 |
| Good on you, JR. Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Jim Ross, voice of WWE through the Attitude Era and beyond, has retired from the company, WWE.com announced today. The reason given for stepping away was that he wanted to spend more time on "personal business endeavors," which I can only imagine is his barbecue sauce company.
Ross is considered by many to be the best play-by-play announcer in wrestling history. He always had a knack for getting over the talent in the ring through both general match-calling and through iconic calls, especially for Steve Austin and Mick Foley. Ross also endured a lot of in-character embarrassment, and for that reason, was a lightning rod for debate surrounding WWE's treatment of non-wrestler characters. Ross himself has come out and said that his "treatment" has all been part of the business, but I will admit that no matter how willing he was to kiss ass forcibly, I still really didn't want to see it.
Still, Ross will be remembered more for what he brought to the broadcast booth every Monday or Friday night and for one Sunday a month. Whether he called action for WCW or WWE, RAW or Smackdown, good ol' JR was a staple of our wrestling fandom for over 20 years. Enjoy retirement, and thanks for the memories.