10 Things Everybody Gets Wrong About AEW
3. "Jim Ross Is Finished"
Jim Ross isn't past it.
It's strange and counterproductive, his insistence on questioning the theatrics of, say, the Best Friends' hug spot - did he ever call Scotty 2 Hotty a "dumb bastard" for taking forever to hit the Worm? - but when he chooses to wield it, his power is formidable. Inimitable. His call of MJF's Full Gear turn was vintage JR, to quote the man who never could replace him. "You little bastard, what did you do that for?" was Ross at his impassioned, pearl-clutching best. His shocked disgust put the betrayal over as something truly reprehensible.
On the same night, his revulsion and awe in the face of Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley's gorefest struck the perfect balance, and it's funny. Ross, the apparent villain unfit for these times, captured the tone of a controversial match nobody else managed to agree on.
It's actually fun listening to the unfiltered Ross - that isn't to suggest he doesn't need a filter yesterday - because, and this is the curve we deal with in 2019, he is at least a real human being. The other week, he corrected himself when confusing the Butcher for the Blade with priceless self-deprecation: "I should know it's the Butcher - it's written all over his ass."
That is far more preferable - and hilarious - than an awkward few seconds of bollocked silence.