'He was terrible' - Current WWE Executive gives his verdict on Vince McMahon's commentary
We recently covered Jim Ross' thoughts on Vince McMahon's commentary, and Good Ol' JR felt that Mr. McMahon was underrated. Bruce Prichard, however, has a different opinion.
The WWE Executive Director sat down for a rare 'Ask Bruce Anything' session with Conrad Thompson for AdFreeShows.com.
Prichard started by naming Jesse Ventura as Vince McMahon's best commentary partner. The current creative head of the WWE stated that Vince McMahon was 'terrible' as a commentator.
Prichard explained that McMahon never actually called the action, and he even hilariously mimicked the WWE boss. Bruce Prichard, however, noted that no one could match the level of emotion that Vince McMahon brought to his commentary.
"I'd say Jesse Ventura was the best with Vince. Look, Vince was terrible. Vince never called sh**. It was like 'Oh my, then from there, Yokozuna with an arm drag, wait a minute! He's got him! One, two...oh no!' (impersonates Vince McMahon). Vince's cliches will take you on a ride however emotion-wise. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody that could match the emotional rollercoaster that Vince would take you on."
"Sometimes it was hyped up a little bit over the top, but it was, I mean, to this day, I still do the (mimics Vince McMahon). There were a lot of Vinceisms back in the day. 'Oh, what a maneuver!'."
It was out of necessity: Bruce Prichard on why Vince McMahon started commentating
Bruce Prichard revealed that Vince McMahon didn't want to be a play-by-play commentator in the WWE. McMahon was forced to take up commentary duties after the original play-by-play guy quit the company.
"I don't think that Vince ever fancied himself to be a great play-by-play guy. In the beginning, without a doubt, it was out of necessity. His dad's play-by-play man just walked out of the job one day. So, yeah, that was why Vince had to do that job, never having done it before. And then, later on, it was, he was the guy. He was the face. He'd done it for so long, but he continued to it."
Prichard first joined WWE in 1987, and he recalled WWE actively trying to find a new play-by-play commentator back then.
"When I came in 1987, the sh**, the very first or second month that I was there, there was always a search for that next play-by-play guy. You know, even then, in 87. He didn't want to do it. He wanted to find the right guy to come in and do play-by-play."
Vince McMahon's commentary still has many admirers to this day, but what do you think? How would you rate Vince McMahon as a commentator?
Please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.