Jim Ross is a living legend and considered by many to be the greatest wrestling commentator there is. Fans were sad to see JR part ways with WWE a few years ago, but he returned to the company in 2017, and he ended up calling the main event of WrestleMania 33.
Ross has called some memorable matches throughout his career, and during an interview with the AV Club he was asked which recent match was his favorite.
“There’s so many things that go into matches that make me like them. Obviously, calling Undertaker and Roman Reigns on a grand stage like WrestleMania—there’s nothing even close to that. But I’ve also called three of the [Kazuchika] Okada-[Kenny] Omega matches. I called Omega in Long Beach when he won the U.S. title for New Japan. The live stuff will always trump going into a studio to do voice-overs.”
Even though Jim Ross returned to WWE earlier this year, he still does broadcasting work for NJPW through his deal with AXS. Earlier this year Kenny Omega faced off against Kazuchika Okada in a match which went to a 60 minute draw, and some fans feel it was one of the greatest matches ever.
When asked if it was the greatest, Ross praised the match, but he hesitated to say that it is indeed the best match he’s ever seen.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent. Was it the best I ever saw? I have a hard time thinking somebody would actually want to argue the Okada-Omega matches were better than [Ric] Flair-[Ricky] Steamboat from 1989. I think both of those trilogies were phenomenal. And there’s nothing to complain about them, much less say one was better than the other. It depends on your taste, if you’re a big fan or a casual fan. I’ve been real lucky to call some great ones. Foley-Undertaker Hell In The Cell is the most memorable. It wasn’t the best match, but it gets talked about more. Those three Flair-Steamboat matches are hard to beat. The three Austin-Rock matches at WrestleManias were pretty incredible as well. I’ve just been so blessed in my journey. Fat kid from Oklahoma, buddy— Southern accent and Bell’s palsy, becoming a broadcaster and hanging around a fickle business for 40 years. You wonder how in the hell that happened. It was somebody’s plan.”
