Mortal Kombat launched as an arcade fighting game in 1992 and became known for its announcer callouts during matches, including Flawless Victory, Fatality and shorter praise lines like Excellent. The word was played to reward strong play in a round, delivered in the same grave style as the rest of the commentary. As gameplay clips, montages and meme edits moved online, fans isolated these callouts as standalone reactions. Excellent survived because it works outside the game too, as a short, recognisable stamp of approval for any impressive moment.