Jim Ross had a late in the week blog, here are some highlights.
on the last two, great TV wrestling villains
Were the last two, great TV wrestling villains Mr. McMahon and JBL? I’ve given this matter ample thought and it’s hard to argue against this theory considering the productivity each had and how each impacted their company’s business. As I’ve said on the Ross Report, being a truly great, TV wrestling villain in today’s landscape is more challenging than ever before or at least in the 40 years that I’ve been in the business.
on Roman Reigns feature on the WWE Network
For example, WWE did a fantastic job on the recent, Roman Reigns feature on the WWE Network. This show was excellent and did as much for Reigns as any thing WWE has done for him to date IMO. One has to wonder how much it would have helped Reigns if something like this show aired prior to WM31 and, specifically, on a three hour RAW before if aired on the Network. With the popularity of these close up look shows at various fighters and MMA stars, I would consider putting a shortened version, 10-15 minutes, of these types of shows within the three hour RAW’s as it would greatly enhance getting talents over and creating the emotional investment the fans must have for a talent to become a star and do it in front of WWE’s biggest audience plus serve as a great promo to encourage fans to see more of it on WWE Network.
on NXT injuries
The current rash of injuries hitting the NXT roster is obviously problematic. Can they be considered ‘fate’ or is it simply the high risk style of leaving one’s feet multiple times in virtually every match and the lack of applying wrestling holds that’s beginning to catch up with the talent? This is far from a WWE only issue but because they are the biggest dog in the yard, WWE gets the most attention. Plus, I’d surmise some indie wrestlers perform out of necessity and put off surgeries that they need but can’t afford to undergo.
on E60
Enjoyed the E60 piece on ESPN Tuesday night and Ben Howser did a great job producing this one hour story that he worked on for parts of two years. It was an intriguing look behind the scenes and proved that wrestlers are better “cast” or “booked” when they are as close to the real person as possible. The Adam Rose character is a great example of that opinion. The real life person is much more compelling than the fictional, TV persona that the South African portrays. Casting or “booking” is a delicate matter but any “booker,” if that role even exists in today’s world of TV wrestling, has a better chance of finding the next, viable or big thing if the TV personas are closely related to the individual portraying the TV character.
Check out the full blog at JR’s BBQ
