10 Wrestling Matches You Wish Jim Ross Called
9. Mankind Vs. The Rock - WWF Raw (December 28, 1998)
On the first Raw to air in 1999, the unthinkable happened - in the very same evening, Mick "Mankind" Foley got himself a shot at the WWE Championship, then defeated The Rock to win the belt.
Though Ross was WWE's lead announcer at the time, he suffered a relapse of Bell's Palsy in December of 1998 and wouldn't return until WrestleMania. Michael Cole, in his first tenure as lead announcer of Raw, took over for Ross. That meant that he was calling the action when Foley scored one of the most emotional wins in WWE history.
To be fair, Cole's call of Foley's win was fantastic - his emotional message of "For anyone who's ever been told 'you can't do it'" still resonates in fans' ears 17 years later. Still, though, it's a bit disheartening that Ross - who was the voice of the Attitude Era - didn't call the first championship victory of one of its most popular stars.
It was a defining moment for Foley and an excellent performance from The Rock, but Ross at the booth would have felt a bit more appropriate.