Each and every week, viewers have their own separate reasons for tuning in to WWE Raw, Smackdown, TNA Impact, the UFC, or many other sporting events caught live on television. It could be the excitement of the sport, the talent involved, or maybe even just some way to pass a few hours of your own time. Whatever the case may be, you can be guaranteed that with a sporting event comes an announce team. I cannot speak for anything other than wrestling, but I truly believe any sport can live or die with the announce team. The sport carries out its tasks, and the players normally put on good matches. They’re professional teams, would we expect any less?
However, I don’t believe we would be as enthralled with certain sports if it wasn’t for the announce team. Okay, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I’m not touching on new ground with that one at all. But recently, there have been rumors flying through the air about WWE Raw Announcer Jim Ross getting “fired” on TV and being replaced by someone else. Heck, I even came into a rumor today of Jerry Lawler getting “fired” as well, leaving The Coach and a replacement announcer on Raw. Then, this past Monday, the nearly-unthinkable happened, and good ol’ JR got fired, by none other than precious Linda McMahon. I don’t know about you, but I’ve become accustomed to the voices of Raw, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, even LONG before I started watching WWE wrestling again a few years ago.
Ross and Lawler have been around since the mid 1990s, and served as announcers a little while after Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. There have been many announcers over the years, ranging from Jesse “The Body” Ventura to Vince McMahon, from Paul Heyman to Al Snow. No one quite holds a candle to Heenan and Monsoon. Except Ross and Lawler. But both styles are so much different. Lawler’s energy is surpassed by no one, especially during a match featuring any of the WWE divas, while Ross can call a match like no other. He makes a Tyson Tomko match seem better than it really is, and I truly mean that. If I’m going to watch Tomko kick Steven Richard’s face in, I want to listen to Ross while witnessing it.
The chemistry between Monsoon and Heenan made them a joy to listen to. It’s a chemistry that Ross and Lawler lack to a certain extent, but they do have a different chemistry that makes them work extremely well. Heenan was the heel announcer, and through all of his excitement over fellow heels, Monsoon was always quick to step in and tell Heenan what he thought of the praise for the heel talent. But, it was almost like you know it was just for fun. Monsoon was someone you could imagine knowing and liking deeply. Whenever Ross goes against Lawler (or even The Coach), you sense the sarcasm, but at times, you’re just not sure if he’s joking or not. It could be because Ross rarely goes against Lawler, or goes with him for that matter. Ross calls the matches on his own, while Lawler has random injections of energy that make him stand out on his own, for whatever strange reason. In these comparisons, Jim Ross called a match way better than Gorilla Monsoon did (even though Ross borrows plenty from Monsoon, and does so perfectly), but Monsoon had that Mr. Nice Guy persona about him that make him sound like he was calling the match while sitting right next to you.
On the flipside, comparing Lawler and Heenan are very different. They approached their position from different angles, but at the end of the day, you still got enjoyment out of hearing what they had to say. Heenan was far more of the “heel” announcer than Lawler has been in recent years, which is a bit saddening. Lawler could be far more of a heel announcer, even as much as The Coach is, but he’s more of the in-between guy (which Tazz does, as well). It could be that it confuses the audience when one of the announcers is so biased towards the bad guys, I don’t know. He’s a valued addition to the announce table, even when he borders on being corny, and even creepy (again, during those Diva matches… especially those with minimal clothing on the Divas).
Bobby The Brain, on the other hand, was all about the comedy. Really, I don’t think there’s a time where I didn’t laugh out loud when listening to Bobby Heenan. The guy is a natural at comedy, and when I talked about chemistry between Heenan and Monsoon, the comedy was the backbone of that chemistry. Lawler lacks that, but I’m not saying it’s a necessity. Lawler still has many funny moments, but not always intentionally (I laugh everytime poor Jerry tries to get a serious look on his face, and looks more bewildered than angry or serious). Wrestling is supposed to be about energy moreso than comedy, so Lawler probably should have the upper-hand, but Heenan still was a stronger personality in my book. It would be interesting to see Jim Ross of 2005 paired with Bobby Heenan of 1990 on Raw today.
My point is (and I do have a point, other than telling you my favorite announce team) that, whatever the case may be, the announce team is an essential and pivotal part of wrestling, and no matter if it’s Heenan’s comedy that’s the strong point, Jim Ross’s ability to make a Bra and Panties match sound like Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, or if it’s Lawler’s energy and passion to sit in that announcing chair every week, the announcers need to bring something to the table (the announcing table, as it were) in order to give us the play-by-plays on all the matches.
The firing of Good Ol’ JR, Jim Ross (Boomer sooner, just for JR), has opened a can of worms within the legions of wrestling fans on the internet. The uproar is understandable, as Jim Ross is irreplaceable as an announcer. And sure, the rumors flying around the internet could cause anyone anger, but you have to remember that many rumors are just that: rumors. Some think the firing is 100% real, and that WWE wants to rid itself of an old-timer like JR, and replace him with a fresh, young face. At first glance, you want to slam your head against a wall. But, keep in mind, it’s still just a rumor, and probably one of the weaker ones.
Unfortunately, JR was hospitalized (according to WWE.com, at least, which I tend to try and believe when at all possible) for colon surgery, and one can’t help but think both situations are related. If JR wasn’t “fired”, wouldn’t he be replaced for the time-being anyway? Who knows if both incidents are related. The bottom line is that Jim Ross is going to be severely missed on Raw. When a young hot-shot does a Shooting Star Press off a steel cage, who else will be able to scream “By God BY GOD, he must be broken in half!!” without coming off as completely ridiculous? JR makes it sound real. I can’t imagine anyone possibly replacing Jim. Never.
Then, I just can’t help but go back to the voices of wrestling when I was a young wrasslin’ fan: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain”. Sure, I think that “Close, but no cigar” and “Right in the kisser!” became favorite phrases of mine, but eventually, The Brain and The Gorilla left the announcing table, and were replaced. It took a little while before we got to Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross, but when I stopped seeing Heenan and Monsoon (or hearing them, as it were), I was upset with their absence. I’m sure if I was old enough, I would have threatened to stop watching my weekly WWF show on Saturday afternoon on the internet, too! Okay, maybe not. That’s really pushing it a bit too far. But, I was disappointed nonetheless.
And with time, I grew to move past the duo of Heenan and Monsoon, and right up till last week, I grew to deeply enjoy the voices of RAW (and yes, that includes the Coach, who I think does a fine job next to the new announcing legends). Yes, we respect Jim Ross, and I know most of us respect Jerry Lawler (even if he can be corny and creepy at times), but it doesn’t mean we can’t move on from it. Whether this is all true, or whether JR’s firing is a complete work and setting us up for something down the road, everyone will be able to move on from Jim Ross for now. If he comes back, he comes back. And if he doesn’t, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine with whatever permanent replacement (if any) sits in JR’s chair. Have just a little faith in the company that boldly states this: The Power is Back.
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