New JR Blog: HBK To Return Soon, Steiner, More

Jim RossThe following is an excerpt from the latest online blog-commentary of WWE announcer and Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

–  Yes, I feel that HBK will be back in WWE action soon, as do most. Furthermore if Shawn’s schedule is properly managed he can continue to contribute at a high level for several years to come, if he so chooses. My opinion is that in the upcoming years that a HBK at 75% is better than the vast majority of the men who earn a living in the wrestling biz today. 

– My thoughts on the Steiners is that they were one of my favorite, all time tag teams and they were as dominate as any duo of their era. They had brotherly chemistry as a unit and always seem to be most comfortable as a tag team. I loved their toughness and athletic abilities plus they had "it" as a team back.

– Why do announcers look at the TV monitors while broadcasting a show and is that the best way to do one’s broadcasting job? Uh, yes. If announcers don’t watch the monitors then they don’t know what the fans are seeing at home and it really isn’t a good idea to ignore the TV viewers and what they are seeing. Wrestling broadcasters in general over talk their TV shows and should allow the pictures to tell more of the story as TV wrestling isn’t radio. Hearing announcers ramble on with endless run-on sentences about something totally different than what the viewer’s are seeing on their TV screen can become extremely annoying. I will also admit that I have been guilty of this broadcasting transgression.

– Why aren’t there more protagonist/antagonist announce teams like there was with Monsoon/Ventura, JR/Heyman, etc? I don’t have a profound answer on this subject but I have my assumptions. I think that organizations may feel like it is too "old school ‘rasslin" and don’t want to go there. It also could be the announce talent base that man many announce positions. It is an art form  to be able to balance the good guy/bad guy chemistry in a broadcast booth and not make the show about the announcers but instead focus on the talent. I love the angst that can be created in the right broadcast setting but as long as the broadcasters remember that they are there to enhance the wrestlers’ perception/stature/personas. I will admit that some of the most fun I ever had broadcasting was with partners who were perceived as villains such as the aforementioned and talented Heyman, whose persona was extremely easy to dislike, Jerry Lawler in the early to mid 90’s whose sarcastic wit was usually spot on and whose timing with yours truly was damn near seamless, and Jim Cornette who had an amazing understanding of the business and knew his antagonist role amazingly well and was one of the very best broadcasters for the genre of pro wrestling that I ever worked with in my 30+ years.    

– My thoughts for young wrestlers….talent development is an area that I loved being a part of at one time in my career and I am proud of the track record we had in helping launch or re-launch some distinguished careers in WCW and WWE. In a nutshell, young talents must be amplified versions of THEMSELVES and not portray what they PERCEIVE a pro wrestler to be. Bad acting is generally an automatic kiss ‘o death. Study the classic stars throughly and discover what made those men standout. When doing this,  one will usually discover that the greats of the past were simply being enhanced versions of themselves. They also understood their audience throughly and were able to engage the audience with the required "emotional investment."

Check out the complete blog at www.JRsBarBQ.com.

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