10 Times WWE Bastardised Wrestling Royalty

6. Jim Ross

Dusty Rhodes Wwe
WWE.com

Jim Ross was a commentator. A damn good one, too - certainly the best ever lead.

Unfortunately, Vince McMahon's trademark meddling, and inexplicable enmity towards the man, meant that the fans who held him close to their hearts were forced to share his discomfort at the bizarre heel role he played in 1996.

If any wrestling personality is ill-suited to wearing the black hat, ironically, it's Ross. Jim Ross is your granddad - an avuncular, endearing fountain of wisdom whose oratory prowess elevated even the worst matches into something approaching intrigue. If Ross couldn't save a match, by gawd, the damage was damn near irreparable.

The entire ordeal - and that's what it amounted to - was bizarre. Ross embarked on an anti-Vince McMahon crusade, outing him as the World Wrestling Federation's owner, and took credit for so many of its stars heading south to WCW. Ross had apparently orchestrated these departures in protest at his treatment throughout the years.

He then debuted the fake Diesel and fake Razor Ramon to hang a lantern on the company's fading power, which would have been the worst thing it ever did, had anybody actually cared.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!