10 Wrestling Matches You Wish Jim Ross Called
These matches needed the former voice of WWE...
For millions of fans who grew up watching WWE, Jim Ross is simply the voice of wrestling. Despite the fact that Vince McMahon never really felt comfortable having the not-quite-GQ-material Ross on TV as his play-by-play man, Ross's 20 years with the company have led many to believe that he's the greatest announcer who ever called a match.
Unfortunately, Vince McMahon finally got his way. In 2008, Ross was drafted from Raw to Smackdown (without his prior knowledge or consent), ending his tenure as the primary voice of WWE. The following year, he suffered another bout of Bell's Palsy - a disease which causes facial paralysis - forcing him to take time off.
After that, the company stopped using him regularly, apart from a brief period in 2012 when he filled in as a substitute following Jerry Lawler's heart attack. In 2013, he was released from the company.
That means there there have been a host of classic matches that Jim Ross missed out on calling - as well as a ton of not-quite-classics that would have really benefited from his involvement.
With the recent exciting announcement that JR will be working with WCPW to call the forthcoming Refuse To Lose iPPV in October, here are 10 wrestling matches you wish Jim Ross called...
10. WWE Royal Rumble 2016
Jim Ross is more than just a guy who gets excited when matches get exciting - he's also a consummate storyteller. While he's great at calling five-star classics, he can also put over a match that serves more of a storyline purpose than anything else.
That would have made Jim Ross an asset during the sometimes-exciting, sometimes-frustrating 2016 Royal Rumble match. The story of that bout was that WWE Champion Roman Reigns - who was forced to enter the Rumble at #1 - was actually defending his belt in the match, meaning a new champion was all but guaranteed.
The bout was a wild hour, with AJ Styles debuting, Sami Zayn returning, and more. Ross could have handled those arrivals with zest, and made some sense of the League of Nations beatdown on Reigns - which many fans lambasted as nonsensical, given that they didn't eliminate him.
Finally, Triple H's master plan - which involved him entering at #30 and eliminating Dean Ambrose to become champion - would have draw a "DAMN HIM!" from J.R.