NOTES FROM BOB: TAKING A LOOK
By: Bob Ryder
10/6/2005 8:15:00 AM
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It's been well over a year since I wrote a "Notes From Bob" column. I stopped writing the column because my duties at the time with TNA were too time consuming and posed conflicts that made writing a column inappropriate. While I don't expect to make this a regular thing....I wanted to make some comments about the story posted last night about WWE considering removing Jim Ross from the lead announcer spot on WWE programming. Ironically, one of the last columns I wrote back in February of 2004 was one that was very critical of Jim Ross. I think he'll like this one better.
What could they possibly be thinking? That was my first reaction when I
heard WWE was considering removing Jim Ross from the RAW announce team. If
it ends up happening, I suspect my reaction will be shared by the vast majority
of WWE fans.
It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened to Ross.
He was removed from his announcing duties while at WCW because a high priced
consulting firm said their focus group thought he sounded "southern" and
wasn't photogenic enough to be in that position. He's been kicked to the
curb a couple of times by Vince McMahon, and has been publicly humiliated on WWE
programming more times than I can remember.
A few years ago, when Gordon Solie passed away, I wrote a column that
included a comment that said "when I close my eyes and think of a wrestling
match, his is the voice I hear calling the action". Solie made that much
of an impact on people who were regular viewers of the old Georgia Championship
Wrestling program on TBS. Jim Ross has made the same kind of impact as the
lead announcer for WWE. Give it a try. Close your eyes and think of
any of the big matches in recent WWE history. You'll hear his voice....and
without it, those matches wouldn't have been so special.
Is he sometimes over the top? Without question. His "Stone Cold,
Stone Cold, Stone Cold", and "My God...that's a human being" calls have been
fodder for parody, but no matter how over the top they were somehow appropriate
to what we were watching. Ross is at his best in an important match and
his call of the action takes the match up a notch. When he gets excited
about a match -- YOU get excited about a match. To his credit, he knows
when to pull back on that excitement and has not been afraid to comment during a
match when things aren't going as well as they should.
Fans who watch WWE programming don't care what the announcer looks like.
They don't care if he has a southern accent. They care about hearing
someone tell the story of what is happening in the ring. Jim Ross does
that as good as anybody.
If it's not broke, don't fix it. There's plenty to fix in the WWE, but
Jim Ross doesn't need fixing.
I don't know if the decision has been finalized or if things are past the
point of no return. If it's a done deal, that's a real shame. If
it's not, I would urge Vince McMahon to reconsider. Jim Ross deserves the
opportunity to leave on his own terms, not to be kicked to the curb again by a
company he has done so much for over the years.
Send feedback to bryder1wrestling@yahoo.com
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