Jim Ross Talks Adnan Virk Being Lead WWE RAW Commentator
In the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, Michael Cole had a mishap on commentary when calling Bianca Belair's victory over Sasha Banks. Cole thought the match wasn't over when it really was and of course, once that happened, fans on social media began to roast Cole for ruining Belair's moment.
On the latest episode of Grilling JR, former WWE commentator Jim Ross spoke about Cole receiving criticism for his mistake at WrestleMania, noting that commentary isn't as easy as people think. Ross has received plenty of criticism for calls he's made during his time with AEW and said he's heard the criticism on social media too. JR noted that it's just a tough time to work on television.
"I thought that some of the audience was a little hard on Michael Cole for having some mistakes," Ross said. "This damn job is not easy. You think about it in logic, to do a 2-3 hour show without a script, you're not reading lines, you're creating lines, you're creating the content. You're bound to make mistakes here and there and because of social media, a lot of the fans have no patience.
"Of course when you make a mistake, they call for your head. 'Oh they've got to get rid of JR,' or 'Oh they've got to get rid of this guy or that guy,' easy Einstein, what are you basing this on? How old are you 12? What do you have 19 Twitter followers and you're going to be an expert and tell me how to do my job? You can make suggestions but you can only go so far with that logic. It's a tough time to be on television with the digital imprint that's there because everybody knows more than they've ever known, curtains been pulled back and now everybody's a quasi booker. It's just not fair quite frankly."
Adnan Virk made his commentary debut for WWE as the new play-by-play commentator earlier this month, which was first exclusively reported by Wrestling Inc. Virk was said to be hired because of his ability to make wrestlers seem bigger than they are. Ross said he's met Adnan before, saying he's a nice guy who will be a great addition for WWE after he gains some experience.
"Nice guy, I've met him one time or two," Ross said. "He's a nice kid, good fan, that will help him eventually but he's finding out that this job ain't easy. There's big shoes to fill, it's a key role. I just don't look at RAW as the flagship show anymore, it used to be, but it's not any longer. They've hung their hat firmly with FOX [and SmackDown].
"Adnan did a nice job, he's just in a tough spot man. Wrestling fans aren't going to give him any breaks. None, and that's unfortunate. Just give him time and let him settle into his role and do his storytelling. You got to have chemistry with your partners, your partners have to have talent and they got to understand how to take care of you. No matter if he's a big fan or not, he's got to adjust. He was at ESPN, MLB, he's got broadcast experience which I'm sure helped him get his gig."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.