10 Most Controversial 'Shoot' Comments From WWE TV
8. Joey Styles Loses It
When Joey Styles replaced Jim Ross at the announce desk in October 2005 many people predicted he would find it hard to adjust. He did. Styles had been openly critical of WWE and its product during his time in ECW and then afterwards on his online blog. At One Night Stand 2005, a WWE-produced pay-per-view, Styles took frequent shots at WWE, its wrestlers and fans. Styles was berated for his commentary on WWE broadcasts via his earpiece, something Mick Foley famously quit the company over when he was commentating on Smackdown in 2009. WWE even went so far as to lower Styles' chair so he looked even smaller than he already was next to Jerry Lawler as a way to get back at him. When ECW was being relaunched in 2006, Styles needed to switch brands so he 'quit' WWE Raw in a memorable promo that contained several shoot comments. Styles vented his frustrations at the WWE product and backstage politics and got very 'insider' with it, claiming that:
this company came to me six months ago because they had yet again fired Jim Ross [] from week one I got lectures in the differences between pro wrestling and sports entertainment [] and then I get pulled from WrestleMania because I dont sound like Jim Ross who is the guy they fired in the first place right! I am sick of sports entertainment and I am sick of you fans who buy into this crap!
It was quite the promo. Hardcore fans appreciated the shoot aspect and buzzed about it online for weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1MJBO6k3a0
