Whose Idea It Was To Have Jim Ross Call Undertaker's WrestleMania Match?, JR On Triple H As A Boss
Jim Ross was recently a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast where he talked about returning to WWE to call The Undertaker's retirement match at WrestleMania 33 and what it's like having Triple H as a boss.
"Vince McMahon's idea was to bring me back," Ross revealed. "It was Vince's idea to call the Undertaker match. I was under the impression that Undertaker had suggested I call the match when he heard that I might come back. Kevin Dunn was crucial in the negotiations. For years McMahon would say to me and Kevin Dunn that we were his Number 1 and Number 2 guy. It's all about talent and television, or television and talent. Vince will always say that the two elements of his company to become successful are television and talent."
Ross returned to call the No Holds Barred Match between The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33. It was Undertaker's retirement match and the beginning of a two-year agreement JR signed to return to the company, a new agreement which now features Triple H as his boss.
"I gave [Triple H] the nickname of the 'Cerebral Assassin' because it fit his character as a wrestling heel, and a smart, cagey, kind of a deadly planner, or strategist that has the physical skills to be very dangerous," said Ross. "Hence, the Cerebral Assassin came about once while he was coming down the entrance on TV. Vince loved it, and Triple H has obviously embraced it, and it became his calling card. The Game was the best in a lot of areas; when DX could be 'challenging' to deal with, at that point of their lives, and the decisions that they were making, their lifestyle, their road schedule, the wealth that was coming their way; most of those guys that were making seven-figures plus a year."
"Whenever I had issues, I didn't feel as though I needed to play the trump card, and I needed somebody to address within that vicinity, Triple H was always the guy to go to because he was a good communicator and can communicate with his rowdy friends, so we got things taken care of. We knew he was going to be a good leader; he had a good vision, a good feel, and could always add things to any scenario to make it better. Here is the key thing; he had the ability to look at other people's storyline and angles and make viable suggestions to make what they were doing better. Most top guys had the ability to do it themselves, but they're not as forthcoming to do it for others to get them over because of the paranoia, anxiety and insecurities that people have in those regards. People feel as though they cannot acknowledge their competition."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.