WWE Executive Bruce Prichard recently explained that Vince McMahon was never meant to be a traditional play-by-play announcer.
From 1971 until 1997, McMahon worked regularly at the commentary desk, calling matches alongside names like Jerry Lawler, Jesse Ventura, and Jim Ross. Over the years, fans often labeled him a weak play-by-play voice. However, Bruce Prichard says that misses the point entirely.
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, Prichard clarified McMahon’s real role. He said, “I think Vince saw himself as the voice of WWE, and he was the commentary. He felt that he knew how to sell it.”
“A lot of people get confused with what Vince did. People get hung up on ‘Vince is the worst play-by-play guy in the business.’ He was, absolutely. But Vince didn’t do play-by-play. Vince told stories, and the backdrop was a wrestling match. The idea behind the wrestling match was to tell you a story about why, what, and what have you, and to build excitement and build intrigue.”
He contrasted McMahon’s approach with announcers like Gordon Solie or Jim Ross, who focused more on calling holds and in-ring action. “Gordon Solie told you about the German Suplei (Suplex), and JR likes to call holds and what have you. It’s all fine. JR’s a great play-by-play guy, but he had difficulty sometimes telling stories.”
“People confuse what Vince did with play-by-play. Vince never claimed to be a play-by-play guy. He was your host, he was the guy that brought you through it. He was trying to look at it like a fan and a promoter to get you excited and do all this stuff.” [H/T: Fightful]
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