The Voice of Wrestling

With the sixth pick in the WWE Draft, Smackdown gained Jim Ross, the voice of Monday Night. As shocked as we were, Good Ole' J.R. was as uninformed as we were. After being unexpectedly uprooted from his familiar seat beside Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ross saluted the RAW crowd for possibly the last time in his career. Ross then exchanged chairs with Smackdown Play-by-play man Michael Cole who has called all but two episodes of S-Down. Mick Foley, the Smackdown color commentator and friend of J.R., welcomed Ross to the team and the night ensued. But Jim Ross wasn't the least bit pleased with the decision. "I am not happy about this surprise development," said Jim Ross in Tuesday morning blog post, "I also contemplated calling it a career Monday night and not going to Houston to tape SD." WWE claims the move was made to add more talent and excitement Smackdown for the upcoming debut on MyNetwork this September. Jim Ross continued in saying, "As far as going to Connecticut each week to do Smackdown post production, that’s not going to happen. Either Mick Foley can handle it or the WWE can install a DSL line in my home to facilitate the work..." Who can blame J.R. for being disgruntled? I personally believe that the way WWE handled the situation was in no form or fashion acceptable. That is certainly not how you treat the greatest wrestling announcer of all-time. Also, if I were Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler, I wouldn't be all that happy. Cole is no longer the voice of Smackdown after eight long years, and the chemistry that has been built up between him and Foley is scrapped. "The King" will no longer be seated next to his great friend and his better half Jim Ross. Without that familiar Oklahoma drawl, will Raw be the same? For one, I believe it is impossible. Ross has become one of the sole reasons for my viewing of Raw every week. Yet it seems Smackdown will be much more entertaining. It seems as if WWE has achieved its goal, but the matter was handled disrespectfully. Ross himself pledges to "do all he can to make Smackdown the best program the WWE produces." "I most likely responded in a non professional way in the eyes of some fans," he stated. Those fans most not understand his role in the industry. He is definitely an irreplaceable part of wrestling history. J.R., I wish you only the best; hopefully, your voice will make as many Smackdown moments priceless as it did so many times on monday nights.
J.R.'s Bar-B-Q Website.