Bruce Prichard: Vince McMahon Saw Himself As The Voice Of WWE

Bruce Prichard explains Vince McMahon’s role on the commentary team.

In 1971, Vince McMahon replaced Ray Morgan as a commentator and worked as part of the broadcasting team until 1997. During this time, he shared the announcing desk with Jerry Lawler, Jesse Ventura, Jim Ross, and more.

On a recent episode of Something to Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard responded to the criticism Vince received for his commentary and explained his actual role to the fans. Prichard says Vince wasn’t a play-by-play commentator, like most assumed. His main job was to tell stories from a fan’s perspective instead.

“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. 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.”

Bruce Prichard was a recent guest on Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, where he recalled an argument between them regarding the Montreal Screwjob. Fans can read more about it here.

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