JR is leaving the WWE

[EnviousDominous]

The following article was posted on WonderWall.com:

Beloved pro wrestling announcer Jim Ross is leaving WWE (http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/beloved-pro-wrestling-announcer-jim-ross-is-leaving-wwe/ar-BBUvseW?ocid=ientp)

I'm disappointed that Mark Gray didn't explain more details of his side-notes, because they inspire some pretty wild ideas.

Among those ideas:

Idea #1: Jim Ross was quoted as saying "I still think I can do play-by-play even though others that may surround Vince think I can't"

Umm, I get that Jim isn't absolutely perfect. I've heard stories about him getting intoxicated before shows and flubbing his lines. But, honestly, I could listen to Jim flub a thousand lines before I listen to someone like Corey Graves tell me the meaning of life. I was watching Smackdown, and (correct me if I'm wrong) during the match between Erick Rowan and Kevin Owens, Corey Graves stone cold sober said "I can't wait to see this match". My wife and I looked at each other like "Does he not realize that the match is already happening?"

I'm not speculating as to who might be in Vince's ear telling him to let go of Jim, or if anyone is actually doing that. If I remember correctly, Vince has fired Jim Ross at least two times. I'm just saying, while Jim is able to sit and speak, he's doing better than anyone else the WWE is trying to force on us.

Idea #2: Mark wrote (without any citation) "There is already speculation that Jim will end up at the newly formed AEW wrestling organization".

I get that "speculation" usually stands on its own these days, but for fuck's sake. If Jim jumped to AEW, it wouldn't necessarily be betrayal, but his would be the biggest name working for AEW.


I'm not as savvy as most of you, so please educate me on what I'm missing in regard to this news.

[FunKay]

If I may:

1) JR hasn't been good for a long while now. One or two matches, excellent as a guest spot. A whole show? Dear God no. Especially if its an international heavy card like NJPW or something like that. His commentary on Wrestle Kingdom the one year he did it was borderline awful (there's a reason he wasn't invited back). Frankly the most potential with JR would be as a backstage presence. He's got a great eye for talent and is as knowledgeable about the history of the business as anyone on the planet, so that's where he would be best used.

2) Jim Ross wouldn't be the biggest name working for AEW. In terms of legacy, Chris Jericho is the biggest name working for AEW. In terms of relevancy to the industry right now, for better or worse, The Bucks and Kenny Omega are the biggest names working for AEW. To brand your product with the voice of the WWE's Attitude Era and beyond is, to me, not the best way to go in setting yourself apart from them as an alternative.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I.....didn't know he was still employed by WWE.

[Jack-Hammer]

Jim Ross hasn't been much of a factor in WWE for almost 10 years now. Some of those surrounding Vince feel that JR is one of those outmoded, outdated aspects of wrestling that WWE could easily do without. Vince took WWE in a much more corporate direction in the last 10-12 years and felt that anything that even remotely connected WWE to rasslin' wasn't part of the image he wanted to convey. As a result, Jim Ross along with terms like "wrestling" itself became somewhat taboo. Even though JR certainly dialed it down some when he was still with WWE, it simply wasn't the good ol' JR that everyone knew and loved. When Jim Ross isn't enthusiastically helping to sell what's going on in the ring, when that great Oklahoma southern accent doesn't come out when he's excited, when he's not actually using his own words but is parroting words that Vince tells him to say, when he's not using terms like slobberknocker and/or generally just being his endearing and charming self, he's just not remotely effective

In my eyes, Jim Ross is the most charismatic and best commentator in the history of pro wrestling. His passion, his enthusiasm and his knowledge weren't things that could be artificially duplicated and rather than embrace that, Vince instead went with guys like Michael Cole who were great in a different way: namely being able to easily navigate having two or three different people yelling in his headphones what he should say all at the same time without missing a beat. Tom Phillips is cut from the same cloth whereas Mauro Ranallo is someone very much along the lines of Jim Ross, which is a big reason why he just didn't click with Vince since he didn't fit with that stuffy, uptight corporate image Vince wants.

Jim Ross probably isn't what he used to be, his knowledge on international stars isn't exactly top notch and it also doesn't help when you've got fans ready to pounce on every little thing and make a federal case out of it. If he goes to AEW and he's allowed to be more like the Jim Ross of old, then there's still the potential for a great time listening to him on commentary; I think that's especially true if AEW wants to be a more "sports" oriented promotion rather than being about sports entertainment.

[Slyfox696]

I.....didn't know he was still employed by WWE.This.

Also, Jim Ross stopped being a decent play-by-play man by 2005 or so. He may have been the right voice for the Attitude Era, but once it ended, so did JR's quality.

In my eyes, Jim Ross is the most charismatic and best commentator in the history of pro wrestling. His passion, his enthusiasm and his knowledge weren't things that could be artificially duplicated and rather than embrace that, Vince instead went with guys like Michael Cole who were great in a different way: namely being able to easily navigate having two or three different people yelling in his headphones what he should say all at the same time without missing a beat. Tom Phillips is cut from the same cloth whereas Mauro Ranallo is someone very much along the lines of Jim Ross, which is a big reason why he just didn't click with Vince since he didn't fit with that stuffy, uptight corporate image Vince wants.

Jim Ross probably isn't what he used to be, his knowledge on international stars isn't exactly top notch and it also doesn't help when you've got fans ready to pounce on every little thing and make a federal case out of it. If he goes to AEW and he's allowed to be more like the Jim Ross of old, then there's still the potential for a great time listening to him on commentary; I think that's especially true if AEW wants to be a more "sports" oriented promotion rather than being about sports entertainment.
I disagree. I think Jim Ross's work is best remembered for its place in the Attitude Era, but other than that, Ross was often cringe-worthy. I'd take Gorilla Monsoon's work in the late 80s and early 90s over Ross any day.