Jim Ross Talks His Style Not Working In Today's WWE, Turning Jerry Lawler Heel Again, Austin & Rock

Recently, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin talked to 'Good Ol J.R.' Jim Ross on The Steve Austin Show. Interestingly, Ross acknowledged that his announcing style would not be conducive to today's WWE broadcasts. Also, Ross talked about working with Jerry 'the King' Lawler for WWE 2K16, the video game.

Ross said WWE's commentators today have a difficult, unenviable position.

"I think those guys have a tough job. It's just a different style. I'm kind of glad that I'm not [in that position]," Ross admitted. "[WWE] have more to sell. They have a mall where these other wrestling companies have a storefront. They have a smaller inventory to sell, whereas the WWE has a ton of things to promote and sell and their own network, et cetera, et cetera. So the announcers are obligated to get so much of that content in and that's built into the show."

According to Ross, his commentary style would not be conducive in WWE today, as he's more of a play-by-play commentator and the commentators today are asked to plug a lot of different products and are very produced.

"I do miss walking out there and sitting down and going to work, but I don't know that my style in what I'm most comfortable in doing would be applicable in WWE these days based on how the guys are produced and the obligations they have to get the product over and all the stuff they [have] got to sell."

Ross stated that he would welcome the opportunity to call professional wrestling shows that are more in line with his strengths, though he acknowledged those jobs are few and far between.

"I miss the red light going on. I miss the crowds. I don't miss the TSA people. I don't miss the hotel representatives or the rental car guys or whatever." Ross continued, "I feel like I'm an old wishbone [offense] football coach that the game has passed me by [in] that respect. And until the wishbone got back in fashion, I don't know that I could do as good as I would like to hope that I could. But I miss it. I miss doing it. And certainly, I miss trying and if I had the opportunity to call just a straight [professional] wrestling show, I'd be jacked to get that opportunity. But there ain't much of those out there and there [aren't] many gigs open, and so I'm happy to be like kind of what [Austin] said. The armchair quarterback [position] works for me. I could do that from right here in the house."

On the topic of working with Lawler for the WWE 2K16 video game, Ross indicated that he would fly to Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesdays to work with Lawler after Lawler's WWE Smackdown tapings on Tuesdays. Ross said the duo never missed a beat after being away from the announce table as a tandem for so long and likened it to the chemistry in the ring between Austin and the Rock.

"This sounds egocentric, I'm sure, [but] we hadn't missed a beat. It was so natural. It would be like, I would suggest this. I always thought that [Austin] versus the Rock had great chemistry and I believe that [those] guys, in a different time, not 2015 [going] into 2016, but in a different time, [Austin and the Rock] could have been away from each other and [they] could be booked back into a match and I'd be very disappointed if [Austin and the Rock] missed too many beats. There was just a genuineness, an authenticity, and a feel, and that's kind of what Jerry and I had."

Ross claimed that Lawler enjoys working as a heel announcer and that he would probably prefer going back to a heel role over his current role as a babyface announcer.

"I've always given [Lawler] the credit for the success of our team because he is just so naturally good. And quite frankly, if WWE wanted to be bold, there's your great [heel announcer]. He has a hell of a lot more fun being a heel broadcaster than a good ol' lovable Uncle Jerry that survived a heart attack on the air. He loves being a heel, but that's not his role right now. That's not how he's cast."

In addition to these topics, Ross weighed in on Ronda Rousey's stunning loss to Holly Holm, Marcus 'Buff' Bagwell's recent allegations against him, and more. Click here to listen to the rest of the show.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: The Steve Austin Show