AEW commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently discussed his retirement plans on the Grilling Jr podcast. JR had made it clear recently that AEW will likely be his ‘last gig’ in professional wrestling.
Jim Ross doubled down on those comments on his podcast this week. “I got a lot of comments online about a remark where I mentioned that; as far as I’m concerned? At this point in my life? AEW is my last gig, and I met that.”
Jim Ross on Tony Khan
JR would then compare working for All Elite Wrestling to WWE, saying that not everything is solely based on the owner’s whim. “I love working for Tony Khan, he’s a whole different ballgame. People just don’t understand, that the culture of WWE? It is what it is. It is all Vince [McMahon] related and oriented. When you get on the Vince’s good list? It’s a wonderful thing. If you’re not? It’s not so great.”
“Tony Khan’s about the same every time you see him” Jim Ross continued. “And he’s still a fan. He still loves the business, he loves talking about the business, telling stories and asking questions. He has an innate knowledge of things that went on before he was even born. So it’s really a fun experience.”
JR would finish by once again saying that this will indeed be his last job in pro wrestling. “I think at my age? I need to be realistic. As long as my work holds up to acceptable levels, hopefully better than that, but at least acceptable levels? I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else.”
Can you see Jim Ross ever returning to WWE or NJPW? Let us know in the comments
AEW broadcaster and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared on the Busted Open Radio show on Sirius XM. JR discussed a number of topics on the show, including his impressions of the young talent in AEW and how they have adapted to performing on national television.
“A lot of them come to me to ask questions,” said JR. “You gotta get beyond the fact that, ‘man, I’ve dreamed all my life that you were gonna call one of my matches.’ Okay, cool. Thank you, I’ll do my best.”
Jim Ross on Rule Changes
Ross also discussed some rules changes that have been implemented into AEW programming, some of which he is not a big fan of.
“The issue is, not everybody listens. They think that somethings [in the industry] ‘suck’. We don’t have tag ropes anymore because some of our crew think it’s lame. I think it’s bullsh*t. Heels need rules to break.”
JR would elaborate further, saying “you need shortcuts to gain an unfair advantage. It’s just common sense, it is basic human instincts. The heels when they get out and wrestle? They cheat. It’s never changed, it’s not going to change.”
“Most of them listen in and are appreciative” Jim Ross would continue. “I can tell when their eyes go off the topic. If I’m talking to you and you ain’t looking at me in the eye? You ain’t listening. So why should I waste my breath?”
The saying used to go, “No one is ready for Asuka.” That stopped being so true when Asuka lost to Charlotte Flair last year at WrestleMania 34. Asuka would drop the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship that night after tapping out.
WWE has struggled to recapture the mystique and dominance that Asuka once so easily exuded. “The Empress Of Tomorrow” has gone on to lose against a number of different women including Carmella and Mandy Rose.
“The Ball Was Dropped There”
During a recent episode of his podcast, The Jim Ross Report, JR would share his thoughts on this Asuka conundrum, highlighting WWE’s “mismanagement” of her since the ‘Mania loss.
“It has been mismanagement [of Asuka],” Ross confirmed. “I thought Asuka…the ball was dropped last year at WrestleMania after she lost her undefeated streak to Charlotte. They had a great match,” he admitted.
“Anybody that watches that match and tells me it wasn’t any good doesn’t know anything about [pro] wrestling. I think the ball was dropped there. It [has] been hard to get the momentum back going.”
“There’s A Place For Another Major Star”
Ross would go on to express his frustrations over WWE’s handling of Asuka since then, believing she could be another “major star” for the company.
“But man, as many people are tuning into the female elements of creative storytelling on RAW and SmackDown, for example, you’ve got to believe that there’s a place for another major star and I think Asuka’s it,” Ross declared. “I think she [has] been grossly under-utilized. Maybe that’ll change.”
Asuka recently retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Mandy Rose at WWE’s recent Fastlane event. With their annual extravaganza event just around the corner, however, Asuka is still without an opponent for WrestleMania 35 — despite Lana’s declaration that she would be facing her.
Ross and Lothario went way back, to JR’s time working for Bill Watts in Mid South Wrestling, where Lothario used his pull to get a young Shawn Michaels a job.
“Bill got a call from Jose saying he had trained this kid, Shawn Michaels, and that he wanted Bill to give this kid a shot, give him a break, and hire him.”
Certainly similar requests must have been made of bookers all the time in the territory days, but Ross said that Lothario’s word carried weight with Watts.
“Bill had never seen Shawn. He didn’t have 8x10s, he didn’t have any video tape. Shawn was a rookie. Bill hired him sight unseen, strictly on the word of Jose Lothario. That’s how trusted and respected this man was throughout his career,” Ross said.
“It was a blessing for me to even know him… The consummate pro. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jose’s family and friends.”
“Jose, we will miss you. But it’s been a pleasure knowing you. Until we meet again.”
Marty Scurll
Ross interviews Marty Scurll as well on The Jim Ross Report, and Scurll discusses the reason he got interested in the wrestling business as a kid.
“I think a big thing growing up was that my parents separated at a very early age. It was my mother that brought me up, it was my auntie, it was my grandmother,” Scurll said. “And then when I went to school, it was female teachers, so I didn’t really have many male role models around me.”
“I think when I turned on the TV and I saw your Hogans, and your Bret Harts, it was someone I could look up to and sort of be a male influence in my life.”
Busted Open
Ross also talks to David LaGreca on this episode. LaGreca hosts Busted Open Radio, which can be heard on SiriusXM.
Ross and LaGreca discuss the upcoming ROH and New Japan show at Madison Square Garden, their broadcast careers, and Busted Open celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Ross also discusses Survivor Series, Crown Jewel fallout, a potential finish for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch, and much more.
The full episode can be heard below.
When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
In the late 90s, the old NWO faction would release “paid advertisements” on Nitro. Bullet Club is now doing the same in NJPW.
The faction has been the focal point of NJPW’s marketing strategy for their July 1st and 2nd shows in L.A, and have now released the following video:
Bullet Club at NJPW G1 L.A Special
Somewhat surprisingly, Cody will receive an IWGP heavyweight title shot on night 1 of the 2-night event. At Dominion, Cody defeated Michael Elgin in what turned out to be a pretty important match.
The rest of the announced lineup so far:
NJPW July 1st 2017 Lineup
the Briscoes, Will Ospreay, & Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. Bad Luck Fale, the Young Bucks, Yujiro Takahashi & Marty Scurll (Bullet Club)
Jushin Liger, Volador Jr., Dragon Lee & Titan vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Jay White & David Finlay vs. Billy Gunn, Yoshi Tatsu, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
In the latest edition of the Elite’s Youtube series “Being the Elite”, Omega and the Young Bucks play a “harmful rib” on Masa. They also welcome Flip Gordon to the Ring of Honor roster.
Cody and Frankie Kazarian also appear on this episode:
Being the Elite
The Bucks and Omega have now posted 57 episodes of the show, which often includes other members of Bullet Club.
Flip Gordon, who took part in Ring of Honor tapings back in June, only started his career back in 2015.
The Young Bucks recently won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championships at Dominion, and are scheduled to defend those titles against former champions, Roppongi Vice, at the NJPW Los Angeles show on July 1st. The Bucks are also ROH tag team champions, and will most likely face War Machine soon.
Kenny Omega most recently wrestled to a time limit draw with Okada at Dominion. He is scheduled to participate in the IWGP U.S Championship tournament on July 1st and 2nd.
New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)
NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup
Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
RPW British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***
* Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut ** This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend. *** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series.
The WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup looks set to be one of the biggest events of the year and the entire event will be available to watch for free via the WCPW Youtube channel.
There will be 8 nations represented in the tournament and the performers in the English, Scottish, Mexican and German qualifying rounds have been revealed:
England – March 21st in Nottingham, England
Rampage
Zack Sabre Jr
Marty Scurll
Will Ospreay
Martin Kirby
Zack Gibson
Jimmy Havoc
Nick ‘Magnus’ Aldis.
Scotland – March 23rd in Motherwell, Scotland
Drew Galloway
Joe Coffey
Lewis Girvan
Kenny Williams
Joe Hendry
Mark Coffey
BT Gunn
Liam Thomson
Mexico – April 30th in Coventry, England
Rey Mysterio Jr
Alberto El Patron
Caristico
Penta El 0m
Rey Fenix
El Hijo del Dos Caras
Drago,
El Ligero
Germany – July 2nd in Berlin, Germany
Bad Bones
Axel Dieter Jr
Juvenile X
Crazy Sexy Mike
Cash Money Erkan
Lucky Kid
Tarkan Aslan
Pascal Spalter
The US, Japanese, Canadian, and Rest of the World groups will be revealed at a later date.
Top British promotion IPW:UK have announced some mouth watering bouts for their end of year Supershow V at the Casino Rooms in Rochester, Kent:
NJPW/ROH Will Ospreay will be taking on former WWE talent Cody Rhodes.
After his incredible bout with Ospreay at PROGRESS Matt Riddle will be looking to steal the show again when he faces “The Best Technical Wrestler in the World” Zack Sabre Jr
IPW:UK Champion Jimmy Havoc will be taking on Sammy Smooth in an I Quit bout
Tom Dawkins will finally get his hands on Joseph Conners
Tickets are still available for the stacked card here.
WWE talent booking contracts have become almost commonplace online, thanks in large part to WWE’s own filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a public company, all of World Wrestling Entertainment’s executive officers need to have their contracts released in SEC filings. Since WWE has multiple executive officers who also happen to perform for the company, that means that their talent contracts are all public and we see the current WWE contract whenever they re-sign. Older contracts have also come out in lawsuits over the years, as well, along with other internal pay documentation.
But one thing that I don’t recall seeing before is an official WWE termination letter. In one of the ongoing series of concussion-related lawsuits from wrestlers and their families represented by lawyer Konstantine Kyros, one was filed by WWE last week. Specifically, it’s the 2008 termination letter for Nelson Frazier Jr., then known as Big Daddy V, also known as Viscera and (King) Mabel. WWE outside counsel Jerry McDevitt filed a motion where one issue covered was Frazier’s place of residence, so he filed Frazier’s termination letter to show where he lived when the two parties ended their relationship. Here’s the full letter, minus personal information that I redacted:
There are a few key takeaways here beyond just the curiosity of seeing one of these:
This is a notice of his termination being effective three months later. It’s tricky to figure out precisely how that relates to the conventional wisdom that there’s a 90 day “non-compete” period, as what WWE allowed during that period has changed at times. Here, it’s pretty clear that there are still 90 days left that the wrestler is still under contract and there’s nothing about being allowed to work elsewhere. These days, wrestler can usually pick up non-televised indie bookings while still being paid his or her WWE guarantee for 90 days, which can be fairly lucrative. One unique example is Daniel Bryan, who was re-hired before the 90 days were up after his abrupt firing in 2010.
The wrestler being told to pay “particular attention” to the “promoter intellectual property” section of their contract is essentially telling them not to use their WWE names. In the case of Frazier, page 25 of his 2007 contractsays that the WWE intellectual property is Viscera, Vis, Big Vis, Mabel, M.O.M., Men on a Mission, Ministry of Darkness, Corporate Ministry, and The World’s Largest Love Machine.The previous page says his IP is just his real name.
Wrestlers must return “any tangible property” of WWE that they took possession of during the course of working for the company, “including, without limitation, costumes, accessories, inventions, and any title belts.” Since the wrestlers buy their own costumes, it’s hard t figure out what any of those could be other than the title belts.
Overall, though, there’s nothing too surprising here. It just helps demystify the inner workings of WWE a bit, and that’s always fun.
The crew at WrestlingDVDNetwork.com continued their week of match reveals for the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-Ray set today by announcing that these three will be included:
NXT Championship Finals: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT August 29, 2012)
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (NXT ArRival February 27, 2014)
NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: Rival February 11, 2015)
The following report comes courtesy of F4WOnline.com:
Dark match:
Jeff Cobb defeated El Mariachi Loco
Wednesday, February 24th:
Jack Evans defeated PJ Black
Jack cut a heel promo on the crowd before the match started where he called himself “The Dragon Slayer”. Midway through, Drago appeared on one of the corner platforms wearing a dragon skull and taunting Jack with nunchucks. Finish saw Drago come down and try to spit mist at Jack, but ended up hitting PJ which led to a rollup.
King Cuerno defeated Killshot
They messed up a move on the apron but it didn’t take much away from the match. Cuerno kept beating on Killshot afterwards until Fenix came out for the save
Chavo Guerrero, Mr Cisco, & Cortez Castro defeated El Texano Jr in a gauntlet match
Cisco is eliminated within 10 seconds after a kick to the face, Castro put up more of a fight in that it took just 2 minutes to beat him. Most of the match was Chavo/Texano with Cortez using Texano’s rope to trip him and hold his feet down for the cover
Johnny Mundo defeated Cage
A woman came out to distract Cage but I could not identify her (Blonde hair, similar attire to Asuka). After the match, both of them beat down and taunted Cage. Good match
Wednesday, March 2nd:
Cobra ??? (Last name sounded like Moon) defeated Sexy Star via submission
Cobra made her debut and looked to be Cheerleader Melissa under a blue snakeskin bodysuit (If it helps, she had a tiki tattoo on the back of her neck). The Mack came out to cheer Sexy on and Marty the Moth was in the stands near the end to distract Sexy. Cobra won with a rear naked choke and did some hissing towards Marty, clearly some type of relationship between them.
Prince Puma vs Pentagon Jr went to a no contest
Nice back & forth matchup until Mil Muertes ran 5 minutes into the match and beat both of them out. Mil left both laying with a double flatliner
Fenix defeated King Cuerno in a ladder match to regain the Gift of the Gods title
Awesome ladder match which saw them fight in the stands and in the floor seats. Match ended with Fenix giving Cuerno a top-rope hurricanrana through a table, then grabbing the title. The tapings ended with a staredown between Mil Muertes from his throne and Fenix on the ladder.
Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE).
On May 16, 2014, WWE disclosed that it had reached a multiyear deal with US broadcaster NBCUniversal for its long-running Raw and SmackDown programs, stating that the annual value of its television distribution agreements would reach $200 million, well below what investors were expecting.
Daniel Moore, an analyst with CJS Securities, said in a research note that, “Given management’s more optimistic tone and the fact that other major sports franchises have garnered much higher increases, this outcome is likely to be viewed as disappointing by many investors.”
On this news, the value of WWE’s stock plummeted by over 43%.
KSF’s investigation is focusing on whether WWE and/or its officers and directors violated state or federal securities laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) or KSF Partner Melinda Nicholson (melinda.nicholson@ksfcounsel.com) toll free at 1-877-515-1850.
Could the son of the late Chris Benoit be eyeing a future in the world of mixed martial arts?
An image has surfaced of David Benoit standing inside the cage with reigning IWGP Tag Team Champion and former WWE talent Davey Boy Smith, Jr. (who has been intermittently training for a possible career in mixed martial arts since his time in WWE), presumably during a sparring session.
The Wrestling Observer reported recently that Benoit was interested in following in his late dad’s footsteps by becoming a professional wrestler. Benoit, as well as the son of Scott Hall, Cody Hall, have been training in hopes of joining the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo. It has been said that Benoit’s ultimate goal is to become a WWE Superstar.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
JR on WWE Night Of Champions PPV: “Solid show with an outstanding main event is how I would describe the PPV. Thought Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton closed the show strongly and with a memorable conclusion that will hopefully garner them was water cooler talk in some circles. Bryan is a wrestler’s wrestler who has paid his dues and is an exemplary member of the WWE team and locker room. Congrats to him and hopefully he will have a long, productive reign as WWE Champion. Time will obviously tell on that one.”
JR on Paul Heyman and Ryback: “Ryback aligning himself with Paul Heyman might be the best thing that Ryback has been able to accomplish since getting healthy. If Ryback is to become a major, major player in WWE then @HeymanHustle is the man to help Ryback accomplish such.”
JR on his retirement: “I haven’t bought a rocking chair just yet in the midst of all this retirement talk. I’ve retired from WWE….but not from life. I’m being engaged by a variety of ‘suitors’ who are all presenting some interesting, potential projects to me. Until we pull the trigger on projects that I truly am passionate about and want to invest my time and energy, I will immerse myself in Oklahoma Football, the UFC, and the NFL which isn’t a bad thing for a sport’s junky.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
As announced on RAW this week, WWE Hall Of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland will be making his WWE television return at the Air Canada Centre in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on RAW next Monday night, September 9th, to promote his appearance on the season premiere of the SyFy original series, “Haven.”
Edge commented on his upcoming return in a new tweet on Monday night. Edge wrote:
“Comin back home to #Raw and Toronto next Monday. Raw gets Rated R. That’s good for business. See ya next week Edgeheads, bring your earplugs.”
Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross also wrote about the upcoming return, and was immediately re-tweeted by Edge. JR wrote:
Very cool…..@EdgeRatedR to be on #WWERAW next week. Safe ‘Haven?’ Not likely. #WWERAW
Jim Ross just appeared on The Ref 1400 AM in Norman, Oklahoma. On the show he said he would be attending this Monday’s Raw 1000 JR said that he will be in St. Louis He said that at this time he has no idea what his role will be. He then tweeted the statement out.
Planning on being at RAW 1000 this Monday in St. Louis as a fan. Wouldn't miss it! If called upon, I'm happy to do a little work. #RAW1000
The Dallas Morning News published an article about Jimmy Papa filing a federal lawsuit against WWE to collect royalties for at least 11 ring entrance tracks, including “Bad Street U.S.A.”, “Mr. Bang Bang”, “Master of the DDT”, and other. Full story here.
– WWE and THQ have put out a Stone Cold Steve Austin promo of the highly anticipated upcoming WWE ’13 Game
