READ THIS FIRST We here at OWW can easily gauge what wrestling storylines pull the emotional strings of the wrestling community simply by the number of emails and guest columns we get on any particular subject. The immense volume of emails concerning the JR angle has grown so large that we have decided to open a Fan Jam dedicated to Jim Ross, and the angle that played out on RAW on October 10, 2005. If you are thinking of writing a column about it, then we are now encouraging you to do so. However, we ask that you keep it short. We would appreciate it if you keep your thoughts to a minimum so that we can fit as many perspectives onto the page without creating an endless novel. As you will see as you read this page, there are many different perspectives on this issue and we're happy to share them all. Good luck and don't forget that the 10 Commandments for Columnists still apply!

@@@@@@@@@@ -- by Brian Bertrand For some reason, I'm checking out OWW and I see this FanJam. I don't mean to come off like an A-hole but for god sakes, he's not really fired. He is too much of an asset to WWE for him to actually be fired. My favorite wrestling news site and OWW sponsor WrestleView.com, Jim Ross was in surgery for the removal of eight inches of his colon. Hell, even WWE.com posted an interview about it. So they're contradicting themselves, which isn't really the first time they did that but that's a story for another day. So please, don't believe in WWE entirely. I know it's cool and I understand what you guys are doing but NO, he isn't fired and NO, Coach won't be in that position for very long (thank God).

A Change for the Worse -- by Sean P. I'm going to keep this short and to the point. Jim Ross was the voice for the WWE for so long. And now he's gone. The King and J.R. were just such a good team. Even with the Couch thrown in, you still had the two same, great commentators. Good Ol' J.R. could turn you into a mark. Hearing him yell "Oh my Gawd, I think he was broken in half!" with such energy that you though it was real really did get your blood flowing. J.R. could call matches like no one else. When I tuned into RAW each week I was almost looking forward to King's and J.R.'s commentary as much as the matches. "Firing" him in such a demeaning way made me really despise the McMahon's. And I thought I had disliked them before. I would have expected such acts of demeaning from Vince and Shane and Steph but never from Linda. Linda has always been the one with decency and I respected her more than the rest of the McMahons. But to see her kick J.R. below the belt, she lost all respected. Congratulations Linda, you have just become a McMahon. But folks, we have hope. I doubt have a doubt in my mind that Stone Cold will beat the Couch at Taboo Tuesday. And then folks, we will see J.R. back on RAW again.

Jim Ross -- by ChAiNgAnG AnGeL I'm only 16, but I know what I like, and I know what I don't. Firing Jim Ross was an outrage in my opinion. He and King were a team, like Bat Man and Robin...it just doesn't feel right to have one without the other...I don't know how you expect to go through an episode of Raw without hearing "Well, Jerry, it looks like business is about to pick up," or "He ran off like a scalded dog!" It just won't feel the same to me. He's been there for 33 years, he's as big apart of RAW as Stone Cold and HHH are. He was there in the beginning, through the Attitude Era, and he was one of the reasons I watched Raw now days because he said what he wanted, and you knew he didn't care. Since I'm from the southern part of Ohio, so close to the West Virginia Border it's insane, his Southern Accent was rather comforting to me. I loved listening to JR and King bicker and debate all the time. Adding Coach to the mix upset me personally...you have to have the contrast between the commentators...Cole and Tazz are different, they don't have the same views...and that's what makes them such a great team. I don't want to sound like a brat, but JR is one of the biggest and most recognizable faces in the WWE. It's like taking Ron Weasley out of Harry Potter...the story can go on, but it's not the same, you know? SO, Mr. McMahon, with all due respect, you could lose some of your fans, especially those in Oklahoma, if you don't bring back the soothing southern accented commentator that we all know and have become familiar with for so long.

Jim Ross -- by The Burn I'll keep this short and sweet, I'm glad there are more people out there who couldn't care less about JR being on television anymore. I just hope it doesn't stay simply The Coach and The King, we'd have to call them The & Thee. Seriously, I'm glad good ol' JR was allowed his run in the business. I'm sure he's been key and helpful to a lot of different companies over the year and his presence at RAW was more, enduring than endearing. I think this change is a great change. I hope we saw the last stunner on Monday Night television and I hope we heard the last OMMGGAAAWWWW! It's time for something new. ----- Or so says The Burn.

Firing of JR -- by Tracey Reid (Melbourne, Australia) As I sat with my 9 year old son in front of the television from Melbourne, Australia I was stunned the way he was fired. I had a feeling all week because I heard rumours that JR was not well and needed to have surgery that he was ready to hang in the towel. BUT to the digust of what I saw how a man gave some much to the job he loved, the way he was disrespected in front of thousands of people, let alone millions around the world. Ive never liked the Mc Mahons I feel they are a pack of misfits from day 1.THEN to be kicked in the nether regions was completly out of control. Linda McMahon you have gone from a woman of reason to a woman who cannot make up her own mind and falls down to the dogs levels like the rest of the McMahon Family. JR has given so much to my personal viewing, The King I can handle the Coach at the best of times makes me want to smack him in the head with something With JR I enjoy hearing about the moves and his expertise of play by play. Raw used to be my favourite and I do so enjoy watching wrestling with my boys for entertainment but what I saw on Monday was the best way to describe it as "distasteful and lowest form of any entertainment". JR I wish you all the very best of luck in your future and I hope Austin comes back next week and re stuns them all. McMahon you and your family have issues and need to seek counselling and get off your power trip!!

Thank You, J.R. -- by Mason S. Fincham Is it just me, or did the McMahon's on this past edition of Monday Night RAW seem to be on a HUGE power trip? I'm stating this because they fired one of the main reasons I enjoyed WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night RAW--"Good 'ole" J.R. I know the McMahon's probably have a "legitimate" reason for letting Jim Ross go, but they fired him in such a way that it humiliated him. I loved hearing "slobberknocker," "jezebel," and many more of his cliches on RAW. He made it entertaining, and his commentary with Jerry "The King" Lawler was classic. He was a great announcer, and he was a true, "die-hard" wresltling fan. Vince McMahon ruined Monday Night RAW for me and many other wrestling fans. He got so caught up in his power/ego trip that he fired someone who still had some good years left in him. They humiliated him by kicking him in the nether regions and he never got a chance to properly say goodbye. I always thought J.R. would go out with a bang, thanking the fans for one last ride. Oh, no no no, the McMahon's had other plans. They wanted J.R. to go out with a fizzle. Well, it happened. Now I'm seriously thinking about whether or not I want to watch RAW ever again. Jerry Lawler and J.R. were classic until they threw Coach into the mix. I don't like Coach, myself. Instead of hearing "slobberknocker" and other cliches, we'll be hearing Coach brag about how he's the main guy beside "King" on Monday nights and how he's glad to see Jim Ross go. I don't care if J.R. had Bell's Palsy or whether or not he was an "old-timer," he was the RAW announcer I knew best and grew up with. J.R., if you stumble upon this, thank you for making RAW one the best things on Monday nights. Vince McMahon, or any of your family, if you stumble upon this, thanks for ruining RAW.

To all you JR fans, STOP CRYING!!! -- by [email protected] I don't know if its just me or if I'm the only one, but I absolutely couldn't care less about JR's "firing" and the biggest thing about this whole situation are those quotation marks, a lot of people, if not every other wrestling fan, are acting like he really got fired, which I think is ridiculous. I personally was never a fan of JR, I really didn't like him AT ALL, I always thought he was way to bias, it would just ruin the joy of the match sometimes, for example, JR was friggen "set on fire" by Kane back when Kane first went psycho, but now that Kane is a baby face, JR gives him enough pity for the all of us, Michael Cole IMO did a better job in commentary because of the fact that when Heidenrich was a heel, he raped or did something to Cole, and even though now that Heidenrich's a face, Cole still doesn't suck up to him and acknowledges the fact the he did something to Cole. Another thing I didn't like about JR's commentary is the fact that he ALWAYS points out something a heel did that didn't flow with himself, but if a Face does it he doesn't acknowledge it at all. And the last thing I didn't like about JR is what Coach and Snow made fun of him for back in that old feud, his "Ol' my Gawd!" awful voice and accent. Bottom line for me is JR's commentary was too bias, and too unbalanced for me and he was just to obnoxious, if people actually stop watching WWE just because of this STORYLINE, I would find it pretty ridiculous and immature, I can understand if he really was getting fired, but the fact he isn't is what makes me laugh at all the drama queens. it was probley JR's suggestion anyways because of the fact he needs surgery, I'm sure he was feeling the pain before. Quick Mentions For RAW: 1) WOO-HOO! A new diva who can actually wrestle! 2) Where's all the entertaining mid-carders? Chris Masters, Shelton Benjamin! stop putting them in matches with cruiserweights and put them in a feud together over who should be the next #1 contender over the IC title! 3) understandable, but still gotta ask, their both heels, why not pair up HHH with the McMahon family? 4) Lastly, why is RAW ALREADY dropping the Tag-titles off RAW and putting them on Heat?

Changing of the Guard: The Removal of JR from RAW -- by Brandon McCall Is nothing sacred anymore in the world of professional wrestling? With Jim Ross' recent "firing" from the RAW broadcast one would think not. Not to discredit the abilities of either Jerry "the King" Lawler or Jonathan Coachmen, but Lawler has made a career of obsessing over divas, and Coach fits nicely into his role as flunky to Eric Bischoff; however, there no longer exists a straight play-by-play announcer. If the various Internet rumors are indeed true are JR was removed from the broadcast position because of a need for a younger more attractive person at the position, then Vince McMahon and the rest of the powers behind the scenes should literally be ashamed of themselves. This leaves them with the task of bringing someone in, and most assuredly this person will have no knowledge of the business, although that shouldn't hold them back as most of the information is feed to them over a head set, but JR brought a certain dynamic to the program. In much the same way special appearances by wrestlers such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and the Rock on rare occasion invoke that sense of familiarity with the product so did JR. With the WWE drawing so much focus on its "Legends" and "Hall of Fame" inductees, one would think that keeping a commentator that has called the vast majority of matches featuring this wrestlers, would make sense. However, it can also be said that the overall wrestling product must evolve in order to stay relevant. Without developing new gimmicks, angles, and storylines wrestling would not be able to survive the on slot of new programming on television, lose viewer ship and ultimately become a fad much like "reality TV" is. Maybe this issue with Jim Ross doesn't so much speak to a needed change solely at the announce table but moreover, a change to the entire WWE. The "Attitude Era" was key in revolutionizing the wrestling industry and helping the WWE overcome WCW in the ratings. In closing only time will truly tell, if the direction that the WWE is headed in will pay off, and whether or not Vince McMahon should learn from the old adage "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it".

The "firing" of J.R. -- by tony donaldson The McMahons have always practiced a certain philosophy. Build a talent or personality into a star but when it comes time to part ways or change the scope, never let them go out with a bang. J.R.'s firing doesn't mean he's not a trusted employee of RAW or WWE. It just means , a storyline is being perpetrated. If a star is bowing out, the last thing McMahon wants to do is sing his praises if he can be utilized with the "enemy". In J.R.'s case, it's a chance to keep him on board, steal some of his thunder and further a storyline with the evil McMahons...generate some real good Heel heat. Gotta remember, next to Triple H, the McMahons have the combined egos the size of Manhattan. Understandably, Linda is not comfortable doing these skits. Vince is a genius when it comes to making money, but let's not kid ourselves in our zest for being a mark, he's as corrupt and ego-maniacal as they come and he'd screw you in real life just as quickly as is possible. I'm not against a change, JR was great and maybe we need one, but I hope they storyline leads to a triumphant return for good ol' JR...so he can at least bow out in a classy way with some appreciation in tow. That's the way I see it.

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