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MITCHELL SHORT: WWE Hall of Fame, Steve Austin, and Jim Ross – The Game is Afoot Jan 13, 2009 - 9:55:41 PM
It's been awhile since the Jim Ross game has been played in WWE. Ross, the most popular announcer in WWE history, has for many years been more than a little too popular for the likes of Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and others in WWE management. They were ready to send him out to pasture years ago but a combination of not being able to groom enough competent replacements (Remember Mike Adamle's big money contract?) and not wanting that replacement to face blowback from fans has prevented the move.
It hasn't prevented several mean-spirited embarrassments aimed Ross's way over the years. The last, ambushing the clearly upset Ross on the air during the last draft with the news that he was being switched over to Smackdown after all those years on Raw, was something of a wash.
WWE got Michael Cole over to Raw, the A show, without much unfavorable comparison. Ross, on the other hand, found himself Brer Rabbit in the Smackdown briar patch, enjoying a schedule that allowed him to easier attend those OU football teams.
So things were quiet on the Jim Ross front, at least until the inevitable announcement of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame at WrestleMania 25 in Houston, Texas. Austin, the biggest star in WWE history, and Jim Ross go together like grits'n'gravy. The two Southerners share a common philosophy about the wrestling business and were strong political allies. Ross's signature call "Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" evokes Austin at his peak.
Oddly enough, that call – and any other trace of Ross - was absent from WWE's otherwise excellent Austin Hall of Fame video. Also serving to separate Ross from Austin's Hall of Fame legacy was the news that "Cowboy" Bill Watts, Ross's mentor and the man who brought him into the business, would also be inducted in Houston. That means that Ross will be making Watts' induction, not Austin's. He would clearly be in Austin's corner that night, augmenting the action, just like he did all those Monday and Sunday nights – if not for the Watts induction.
Did Ross's detractors manipulate events so Steve Austin's legacy wouldn't strengthen the still-working Ross' popularity with the fans one more time?
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