"It hurt my feelings" - Hall of Famer on Vince McMahon removing him from WWE introduction
Vince McMahon ultimately has the final say on the presentation of his television shows, including WWE’s introduction videos for RAW, SmackDown, and pay-per-views. One person who used to feature in the videos, Jim Ross, has admitted that his feelings were hurt when he noticed he had been removed.
This week’s Grilling JR podcast focused on the January 7, 2008 episode of WWE RAW. Ross watched the show as-live and gave his take on various aspects of WWE programming around that period of time.
The WWE Hall of Famer confirmed that Vince McMahon decides who appears in video packages before shows. While Ross considered it “a great source of pride” to hear his voice in the videos, he was also disappointed when Vince McMahon replaced him.
"I took that as a great source of pride when some of my bites were featured in those opens," Ross said. "I thought it was pretty cool, so it was a source of pride for me. When it got changed, when I got eliminated from it, it hurt my feelings, egocentrically. I wanted to be part of the open."
Nowadays, Vince McMahon’s RAW and SmackDown shows open with a video package showing various legends, followed by WWE’s “Then, Now, Forever” slogan. Each show then has another video package highlighting some of today’s top Superstars.
Vince McMahon’s RAW and SmackDown introductions
“The Search” by NF is the theme music that is currently used on Vince McMahon’s WWE RAW show. Although Drew McIntyre is the WWE Champion, Randy Orton is the last Superstar in the introduction.
On Vince McMahon’s other main-roster show, WWE SmackDown, “Are You Ready” by AC/DC is used as the theme music. Roman Reigns, the current Universal Champion, appears last before the show starts.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to SK Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.