Slam! Wrestling’s Blaine Van Der Griend talks about the art of announcing with Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Terry Funk, Larry Zybysko, Scott Hudson, and Chris Cruise. J.R. talked about the changes in his job over the years:
“When I first started, I was a wrestling announcer doing play-by-play or hold-by-hold calls, while now I am no longer considered a wrestling announcer and am more of a storyteller,” he said. “From a broadcaster’s perspective, I liked the original play-by-play presentation a great deal but overall the business has improved immensely when one looks at the income the wrestlers are able to earn, the production improvements the TV folks have brought to the table and the global exposure of the product. It’s all about the money and there is more money to be made by more people within the industry than ever before.”
Heyman talked about the way he viewed his role doing color with J.R. on Raw:
“I learned more about announcing from Jim Ross than I can ever describe. He was a marvellous teacher, because he wanted to be the best, and didn’t want anyone to drag him down,”… I liked it when JR would bring the fight to me on the air. I knew I was pushing his buttons. But the job was to always battle each other over the storylines, and we really felt it. He took the position the babyfaces were heroes who were being victimized by the dastardly heels, and I defended the heels as if my life depended on it. That simple formula made for some great on-air arguments.
“I always approached colour commentary as being the heels’ advocate. I didn’t just want to take shots at the babyfaces, which had become the norm. I wanted to present legitimate arguments from the heel perspective as to why this move, this attack, this swerve was justified. I didn’t want to say things heel-ish just for heel’s sake. I wanted to come across like a lawyer presenting the case to the jury,”
Terry Funk described the ideal announce team as being like a famous comedy duo:
“The key is to have two guys that meld together very well. That’s the real key to the situation; it’s a good team, not a good individual. Really, it’s like a straight man and another guy. It’s Abbott and Costello all over again,”
Scott Hudson talked about getting props from a legend in the wake of the disastrous “Raw is WCW” main event in 2001:
“As we were leaving up the ramp, I saw Arn backstage and he was covered in sweat. So I went up to him to ask if he was okay and he says, ‘Man, I don’t know how you guys do this every week.’ Coming from a guy who is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest talkers in the business, I took that as a compliment.”
There’s more in the article. It’s worth reading if you’re interested in what the guys calling the matches have to say about their craft.
