10 WWE Wrestlers That Went From The Top To The Bottom Then Back Again

6. Jim Ross

WWE WrestleMania 33 Jim Ross
WWE.com

WWE aren't the nice company - and Vince McMahon's fascinating relationship with Jim Ross remains a monument to that - but a gesture they made to arguably the greatest commentator in the industry's history years after his exit was a rare case of them doing a good thing for a good person.

A loyal Federation foot solider and unappreciated Attitude Era architect, JR had already been fired twice before becoming such a key figure at McMahon's top table, but was unceremoniously booted in 2013 after a 2K panel featuring Ric Flair went off the rails amidst rumours of both Ross and 'The Nature Boy' being drunk on the job.

He kept busy in the meantime, until the tragic passing of his beloved wife Jan in March 2017. Just a month later he was asked to call the main event of WrestleMania 33 and was subsequently resigned for two more years that saw him work the inaugural Mae Young Classic and lend his voice to a instant classic between Tyler Bate and Pete Dune later that year.

Oh, and yes he is a wrestler for the benefit of this list. Listening to that soundbite from the SmackDown Vs Raw game about him beating Triple H in Madison Square Garden ad nauseam taught us all that.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett