With Jim Ross’ recent “retirement” I thought I would use the Favourite Five to look at my favourite wrestling commentators. Now there’s a lot of different commentators that have been out there over the years and many different styles. You might prefer dry play-by-play or you might prefer the colour commentary that only the best heels could bring you. I like a bit of both, hence the somewhat eclectic line up you will find here. I’ve also cheated on one occasion to include a commentary duo.
So with the greatest respect to the likes of Jim Cornette, Bob Caudle, Joey Styles, Jesse Ventura and Kent Walton, here are my picks…
Jim Ross
It would have been easy to miss Ross off this list in some senses and concentrate on some less well known names, but his general ubiquity over three decades or more shouldn’t get in the way of the facts. In his prime, Ross was one hell of a commentator. One of his key skills was his flexibility. He was equally compelling in the more technically orientated NWA era was he was in the cartoon era of the WWF. His calls added drama to many of the Attitude Era’s most memorable moments and yet when business shifted towards “wrestlers” again he could call a match with the best of them. He could sit aside the comedic Jerry Lawler and be just as effective as he was alongside the antagonistic Paul Heyman. For my money he outstayed his welcome in later years and perhaps lacked the motivation of his earlier efforts but even as a commentator on NXT this year he was as effective as ever. Yes his time had probably passed long before he actually went, but the fact that so many are sad to see him go says it all. And hey, it’s not his fault the WWE couldn’t find someone to replace him.
Gordon Solie
We now move onto the man that even Jim Ross called the best of all time. What made Solie so compelling for me was his attention to detail and the fact that it was never, ever, about him. For the first part, Solie was known to get wrestlers to apply certain holds on him so he could more accurately describe the pain and pressure on his commentary when these moves were applied in the ring. He would have been considered too “dry” for modern day wrestling, with his insistence on calling what was happening in the ring and treating it with the respect it deserved but it was perfect for the times he was in and never fell to the depth of, say, a Matt Striker who seemed intent on telling you everything he knew about the history of a wrestler without really telling you anything of importance and relevance to the match itself. He also called one of my favourite matches of all time, the 1989 “I Quit” match between Terry Funk and Ric Flair. He also introduced us to the “sup-lay”, a pronunciation I can be known to use to this day.
Paul Heyman
Of this “favourite five” he’s perhaps the one who did least commentary. And despite his run on the mic in the early 90’s in WCW it’s really only for his WWE work in the early 21st Century that I’m including him in this list. But despite the relative brevity of that run in overall terms compared to others on this list he was just so good that I had to include him. His chemistry with Jim Ross was such that it spurred even the great JR to new heights. Heyman would antagonise Ross on a weekly basis , so much so that you believed the two men hated each others guts. Indeed it was one small criticism of Ross in his later years that if he had spent as much time hyping wrestlers as he did his hatred for the “walking grease trap” Heyman a few more bad guys might have made it to superstardom. Heyman’s commentary was perhaps an extension of his ECW guru personae, but listening to him made it very easy to believe in what you were seeing (which is a common thread amongst a number of my picks) and made you realise just why wrestlers kept working for him even when cheques were bouncing.
Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon
They wouldn’t have suited every promotion under the sun, there is no denying that. In the work-rate focused NWA they’d have been up the creek without the proverbial paddle. This can be seen by Heenan’s infamous “that’ll give you Excedrin Headache Number 9” comment when Mick Foley was power-bombed onto the concrete by Vader. But for the WWF’s Sports Entertainment Era they were the perfect fit. Neither could have called a classic technical match very well but they could get over the wacky characters that pervaded the company at that time and did it with such infectious chemistry that you couldn’t help but laugh along with them. “Will you stop” is still a phrase me and my mates will use to this day in honour of this pairing. The fact that there are websites and pages dedicated to the great comedy quotes of these two just go to prove how endearing they were.
Lance Russell
Perhaps it was a case of Russell finding his niche and having the fortune to land in the territory that suited him down to a tee. But then again I doubt there’s ever been a commentator SO suited to his place of work as Lance Russell was to the Memphis scene. He famously never sat in on any production meetings (if they had anything that could be termed like that back in the day) because he wanted everything he saw and commentated on to be a surprise to him. And he had the quick reactions and thoughts to pull it off. No matter what wild and weird angle that was unfolding in front of him, Russell had the words that made sense of it all. He was friendly with the good guys and was not afraid to tell the bad guys that they were out of line, a must for a commentator in a territory that was still having heels and faces coming out of different dressing rooms in the 1990s. He could get excited, but kept things relaxed and credible and although he was as hard sell as any commentator (notice how every PPV in the WWE is invariably the best thing the commentators have ever seen) it never seemed forced nor that he was insulting your intelligence. You believed what he was telling you, and that helped put the wrestlers over.
– By Matthew Roberts