WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ covering a wide array of topics mostly concerning this week's Monday Night Raw, and the upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view. He mentioned that his long-time broadcast partner Jerry "The King" Lawler was absent from the commentary team this week, as King performed his duties as Slammy Award host alongside Hall of Famer Booker T.
Verbally it was a busy night at the announce desk but I do enjoy the two man teams more than three voices chiming in endlessly especially on a marathon, three hour show.Ironically, WWE is similar to UFC in that they are one case of laryngitis, etc away from being in a bind on a major show regarding their broadcasters.
Ross was also critical of the play-by-play calling, as he has been more openly since retiring from WWE earlier this year.
Thought WWE had some solid bouts on RAW that would have been made even better if the commentary had been focused on what the viewers were seeing. For example, when a talent is in trouble, selling, agonizing, etc and it isn't verbally documented then that misstep takes one out of the moment. How much trouble or pain can an athlete be in if his angst is being ignored?
While some fans may complain that Dolph Ziggler has been relegated to the TLC pre-show next Sunday, JR remains optimistic.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango will wrestle on the TLC pre show Sunday. Many fans will bitch about this matter but the talents, if they are smart and I'm thinking that they are, have a great opportunity to raise the bar for the evening and make decision makers regret that the duo wasn't booked on the PPV.
Ross also spoke on the great ending segment to this week's Monday Night Raw, which featured a verbal beatdown between John Cena and Randy Orton, plus an all-out brawl that involved Triple H, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Stephanie McMahon and others.
The final segment added some fuel to the fire for Sunday's Unification match, the second in 12 years w/ Chris Jericho prevailing then, and hopefully the last. It also exposed some matchups that fans gravitated to immediately. HHH vs. Punk is money. Daniel Bryan vs. HBK is money even though I DON'T think that it will ever happen and it also put John Cena who stole the segment verbally and then built to a potentially unique situation at TLC as not only Orton's mortal enemy but also an unlikely ally to the Authority. Or not.
Plus, Cena vs. Bryan….Bryan vs. Punk…..are also great attractions if, like every thing within the genre, they are built properly.John Cena's promo Monday night surrounding by an impressive group of his peers and predecessors really stood out. Perhaps Cena's best mic work to date.
