Here is a report of WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross’s one-man show on Saturday
There were about 300-400 people at the show. I arrived about an hour before the show, but there were still about 250 people ahead of me. There were lots of Macho Man t-shirts (just like mine).
The show started about 15-20 minutes late, but JR assured us that we’d get to the Hall of Fame in time. He mentioned that he got invited this year and would be attending too, and this drew a big pop from the crowd.
Michelle Beadle and Daniel Cormier were in the crowd, which was pretty cool. Beadle seems to be a legit fan, which is good to know.
JR’s stories revolved around his wife and how he met her (flight attendant), and how he was flying with Ric Flair when they met, and how Flair would basically hit on all the attendants. The conversation switched to the Plane Ride from Hell – and JR talked about someone selling Michael Hayes’s shaved mullet the next day. Hilarious.
Ross also talked about his own athletic career, his start in the business, and some of the racism in his early days. He also recalled being horrified by the memory of washing the McGuire twin’s backs.
The Q&A part of the show arrived and I was pretty lucky to be given a chance to ask a question. I asked him who he feels was the best in-ring performer. He said HBK, followed closely by Ric Flair.
The surprise guest was Samoa Joe (biggest cheer of the night). JR talked about how he met Joe the first time and basically said that he wasn’t “cosmetically superior” to anyone else and so he’d have a hard time making it. He said he was wrong, and Joe is here to stay. Joe talked about how that statement motivated him to be better at what he does. A guy in the crowd asked Joe if he’d like to work on the main roster directly or at NXT. Joe gave the PC answer that he’d be okay with either option. JR predicted that Joe would be in a big match next year this time, and he wouldn’t have time to make such an appearance.
Overall, it was a great show. JR was in fine form, and told a lot of fun stories. There were a few that only wrestling history experts follow, but he gave appropriate context. The crowd seemed to have a ball, and were happy with the Samoa Joe surprise.
