Vince McMahon Snapped At JR During WWE's SmackDown Debut

The boss wasn't happy. Jim Ross wasn't happy. NOBODY was happy.

by Jamie Kennedy
Jim Ross Jerry Lawler
WWE.com

JR's new book, 'Under The Black Hat' is a wonderful account of the legendary announcer's on and off run in WWE from 1999-2019.

There are some essential stories in there, and this is one of the best.

Mid-way through the debut edition of SmackDown on 26 August 1999, Vince McMahon blew up at Jim for his commentary work. The boss blasted Ross over his headset and said he needed to be more descriptive because viewers on UPN wouldn't know much about the product.

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JR hadn't been told he needed to tweak his style going in, and he didn't react positively to McMahon's angry rants. The pair ended up arguing throughout the show's ad breaks, and Vince said that both Ross and Jerry Lawler were doing a poor job.

It didn't take long for Jim to click and realise that he wouldn't be doing SmackDown at all going forwards. Later, on WWE's private jet, McMahon said he was putting Michael Cole on play-by-play alongside Lawler.

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Ross viewed that as a blessing in disguise. He couldn't understand why the boss had decided to use him anyway if he'd wanted a different voice.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.