Jim Ross Retires...or Does He?

I was pretty shocked to see that good ole JR retired today. To me and a lot of fans, and this is not taking away from Micheal Cole, he is and always will be the voice of the WWE. Not only he was the best play by play guy that they've ever had, he was also a beloved on air personality and a big name backstage on the talent relation side of things.

So, with his unabashed love for the business, why would he suddenly retire with so little fanfare?

Well, this IS wrestling after all. You have to expect a swerve somewhere, right?

I was completely unaware of the situation until the news broke on my favorite wrestling website, pwinsider.com. Which, as a cheap plug, I've had the joy to work with on more than one occasion and let me just say those guys are class acts. It's hard to find good journalism in the wrestling world, and it doesn't get any better than PWI.

With the cheap plug dissipating, I'll come full circle back to PWI's reporting of this strange turn of events. Jim Ross was working in a very high profile position with the company as recently as a few weeks ago, when WWE and 2k14 held their big round table to introduce the new game. It was there that a blatantly drunk Ric Flair stole the show, and not in the way that the WWE wanted him to. He cussed, he rambled, and he told heartbreaking stories about his recently deceased son. You know, he was being human, while remaining damn entertaining. Well, apparently the WWE didn't see it that way and were highly critical of how he behaved himself, and reportedly escorted him away as to not "embarrass" the company any more.

JR, as a sort of master of ceremonies, was apparently the scapegoat for the fiasco and has been living on borrowed time since then. PWI is reporting that apparently Vince McMahon himself was the one who decided to let JR go, and that the whole "retirement" announcement was just a way to fire JR without angering the wrestling fans who would never forgive the WWE for their treatment of a beloved legend.

I don't know why they would see it as a problem, considering they've been pissing all over Jim Ross for as long as I could remember. Whether it was dopey angles like the fake Diesel/Razor Ramon, or the embarrassment he suffered with the Kiss My Ass club and Vince's obsession with constantly burying him, JR has long been the WWE whipping boy. They didn't like his honest attitude, they didn't like his age, and they certainly didn't like the fact that his face didn't fit the "image" they wanted. Let's not forget that at the height of his popularity, they replaced JR with Micheal Cole and basically told the WWE universe that the powers that be will tell us who to like, and our opinion really doesn't matter one damn bit. If you want further proof of that, just go look up Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Zack Ryder.

The WWE has had this self touted reputation for listening to the people and letting them decide which way the company goes. Well, Vince, if you listened to the people, the people wouldn't be listening to Micheal Cole!

So, to be clear with you readers, it very much looks like the WWE fired Jim Ross because, deep down, they've always wanted to fire Jim Ross. And, to be fair, they have fired him numerous times before. I truly believe that Vince McMahon hates Jim Ross, just like he hated Dusty Rhodes when he snatched him from greatness and forced him to wear yellow polka dots. If Vince didn't make you, he doesn't like you. Sure, he gave JR his hall of fame ceremony and sang his praises one night out of thousands upon thousands of days, but don't fool yourself into thinking that he was anything more than the dirt that HHH licks off of Vince's shoe.

I'm pissed at World Wrestling Entertainment, but at this point in my life I don't even know why. This isn't the first time they've been completely unfair to an undeserving individual, and it certainly won't be the last time.

But this is the voice of the WWE, goddamnit! You don't just toss him away like he was Mike Adamle. How can you condone letting Randy Orton, a two time wellness offender who is notorious for his antics that have literally caused people to QUIT, become world champion when you fire Jim Ross for being entertaining?

Classy move, WWE. Real classy.

I'll be waiting down here at the bottom for you. It may be where I'm at, but it's where you belong.