The Jim Ross Report
Release Date: September 5th, 2018
Recap by: Joe Aguinaldo
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
0:00 – Intro
Welcome to another episode of Slobberknocker audio with the man himself, Good Ole J.R. Coming up on the show is Cody Rhodes after winning the NWA title. Prior to that, J.R. had an opportunity to speak with Rey Mysterio about potentially re-joining the WWE. J.R. believes it’s inevitable that Rey goes back to the WWE sooner rather than later. Rey will also be on the podcast.
2:26 – What’s On J.R.’s Mind
J.R. went to the All In event and got there at about 8:00pm. He got to watch the last three matches and walked in during the Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada match. The match captivated him early and there were great little nuances during the match. The ROH guys who produced the TV show as well as the FITE app have to be commended for their efforts. This was the biggest PPV business the FITE app has done and they are expecting to do more than $1 million dollars. FITE was the top grossing sports app this weekend which means this event drove more revenue than MLBTV, ESPN and FUBO. Congratulations to everyone involved.
C.M. Punk had a great signing that did good business for him and Pro Wrestling Tees who sold half a million dollars worth of shirts at an ‘indy’ wrestling event. Punk did not show up at the All In event however, he was never advertised to be at All In. J.R. doesn’t feel badly that Punk ‘deserted’ his fans by not showing up and feels fans need to move on. J.R. is bothered that there is too much grief that Punk wasn’t at the show.
J.R. says don’t burn your Nikes and asks how ignorant can you be? Instead of burning your shows, why not donate them to someone who could use them like at a shelter, the Salvation Army or Goodwill who provide things to people that are in need. As far as Kaepernick being a spokesman for Nikes, J.R. doesn’t care.
Coming back to wrestling, it’s interesting to see fans gravitating to Becky Lynch. He thinks she is on the cusp of doing some great things. There’s a groundswell of support for her which is organic and is reminiscent of the development of the Stone Cold character. J.R. heard Becky and Charlotte were going to be in a Hell In A Cell Match (although I don’t believe that’s the case anymore). J.R.’s problem is that he doesn’t know what matches are at HIAC and which matches are in HIAC. He hopes not all matches are in a HIAC as having matches all in the cell can be daunting for the creative teams.
The Shield are going to sell a lot of merchandise and J.R. hopes they stay in a faction for longer than a cup of coffee. This could be a great organic thing where their individual careers can be solidified even more by having success in the Shield as people will start to entrust that brand. If you entrust the brand, there’s no reason you shouldn’t entrust it individually. Ambrose’s return was the perfect time to freshen up the Shield.
Nashville will host NWA 70th anniversary at the old Nashville Fairgrounds on October 21st. Billy Corgan (owner of the NWA) and Jeff Jarrett will be working together on that show. J.R. fully expects to see a Cody vs. Nick Aldis rematch. J.R. would like to see some of the former NWA champs who are able to travel to be part of that presentation.
Joey Mercury was recently arrested in Chicago. J.R. has never had a problem with Joey but sometimes says Joey can be his own worst enemy. He had an outstanding ticket which was traced back to him. J.R. wishes him well and thinks he could contribute to any company.
J.R. thanks Don Callis for having him on his podcast recently. J.R. enjoys talking about announcing with Don. Impact’s Bound For Glory PPV will be on Sunday, October 14th in Queens at the Melrose Ballroom. It’s almost sold out and tickets also remain for the TV tapings on the 15th and 16th as well. J.R. saw Tessa Blanchard at Starrcast and says she is going to be a top star. She’s developing in the right way.
Thoughts on RAW
- The thing that stood out the most to J.R. by far was the Undertaker/HBK segment which was so much better than anything he’s seen on TV. At times, the Becky Lynch/Charlotte stuff has been extremely good because it feels real and it’s organic but the Taker/HBK took him back. If Taker and HBK may not be in their physical primes, they are definitely in their primes when it comes to psychology and telling a story. J.R. would want to see HBK vs Taker as opposed to HHH vs Taker. If Taker vs HBK were figured into Wrestlemania 35, this would be huge. He thinks there’s a better than average chance especially when you look at the time they were given on TV.
- J.R. is happy that Ziggler and McIntyre won the tag titles. It makes them feel like main eventers. The question is whether or not there will be a commitment to rebuild the tag team division which creatively doesn’t seem to be the case.
- Alexa Bliss got a win she needed and the way she got it was very creative.
- Watching the facial expressions in the Chad Gable and Bobby Roode segment, J.R. thinks you have a natural born heel in Gable who is a big time diamond in the rough.
- Finn Balor lost again and J.R. thinks he needs to step away and reassess his gameplan in order to freshen up. You can’t let younger phenomenal talent mire through things when you see they don’t have a direction. Something you could try is putting Finn in a faction like the Balor Club.
28:24 – Slobberknocker Of The Week
This week’s candidates include:
- Undertaker and HBK who stole the show (RAW). They are so far ahead of making an emotional attachment to the fans than their peers. They are not just over but really over which makes it easier for the fans to support their guy.
- Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre especially if they are going to be used to rebuild the tag team division.
- Chris Jericho who surprised everyone with his appearance at the All In Show. J.R. loves the fact he shot an angle for his cruise.
This week’s winner are Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks and Conrad Thompson. All in and Starrcast were amazing events and J.R. could not have been treated better. If J.R. had a say, there would be another All In event and try to make it even more fan friendly.
35:38 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
This week’s candidates include:
- Nick Saban (head coach of The Alabama Crimson Tide) who blew up at ESPN reporter Maria Taylor when she asked him about his QBs. (he since apologized). He is a competitive head coach but needs to loosen up.
- Reverend Charles Ellis III who made a fool of himself on stage when he introduced Ariana Grande and how he held her which was somewhat inappropriate (he has since apologized).
This week’s winner (in a light hearted way) are the Penis Druids who were involved in the presentation of the Joey Ryan match. J.R. likes Joey who has a gimmick that is unique but sometimes, you gotta know your audience and that gimmick would not play well with the female audience or children.
41:26 – Ringside with Jim Ross from the All In Event
J.R. had great conversations with Rey and Cody. J.R. feels Rey is WWE bound but don’t be surprised if you see him wrestle for WWE, New Japan then back to the WWE.
Matt Striker gives J.R. a great intro to the audience.
J.R. talks about his travel to the All In event from Oklahoma. He saw the last three matches and says the show had a little bit of everything which is part of what made this event great. It was like a buffet of things. J.R.’s observation is that the business is healthy and for ‘old dudes’ like him, he made more money in three days at the London Comic Con than he made working in his first year with Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk when he first started. J.R. says he’ll stop doing this when people stop booking him.
49:26 – Rey Mysterio
J.R. introduces Rey Mysterio to the audience.
Q: J.R. asks about the speculation regarding Rey going back to the WWE and what is the lowdown on that?
A: It started with Rey’s return to the Rumble which people were not expecting and that started the conversation about Rey making a return. Rey and the WWE are still in discussion as to when this may happen. He’s just waiting for the WWE to say ‘now’ and if the time is right…let’s go.
Rey mentions that he still has his first paycheck (150 pesos) back from 1989.
J.R. says Rey outgrew the roll he was brought in to do in the WWE. He was brought in to be an attraction and to build the brand for Latinos to idolize. The great thing is that Rey overachieved and became a hero and drawing card to every demographic. He is not just a Latin star….he’s a star.
Rey thanks J.R. and says he didn’t know what was going to be ahead or what the reaction of the fans was going to be. He was given the opportunity to do what he loves to do on a big platform which was wrestle. He wasn’t concerned about the money or who he was wrestling, he just wanted an opportunity which is what everyone wants. He got his opportunity and ran with it.
J.R. and Rey often talk about Rey still having time left on his WCW contract before coming to the WWE. At the time, Rey was still being paid by WCW. They decided that Rey should take the time off to heal up and they would hire him once his WCW contract expired. Rey initially thought J.R. was blowing him off and pushing him away but J.R. was true to his word. He contacted Rey and they signed him.
J.R. brings up Rey’s high flying work style which can be especially grueling. The chances of someone coming away unscathed is minute.
Q: What is Rey doing differently in his training to extend his shelf life?
A: Rey says the most important change he’s made is his diet and supplementation. He’s taking the right things to feel strong. He’s doing a lot of cryo-chamber and PRP. He’s staying on point with the latest developments on how to take care of an athlete’s body. Rey also has a thyroid condition which helps him stay leaner.
Q: What are the main things Rey cut out of his diet that helped him the most?
A: Rey is prepping more of his meals which has helped him cut down on eating fast foods. He’s eliminating all the grease, butter and bread. He’s eating more vegetables, ground beef and ground turkey in trying to stay as lean as possible without the extra carbs. He also does fasted cardio when he first wakes up. He also tries to structure his diet by eating every three hours.
Q: J.R. doesn’t know of anyone in the business who has hit all these major events or promotions in one calendar year. Was that by design? What happened to create that?
A: Rey says God put him in a position to be where he is now. He’s been very blessed throughout his career. This year, Rey has gone from from the Rumble, to the Greatest Royal Rumble to a New Japan show for the first time and now All In. He’s been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and the year’s not over yet.
J.R. and Rey bring up Konnan (Rey’s agent) who J.R. thinks is one of the smartest guys in the wrestling business. He has been a big part of Rey’s success. Rey says people tend to forget those who helped them get to the top and Konnan was a big factor for Rey not just in ECW or WCW but from day one. Konnan brought Rey to Mexico when Rey was 17 and helped him improve his work. He was always in Rey’s ear and now Rey is helping Konnan out at this stage of his career.
Rey will be going to the Pittsburgh Comic-Con as his next stop.
J.R. thanks Rey for the interview and they sign off.
1:05:49 – Q&A with the Audience
While waiting for Cody, Matt Stryker says J.R. has seen some of the greatest NWA title changes. Where does Cody’s win rank in J.R.’s memory?
J.R. says he felt the build and that result of that match especially knowing the history of Dusty Rhodes. The two most memorable NWA title changes for J.R. both happened in Chicago, the ‘89 Flair/Steamboat match and the Cody/Aldis match at All In because of the crowd. Everyone was emotionally invested in the match and they used the NWA title as it should be used…a standard bearer. They made the title personal because of the legacy of Dusty Rhodes’ and the NWA title.
Q: What does J.R. think Vince’s reaction will be when he finds out about Jericho appearing at All In?
A: J.R. doesn’t expect Vince to have any reaction. At the very least he doesn’t think it’s going to be the reaction most people think Vince will have. Vince most likely doesn’t give a sh*t about All In.
Q: Was the show cut short more for the people on TV as opposed to the people in the audience?
A: They committed to a TV event. Even though the live audience paid a ticket to get into the venue, they weren’t going to make profit at the gate. They had to sell PPVs and they did an amazing job. The FITE app people were ecstatic. J.R. sees this event as a special, once a year event and can see them refining and tweaking the event. The main event was cut from 28 minutes to 12 minutes and J.R. felt it was selfish and not professional for the earlier matches to go over time which cut from your main event.
Q: J.R. has had some great broadcast partners who the fans are familiar with such as Jerry Lawler or Tony Schiavone. Who is someone J.R. worked that he had a good time working with with that the fans may not be familiar with?
A: Bob Caudle is someone on that list. If you lived in the Carolinas, you would have known he was the voice of the Mid-Atlantic wrestling for years. He wasn’t just a wrestling announcer but a legitimate broadcaster who also did weather and news and worked for WRAL TV in Raleigh. Bob was a major player in that market who loved wrestling and got good at announcing wrestling. When J.R. started working in the Crockett promotion, Dusty put Tony Schiavone and he together which worried people because they were two play by play guys but it worked. J.R. says you can work with anyone if you just listen. Coming back to Bob, he was very underrated and J.R. actually used his influence to make Bob his partner much like he used his influence in the WWE to make Paul Heyman his partner.
Q: What does J.R. believe was the hardest aspect in writing Slobberknocker and does he have an update on part 2?
A: Slobberknocker has been number one on Amazon for 18 months which is amazing. J.R.’s wife passed away on March 23rd, 2017 as Paul O’Brien and J.R. were finishing the book and this was after J.R. losing his first writing partner Scott Williams. After her death, J.R. lost a lot of steam but she was such a driving force in the book being written. Sometimes you get knocked down to a knee but the other side of that coin….J.R. got right back up. He brings up a story about wanting to quit the grade 9 football team and his father telling him that quitting is the easiest thing in the world to get good at. He remembered that and snapped out of his funk, ‘dropped a set’ and finished the book. The hardest part though was the audio book.
He wasn’t just reading the words but seeing the scenes and a lot of them had to do with his wife Jan. He cried a lot during the reading of the book (although that didn’t make it into the book) but he had to get through it. Paul O’Brien and J.R. just signed a contract to get working on the second book. They are already have it planned out from when J.R. left Wrestlemania 15 and forward. Topics will include working with Lawler, Paul Heyman, the Attitude Era, the Monday Night Wars, the original incarnation of the XFL and J.R.’s role with that. He will also cover his bouts with Bell’s Palsy and Jan’s death. It will also cover J.R.’s move from RAW to Smackdown (unbeknownst to Jim) which wasn’t a great day for him and he did not handle it well. He also wants to make sure they have some funny stuff in there to balance out the heavy stuff. The target date for release is the holidays of 2019.
Q: Next question comes from someone who does announcing on the Indy scene. Last night, he saw moves that were going so fast and that he had never seen before. When J.R. runs into that situation when calling a match how does he handle that and how does he research moves he’s never seen?
A: J.R. jokes that some New Japan fans don’t think he does a good job of that (J.R. obviously disagrees with that opinion). The one thing about wrestling at a fast pace is that you don’t allow the audience time to process what they’ve just seen. A wrestling match has to have peaks and valleys. Sometimes in ‘high spot’ matches, the music is static because it’s all the same speed and pace. J.R. doesn’t try to call all those moves because it would clutter up the broadcast. J.R. would rather hear the canvas, the turnbuckles, the ropes, the chops, the guttural reaction and the how the fans react. J.R. recently did a podcast with Don Callis and something Don learned from Jim was not being embarrassed to lay out and let the audience and the wrestlers ambiance tell the story and the announcer embellish it. Announcers provide the lyrics for the music the wrestlers make however, it starts with the music and laying out is not a bad thing.
1:23:55 – NWA Champion, Cody Rhodes
Matt Striker gives a great introduction for the new NWA champion, Cody Rhodes.
J.R. starts off asking about Cody’s boots which are Austin-Hall boots who make boots for a lot of the wrestlers but none more famous than Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes.
Q: How is Cody feeling today?
A: After his match with Nick Aldis, Cody went to gorilla to direct and time the last half of the show. He jokes he’s maybe not the best timer given the time of the main event but he’s learning. He didn’t get many moments but the way he feels is that he doesn’t want this weekend to be over. It has been so much fun.
J.R. talks about ratings during the Monday Night wars and how you were always looking forward after ratings came out. He says Cody has about 24 hours before the pressure is on to start planning for the next thing. Cody hints that maybe they’ve already started planning (although I’m not sure if he was serious when he said that).
Q: What did Cody learn the most about when planning and promoting this event? Time Management? Budgeting?
A: It’s probably time management. Dusty Rhodes was big into writing lists which is something Cody started doing to keep track of tasks. He also wanted to do every single thing with this show whether it was payroll, knowing elements of production and even wanting to know how many chairs were in the union catering room so next time he doesn’t need to know that stuff. He learned you’re only as good as the team around you and they’ve discovered some new teammates over the course of the weekend. For example, Atlas Security were unreal and handled things that needed to be handled such as figuring out a way to get Magnum through the crowd to greet his daughter at the bottom of the steps. They knew what to do.
J.R. agrees about having a good crew and people gravitate to those they can trust but they also need to produce. J.R. can’t wait to see what comes next and would like to be part of that.
Cody says the whole reason All In came from doing 1200 seat small intimate settings. At they end of these shows, they would stay in the ring and do bits and comedy to send the fans home happy which became a big focus. It was a touching thing to see 10,000+ people staying in the arena.
Q: What’s the short term goal for the NWA and what does Cody want to do with this?
A: Cody wants to continue the path of the travelling champion which is what he grew up with. He doesn’t want to just do it but also wants to be the best thing of the night and consistent. Also, Cody doesn’t believe in the politics of wrestling anymore. Even though he may go to shows that aren’t part of the NWA, he’s wearing the damn title. It takes an organization to get a ring set up and a crew to title those ropes but a big focus was that this was a wrestling show by wrestlers. When Cody goes into Long Beach to wrestle for the IWGP US championship, he’ll be wearing the NWA belt and will take it everywhere he goes.
J.R. and Cody bring up Juice Robinson who both like and Cody calls him one of those ‘bet on yourself’ types. Juice took a difficult path taking the young lions path which he didn’t have to do. If you look at the veteran talent in New Japan, all of the have been young lions. It would difficult to adapt to the American style but there’s a lot to learn from it. Even though Cody has been in arenas with 80K plus people but All In was the most connected he’s ever felt to an audience as everyone was cheering him. That said, he feels that he’ll be getting booed at the Long Beach event (which he’s OK with). J.R. hopes they connect the security railing this time.
One of the things J.R. saw at All In that warmed his heart was a the view he had of the arena with no empty chairs. It was an old school setup and it looked great and he hopes they can get a crowd shot which would be a great momento because they made history.
Q: Did anyone play bigger than Cody envisioned?
A: Cody thought MJF in the opening match stood out and thought there was something there. It was cool to Cody because MJF is a young upstart. He also mentions Marco Stunt and said the Battle Royal was so much fun. Prior to that match, Cody and the Bucks spoke with the talent as they wanted certain moments for the match. Not only did the talent make the moments they wanted but also made moments that they didn’t know they wanted. Jordan Grace fit right in as well. Cody still needs to watch the whole show.
Q: Did anyone get any feedback on the FITE app?
A: Matt Striker spoke up and said they did extremely well. The FITE app had a number in mind and All In beat that number by 10 times.
J.R. says he’s proud of Cody and said he felt Cody’s dad last night. Cody said he felt Dusty more not during the match but when he put the headset on at gorilla. Cody thinks Dusty would have been the most excited about that, seeing Cody with the pencil and giving orders. J.R. said Dusty was the best producer he ever had because Dusty had him prepped before they even stepped out in the arena.
Matt Striker jumps in to end the Ringside with J.R. segment and they sign off.
1:51:12 – Show Wrap
J.R. got very emotional during the interview with Cody because he felt the presence of ‘The Dream’. He also felt it in the arena and saw the crowd. Dusty would be proud of what Cody has done. Knowing Cody, J.R. thinks he’s already thinking about next time. J.R. goes through some of his 5 star reviews, plugs the Westwood One App as well as some of the wrestling podcasts on Westwood One. J.R. will be in New York meeting with advertisers and will also be at the Oklahoma game against UCLA. Check out @jrsbbq on twitter and instagram. And that’s a wrap.
Rating – 9/10
This was an excellent podcast, especially the interviews with Rey and Cody. One of the things that really stood out was how well J.R. talks in front of a crowd. He was entertaining and informative. He did say a number of things he’s said before in podcasts but they totally work in that environment. Also, if you liked the All In event, you definitely want to hear Cody’s part of the interview (although Rey’s segment was not too shabby either). I also really enjoyed the Q&A with the audience. Definitely have a listen to this one.
0:00 – Intro
3:29 – What’s On J.R.’s Mind
28:24 – Slobberknocker Of The Week
35:38 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
41:26 – Ringside with J.R. from the All In event
49:26 – Rey Mysterio
1:05:49 – Q&A with the audience
1:23:55 – NWA Champ Cody Rhodes
1:51:09 – Show Wrap
About Joe:
Joe is a long time wrestling fan from Toronto. One of his life goals is to be a guest host on one of Wade Keller’s post show podcasts but until that happens, he’ll keep writing for PW Podcasts. He doesn’t consider himself any sort of expert, mark, smark or IWC type. He just likes wrestling. Check him out on twitter and instagram @ja113.
Be the first to comment