Jim Ross on Matt Osborne’s Passing, War Games, Mankind/Undertaker Hell in a Cell, and More

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently posted a new blog on his website, JRsBarBQ.com. In the new blog, Ross remembers the late Matt Osborne, the WCW/WWE WarGames DVD, the Undertaker throwing Mankind off of the Hell in the Cell, and more. Here are some highlights:

On Matt Osborne: The passing of Matt Osborne came unusually abruptly to me this past week. I hadn’t seen Matt in quite some time and had actually lost touch with him. I knew that he was still working some indy dates and appearing at some autograph shows but our paths had not crossed in years or so it seems. Matt was a truly excellent in ring performer and especially strong with his natural, grappling skills. He learned well in the amateurs in Oregon as the son of legendary pro wrestler Tough Tony Borne. 

Matt had a good run in the Mid South territory back in the day and was Cowboy Bill Watts kind of guy…legitimately tough and a man whose work was sound and physical.  One got what they earned from Matt who was one of the more aggressive talents that passed through the fabled territory back in the day. If someone would have asked me to give them my feedback on an ‘evil clown’ wrestling character, without seeing it, I would have likely have given that particular persona a thumbs down because of my admitted, old school background. I simply could not fathom anyone pulling off that persona in a way that would allow me to suspend my disbelief and actually invest in the presentation.  I was wrong. 

Matt Osborne aka Matt Bourne did exactly that and he was brilliant in his most famous and well known in ring persona. Doink the Clown’s success and notoriety is a testament to Matt’s skill and raw talent. Matt made what was presented to him from the creative arm of WWE his own and Matt made it work. Much can be learned by all talents not only of today but of tomorrow as well about that last sentence. Maniac Matt Bourne will always be membered by me as a skilled professional who was old school in so many ways, a fundamentally sound, naturally tough guy who was able to defeat any opponent except the demons that plagued him off and on for many years. 

RIP Matt Bourne…Maniac Matt…Doink the Clown…Big Josh…Matt Osborne. 

On War Games: Many new, wrestling fans are seeing the War Games for the first time now that the collection of Dusty Rhodes’ creation is available from WWE on DVD. I’m especially pleased to see my dear, late friend Dr. Death Steve Williams remembered as Doc was a participant in multiple War Games matches. I’d suggest that you give this DVD a look as some of the most famous and infamous stars in the genre appeared at one time or another in this marquis match. Doc military pressing  Terry Gordy multiple times in one War Games match still vividly sticks in my mind.  
 
Would I like to see WWE return the War Games to PPV? Not really. The old days lent itself more to the aggression and violence elements that the War Games concept needed to be successful.

On Undertaker and Mankind’s Infamous Hell in a Cell match:  Hard to believe that it was 15 years ago this past week in Pittsburgh that the Undertaker threw Mankind/Mick Foley off the top of the Hell in a Cell at the King of the Ring PPV. My calls from various aspects of that match have been dubbed into some insane, sports video clips over the years and others seem to pop up on a regular basis. I’m not saying that the Taker-Foley match from 1998 was the ‘greatest match that I ever broadcast’ (I’m never able to answer that one) but it is without a doubt the most memorable match I ever called. One reason for that is because fans simply won’t allow that night to be forgotten. 
 
As I’ve always said that the wrestlers write the music and we announcers simply provide what we feel are the approiate lyrics. Sometimes we get lucky. 

You can read the entire blog post here.

 

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