59   Tony Schiavone
  2  9 11   59   Gene Okerlund
  0  6 10   38   Jonathan Coachman
  2  7  2   35   Carlos Cabrera
  4  0  4   28   Alfonso Morales
  2  3  0   19   Paul Heyman
  1  0  1    7   Lee Marshall
  1  0  1    7   Akira Fukuzawa
  0  1  0    3   New Japan's Tv announcer (?)
  0  1  0    3   Crowbar
  0  0  1    2   Vince McMahon (eligible?)
  0  0  1    2   Les Thatcher
  0  0  1    2   Kris Kloss
  0  0  1    2   Eric Garigulo

REJECTED - not play-by-play announcers

  1  0  1        "Tie" votes
  1  0  0        Howard Finkel
  0  1  1        Duplicated votes
  0  0  2        Tazz
  0  1  0        Joel Gertner
  0  1  0        Jerry Lawler
  0  0  1        Don "the Dragon" Wilson


RYAN HALL: Ross, Styles, Cole.  Ross up there with Monsoon as the best
ever.

SCOTT CRAWFORD: Picking Jim Ross as a 3rd place vote in this category is
almost as bad, if not worse than picking him as Worst Announcer, but I
think it fits. He's lost a TON of his believability this year, and it's
sad.

SCOTT WORDEN: Jim Ross may say things wrong like names, but he is still
the best.. He makes things sound good and when something is bad, he will
say it..Unless it is Taker and Kane wrestling, in which they are studs and
stallions and hosses.

OTTO "HACK-MAN" HEUER: Best Announcer? I still miss Gordon Solie.

SEAN FLYNN: Joey Styles was the most interesting, exciting announcer in
wrestling for years, and though ECW is gone, the memory of the "OHMYGOD!"
will live on for me.  C'mon Vince, he's so much better than Michael Cole
and Kevin Kelly, hire him for God's sake.

MIKE JOHNSON: 1. JR.  'Nuff said.  2. Kevin Kelly gets it for being less
annoying than Cole and knowing some of the names of moves.  3.  Joey gets
it for old times sake.  RIP ECW.

DONNY L: Jim Ross is still the best announcer in the buisness, I think
Styles and Tenay are 2nd and third too bad neither have a job right now I
guess the WWF only wants bad announcers

JOHN C.: JR is way ahead in this category with nobody in sight. I miss
Joey Styles enthusiasm and Gene Okerlund made me laugh at 'Mania so he
comes in third.

JOE GENTILE: It's sad: What was a neck-and-neck race every year between
Ross and Styles is now over. For the final year, I went with Ross, then
Styles, and Cole third because no one else is left.

CHRIS LENING: Dr. Alfonso Morales spontaneously bursts into song in the
middle of calling matches. You can't touch that.

YNAE316: Mike Tenay:  I actually think Tenay was underrated.  Sure he was
kinda dorky, but he actually knew his shit...

SHANE SPEAR: Yes, Michael Cole is better than Jim Ross.  He uses the names
of mid-carders finishing moves (I think Cole is the only one who knew the
name of the Edge-O-Matic.)  He may have the lamest hair-cut in the world,
and he may sound desprate sometimes, but he ISN'T a hype machine, and he
does at least call a match.

THE CUBS FAN: Jim Ross is an alright guy but he was slipping when he was
pulling XFL duty and he's not as good as he has been in the past and
there's no one better. Cole has gotten better but there's far too many
times where he seems just like an voice and attitude the WWF liked but not
someone who's that knowledgable about what's going on in front of him.
Coachman does that A LOT. Nothing more needs to be said about Tony, but
eventually the madness destroyed whatever was intersting and fun to listen
to in Tenay and Hudson. Maybe the product drug Joey Styles down or maybe
Joey Styles just followed in it's wake, but he was no better, to me. And
all of this doesn't seem like a trend that's changing.