A different side of Good Ol' JR

[pyrusane]

I just got around to watching last week's edition of Smackdown! a couple hours ago, and something kind of stood out for me during the show. I know a lot has been said about JR losing his edge, miscalling moves, not being as on top of things as he used to be. I also know that he is being asked to do color now instead of play-by-play. But did anyone else notice that his entire attitude seems to be shifting somewhat?

Where it really stood out for me was during the CM Punk/Chris Jericho match. Near the beginning of the match, Grisham made a comment about Jericho ranting and raving, to which JR replies, "Well a lot of intelligent people rant. Jericho has written books, very articulate individual, he just has a very unique view..." Grisham then asks if Jericho's temper gets in the way of some positive thinking, to which JR replies, "Well, I think just like anybody else, any other human being..." Hearing this, my first thought was that JR was sounding like a Jericho apologist.

Jericho is arguably the best heel on either roster, and instead of calling him out for it JR is constantly building him up as being a very intelligent man who is maybe just misunderstood. To me, this sounds almost like the traditional role of the heel commentator.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that they are trying to turn JR heel, but does anyone else find it odd that JR would announce this match almost as a face/face match rather than a classic face/heel contest? To me it just seemed very out of character for Ross. Thoughts?

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I'm not one to actually pay too much attention to the commentator during the match, but there are certain stuff that I hear them say that really catches my attention. Jim Ross defending Chris Jericho does not seem to be that much of a shock to me. It's obvious that JR respects the man and his abilities in the ring. Put aside the fact that Jericho is a heel and he is just like anyone else. JR is not and has never been a face commentator... he just calls it like he sees it. He doesn't always address what he sees the character do, he'll usually tell us about what kind of person they are outside the ring. If he likes the superstar, he likes them, but if not, he is not afraid to express it. Remember how much he hated Triple H when he hit Shawn Michaels in the back with a sledgehammer? Or when he hated Ric Flair for always interfering in ''Evolution'' matches and cheer when he gets beat up? He will never say he hates the man as a person, just based on what he just saw.

 

[kurtisraw07]

Ross just isn't a "WWE Universe puppet". If you step back and think about it, kayfabe or not, everything Jericho says is true. Cena is a pandering douche bag. Plus the current " Kid's Initiative" fans are hypocritical sycophant douchebags as well. Although this is irrelevant to the topic, you know Vince is spoon feeding lines to Grisham. That's why Grisham is always sort of repeating the obvious about the faces, even more than is classically recognized from a face announcer.

 

[Black Snow]

It's hard for me to pay attention to J.R.'s words since I'm so distracted by him thinking that anything and everything is IRONIC nowadays. Seriously. Take a drink every time J.R. says "ironic" in the wrong context. You'll be sloshed in about a half hour.

But, if J.R. really is moving towards a slightly heelish character I'm all for it. Both he and King are parodies of themselves at this point so a new direction is welcome. Based on the description given it sounds like J.R. is being more of a Ventura or JBL heel announcer who tries to look at most things logically. Those type of announcers don't think in a black and white fashion. They don't just cheer the heels. They look at each situation as an impartial observer and take sides based on logic and not who the heel or face is. I love those announcers. If J.R. is doing that and he drops the ironic crap I'll be back on his side each and every week.

 

[redcorleone]

'Ross just isn't a "WWE Universe puppet".'

Are you serious? 99% of what Ross says is being fed to him by Vince, and he does as his told everytime, so he can plug his BBQ sauce or whatever shit he sells these days. He isn't just a 'WWE Universe puppet', he's just Vince's puppet in general.

 

[pyrusane]

Ross just isn't a "WWE Universe puppet". If you step back and think about it, kayfabe or not, everything Jericho says is true. Cena is a pandering douche bag. Plus the current " Kid's Initiative" fans are hypocritical sycophant douchebags as well.

Yes, if I'm not mistaken, most of your posts are about how much you hate the current product, how much you hate the current stars and the current direction the company is going. If you hate it so much, do yourself a favor and stop watching it. Or at least do the rest of us a favor and stop posting about it.

Although this is irrelevant to the topic,

Why post it then...

you know Vince is spoon feeding lines to Grisham. That's why Grisham is always sort of repeating the obvious about the faces, even more than is classically recognized from a face announcer.

Hmm, yes, because you really want to trust Todd Grisham to call a match on his own. Seriously, we all know that Vince is in the headsets of all of the announcers throughout every broadcast. Hell, its a major part of the reason why guys like Mick Foley and Taz left the company. So...what's your point? Oh, I forgot, you very rarely have one.

Now, on to an intelligent poster...

Based on the description given it sounds like J.R. is being more of a Ventura or JBL heel announcer who tries to look at most things logically. Those type of announcers don't think in a black and white fashion. They don't just cheer the heels. They look at each situation as an impartial observer and take sides based on logic and not who the heel or face is. I love those announcers.

See, I could dig JR as someone who calls it like he sees it, without taking sides or being overly "heelish." I think the comparison to Ventura is a little out there, though. Ventura very much played the part of the heel announcer, possibly more so than anyone else in recent memory. The closest example I can think of is Don West's current gimmick on TNA, but much more believable. At least Ventura had the background as a heel in the ring to back up some of what he said.

I just watched the classic match between Steamboat and Savage from WMIII the other day, and Ventura was obviously very much pro-Savage and anti-Steamboat. Which was perfect for the time, as back then wrestling was very much good-guys vs bad-guys. I don't think it works well today though, as evidenced by Mr. West on a weekly basis.

'Ross just isn't a "WWE Universe puppet".'

Are you serious? 99% of what Ross says is being fed to him by Vince, and he does as his told everytime, so he can plug his BBQ sauce or whatever shit he sells these days. He isn't just a 'WWE Universe puppet', he's just Vince's puppet in general.

Hmm...you make a point there. Not sure if I agree with it entirely or not, but it is a point.

The original purpose of this thread wasn't to discuss whether the announcers are being fed their lines or not, but more about what they're saying, Ross in particular. The reason it caught my attention is because JR's character has, for the most part, been built on calling out the heels when they do something "heelish," and being one of the last truly "face" announcers. To hear him sounding so much like a Jericho apologist, when Jericho is clearly one of the top heels in the company right now, caught me very off guard.

Now, just to clarify, I am a huge fan of Jericho. I think he is pure gold on the mic, his in-ring work is excellent, the man is fast cementing himself as one of the all-time greats, in my opinion. I actually think he's better now than he was before the two years he took off. But it is the very fact that he is doing such an excellent job at playing the perfect heel that it surprises me so much to hear JR trying to rationalize or justify his behavior. I see this as either A) a subtle change in character for JR that may become more pronounced down the road, or else B) a mistake. Jericho is being effective as a heel because his current character is really easy to hate. To have anyone, and especially someone as respected as JR still is, giving him any kind of justification for his actions outside of the rationalization he provides for himself can only hurt Jericho in the long run. He needs to believe that what he is doing is justified. No one else should agree with him, or else his own belief becomes validated, which diminishes the impact of pretty much everyone else thinking he is just a cocky bastard.

 

[klunderbunker]

JR I think is just tired of being disrespected and tossed around like he's any other employee. They put him on Smackdown without telling him, they did the Santina thing without telling him, they put him as an analyst on the B show. Why shouldn't he be mad? If Vince is arrogant enough to believe that JR isn't a big part of what's made the company into what it is he's an idiot. JR was one of the best of all time if not the best ever. Sure he was corny and a hick but he was the voice of the company for so long that he was just a part you had to accept. Now he's being treated like a rookie and I can't blame him for being upset. I don't think he was so much siding with Jericho as much as he is just fed up with the way he's being treated and maybe he agrees with some of what Jericho is saying.

 

[WrestlingAuthority90]

JR I think is just tired of being disrespected and tossed around like he's any other employee.

Why should the WWE treat him better than anyone else? He's a damn announcer for the love of God.

They put him on Smackdown without telling him,

They dont tell ANYONE but the huge superstars who's switching in the draft. J.R. is not a huge superstar.

they did the Santina thing without telling him,

That was actually quite funny. Ole J.R. shoulda laughed it off.

they put him as an analyst on the B show.

J.R. was supposed to help make Smackdown the A show. J.R. failed.

Why shouldn't he be mad?

maybe because much more relevant people have been treated the same way?

If Vince is arrogant enough to believe that JR isn't a big part of what's made the company into what it is he's an idiot.

If you think that J.R. has done anything for the actually product lately you're an idiot yourself. Anyone can do commentary.

JR was one of the best of all time if not the best ever.

That and $5 will get you a $5 footlong at Subway.

Sure he was corny and a hick but he was the voice of the company for so long that he was just a part you had to accept.

No one gives a shit about J.R. He's nothing more than a voice to get people over. Again, almost anyone can do that. Hell, JBL was way better than J.R. when he was on commentary.

Now he's being treated like a rookie and I can't blame him for being upset.

I suspect Jim Ross is an asshole. If he wasnt an asshole they would treat him better.

 

[pyrusane]

JR I think is just tired of being disrespected and tossed around like he's any other employee. They put him on Smackdown without telling him, they did the Santina thing without telling him, they put him as an analyst on the B show. Why shouldn't he be mad? If Vince is arrogant enough to believe that JR isn't a big part of what's made the company into what it is he's an idiot. JR was one of the best of all time if not the best ever. Sure he was corny and a hick but he was the voice of the company for so long that he was just a part you had to accept. Now he's being treated like a rookie and I can't blame him for being upset. I don't think he was so much siding with Jericho as much as he is just fed up with the way he's being treated and maybe he agrees with some of what Jericho is saying.

And if this is the case, I'm all for it. If he is actually being given a little bit of freedom to be himself more, that can only be a good thing. JR was at his best when he had the freedom to make it up as he went along.

Why should the WWE treat him better than anyone else? He's a damn announcer for the love of God.

They dont tell ANYONE but the huge superstars who's switching in the draft. J.R. is not a huge superstar.

No, but at one time he was a major executive backstage, and pretty much Vince's right-hand man. Those years should have bought him perhaps a small modicum of courtesy.

That was actually quite funny. Ole J.R. shoulda laughed it off.

Vince has made a habit of ribbing JR on-air over the years. This wasn't as bad as the "colon surgery" bit a few years ago, but after awhile, I imagine anyone would get tired of the abuse.

J.R. was supposed to help make Smackdown the A show. J.R. failed.

Wait, didn't you just say that JR is "just" an announcer? Then if SD isn't the A show yet, how could that be the fault of someone who is "just" an announcer? Hypocritical much?

If you think that J.R. has done anything for the actually product lately you're an idiot yourself. Anyone can do commentary.

Yes, Don West has proven that so well. JR isn't as good as he used to be, no one is arguing that, but when you look at the span of his career it becomes pretty hard to argue that he isn't at least one of the top five announcers of all time.

That and $5 will get you a $5 footlong at Subway.

Hmm, yes, when you can't offer an intelligent response then sarcasm usually is the second-best way to go.

No one gives a shit about J.R. He's nothing more than a voice to get people over. Again, almost anyone can do that. Hell, JBL was way better than J.R. when he was on commentary.

I suspect Jim Ross is an asshole. If he wasnt an asshole they would treat him better.

Someone is certainly an asshole, but I don't think it's JR. Think about this. Jim Ross was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as an announcer while he is still actively doing the job. This shows that the WWE,and Vince in particular, view him with a certain level of respect. Now, I know that you can say "Well, sure, but Koko is in the Hall of Fame too." I won't dispute that. But how many people who watch wrestling today can honestly say they remember Koko B. Ware's career without going back and watching old videos? I would guess maybe 15-20% of the current viewing audience. That number gets slightly higher in the IWC, but we are a small percentage of the overall fanbase. Therefore, if Vince tells the world Koko was a huge star, a master of his craft, very few people are going to dispute this because they never saw him perform.

JR, on the other hand, was out there doing his thing every Monday night on RAW (at the time he went into the HoF) and now every Friday night on SD! For Vince to say to an active personality on his flagship show that he deserves to be in the HoF shows a certain level of respect that you don't ordinarily see from Vince.

I think Vince, just like everyone else, likes and respects JR. I also doubt he would rib him on-air the way he does if JR was an "asshole" as you claim, because Ross would be much less inclined to take it and keep going. After a while though, anyone is going to get frustrated and start showing that frustration.

 

[The Snake]

Why should the WWE treat him better than anyone else? He's a damn announcer for the love of God.

They dont tell ANYONE but the huge superstars who's switching in the draft. J.R. is not a huge superstar.

J.R. was supposed to help make Smackdown the A show. J.R. failed.

You've failed at posting something without contradictions right there - If he is just an announcer and not a huge superstar on what level was he supposed to help Smackdown the "A" show?

EDIT: Just saw the guy above me picked up on this point, I was meant to post hours ago, but my nets been down

On the subject, I'm not a "grand scheme of things" type of person, when I was watching it then and there, I found myself agreeing with J.R., it took me a while to start to like Jericho again after he threw HBK through the TV and started beating up the old guys, but in the past couple of shows, I've really warmed towards him, I think it's a testament to J.R's commentary how he is so integrated with the Superstars and he actually has an opinion about them, a rarity in today's commentary.

On the whole Jericho-Ross Bromance, does anyone else remember JR's responce to Jericho being drafted? He was ridiculously over the moon about it.