Oklahoma! Oklahoma! Oklahoma!

[jobberjoe]

I know that it ain't PC to love such a viscious parody- but damn- that was some funny stuff- I was watching the Nitro after Mayhem last night- the show was the usual Russo million things at a time show- but the OK segment had me laughing and my gf- specially "CHAIR CHAIR CHAIR"

[strykerdarksilence]

Gonna have to disagree with you here bro. I found it distasteful and extremely unfunny then and I find it even moreso now.

[jobberjoe]

that is why I put it in the Wrestlecrap scategory

VAMPIRO!!VAMPIRO!VAMPIRO!

of course maybe it seems funnier to me now- cuz I am so over JR - I am not denying his talent-just saying I am bored with him and the King

my fave commentator of late was JBL- but that is over

the shows need a heel commentator

[eDemento2099]

I loved Oklahoma.

It may have been cruel to make fun of JR's Bell's Palsy (which is something over which he has no control), but a scathing mockery of JR's clichéd style of commentary ("Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Bah gawd, Keeng! This is gonna be a slobberknocker!") was VERY NECESSARY as far as I was concerned.

[Goldenbane]

evildead2099 said:

I loved Oklahoma.

It may have been cruel to make fun of JR's Bell's Palsy (which is something over which he has no control), but a scathing mockery of JR's clichéd style of commentary ("Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Bah gawd, Keeng! This is gonna be a slobberknocker!") was VERY NECESSARY as far as I was concerned.

I'm sorry, but I certainly agree with this point. While it's unnesessary to make fun of JR's Bells Palsy, his commentary leaves much to be desired sometimes.

[normcoleman]

Juvi played linebacker at Tijuana State

[Phosphor Glow]

I honestly never caught the whole Oklahoma thing...but I had mostly stopped watching WCW at that point...so I missed a lot of probably great Wrestlecrap.

Anyone got any Youtube/Dailymotion/whateverelse clips of Oklahoma?

["Nature Boy" Ric Moranis]

That whole thing was super mean spirited. But at the time, many people in the industry (especially Ferrara apparently) despised Ross. There are plenty of stories out there that he got where he was in the business by being a sycophant, a backstabber, and was generally an absolutely miserable person to be around if you weren't one of his political allies. To top that off, he had Johnny Ace's current job in WWE back then, which is never a way to make more friends.

So, Bell's Palsy aside, I don't think there were too many people in WCW going, "You know, maybe we shouldn't do this", especially someone like Tony Schiavone, who Ross allegedly got fired from WCW earlier in their careers. That doesn't make it right, plus, the average fan doesn't know that Ross could be an enormous turdball, and it just came off tasteless, and unnecessarily kicking some guy who practically everybody at home likes. It was like making fun of Gordon Solie, something WCW also did during that time with Crowbar on guest commentary.

The Juvi playing college football line was one of my favorites. I grew up watching Ross in UWF, and if you think he drops football lines in too much now, it's nothing compared to his announcing during the 1980s.

[laotioncommotion]

Maybe the Bell's Palsy stuff was below the belt, but Jim Ross is a public figure, and not above ridicule. I thought Ferrara played the part perfectly and managed to hit on everything that made Jim Ross one of the most unbearable announcers I'd ever heard. The only problem with the character was that there was too much, and he definitely shouldn't have been in the ring, let alone winning the Cruiserweight belt. But as a parody of Ross, I thought it was funny and spot-on.

[bob]

I haven't been able to kind any vidoes of Oklahoma in years

[Owen Ford]

Wow I usually get shot down for saying I loved that gimmick. Good to find people I agree with finally. Like everyone else I dont think the bells palsy part was cool but the rest was absolute gold, at least up to the point Dr Death left.

[Cap'n Crud]

jobberjoe said:

I know that it ain't PC to love such a viscious parody- but damn- that was some funny stuff- I was watching the Nitro after Mayhem last night- the show was the usual Russo million things at a time show- but the OK segment had me laughing and my gf- specially "CHAIR CHAIR CHAIR"

I thought the Oklahoma character was pretty funny too. Jim Ross' character seriously lends itself to being parodied. If you can't make jokes about people what else can you make them about? Trees?

[BlackJackRobby]

He was funny on commentary once or twice, but three or more times got old.

He was good as a manager for Steve Williams, but bad as a unbeaten wrestler that helped ruin the cruiserweight title.

[Cheeba]

Oklahoma would have been funny if Ferrera hadn't made fun of JR's bells palsy. That was just f***ing cruel and stupid.

[Crappler El 0 M]

JR is someone most fans generally like in the first place. The thing that made it most difficult to enjoy was that Ed's facial expressions and slurred speech was a clear mockery of JR's Bell's Palsy.

[eDemento2099]

grapplercrappler said:

JR is someone most fans generally like in the first place. The thing that made it most difficult to enjoy was that Ed's facial expressions and slurred speech was a clear mockery of JR's Bell's Palsy.

But what was Ferrera supposed to do as far as a convincing mockery goes?

[Crappler El 0 M]

evildead2099 said:

grapplercrappler said:

JR is someone most fans generally like in the first place. The thing that made it most difficult to enjoy was that Ed's facial expressions and slurred speech was a clear mockery of JR's Bell's Palsy.

But what was Ferrera supposed to do as far as a convincing mockery goes?

Certainly not Ross's Bell's Palsy effects. As I tried to point out, JR was not a good candidate for parody. He should have stuck to parodying JR's catchphrases and tendacies as an announcer: saying 'Slobberknocker' and using animal metaphors like 'scalded dog,' 'pet coon,' and 'government mule,' not to mention repeating things like 'Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!' and using a Southern drawl without mimicking the slight speech impediment brought on by his bouts with Bell's Palsy). BG James has parodied JR without making fun of his facial paralysis and slightly slurred speech by saying things like, "____ has a family!" and repeating things three times.

[Se7en: Horse That Wrote Poems]

aaaaaaaaa said:

It was like making fun of Gordon Solie, something WCW also did during that time with Crowbar on guest commentary.

This has peaked my interest.
PLEASE refresh my memory as to how putting Devon Storm on commentary was making fun of the late, great Gordon Solie.

[Ralnathane]

Honestly... I think that the key to commentary is repeating things 3 times.


STICK, STICK, STICK!!!

[angryfan]

normcoleman said:

Juvi played linebacker at Tijuana State

Damn it, beat me to it. "Who is that, Juvi? Juvi! Juvi! Juvi!"