The Jim Ross Report – Tessa Blanchard and W.O.W. Founder David McLane
Release Date: 01/16/19
Running time: 2:03
Recap by: Joe Aguinaldo
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0:00 – Intro
Welcome to another week of slobberknocker audio. Women Of Wrestling (WOW) will be premiering on AXS TV on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. Coming up on the show is Tessa Blanchard and the creator of W.O.W David McLane
2:40 – What’s On J.R.’s Mind
RAW was a decent show. The issue of taking Braun out of the match with Brock was controversial. It sounds like it was a creative change of plans. When you have a resource like Braun, you don’t want to make any mistakes when presenting him.
J.R. thought Finn Balor’s addition and how he earned his title match was a better story and Finn and Brock will have a better match.
The Finn Balor J.R. saw at NXT UK is the Finn Balor he wants to see on a regular basis. The presentation of Balor on RAW has been underwhelming at times. J.R. is happy he is getting this opportunity.
It wouldn’t shock J.R. if Finn wins but the question is who does the WWE want in the Wrestlemania main event? J.R. has heard Seth and Braun which means Finn does the honors but he goes down fighting. It should be an exciting match.
J.R. is curious to see how the women’s tag team title evolves. He wants to see the titles presented properly where it means something. Tag team wrestling (both men and women) could use a boost.
It’s good to see Bobby Lashley get the IC title but J.R. would like to see Lilo Rush be less comedic. J.R. likes Lashley and says he has a lot of talent.
Smackdown Live was strong with regards to the presentation of the women.
It looks like Shane and Miz are taping a buddy movie but you know someone is going to turn on someone.
Rey Mysterio and Andrade had a great match. It started slow and built it. Rey did the honors but the match was done right.
Becky and Asuka had great interaction which was very tense.
J.R. is curious to see what Nikki Cross is going to be.
Chris Sabin and Flip Gordon both got knee injuries and J.R. hopes they heal up soon.
ROH signed Lucha star Rush who was recently with MLW.
Last Thursday on Busted Open radio, Chris Jericho was interviewed and he said Vince knew what Jericho was doing with the AEW. J.R. says that’s very respectful of Jericho.
Plans are moving forward with AEW’s Double Or Nothing show in Vegas on May 25th. More information is coming soon.
Fighting For My Family (movie about Paige) is getting great feedback from fans and critics. Tessa Blanchard was in the movie as a stunt double.
J.R. enjoyed the NXT UK Takeover show. The presentation was excellent and J.R. liked the effort of the talents.
34:38 – David McLane
J.R. welcomes David McLane to the show.
J.R. saw some footage of W.O.W. and thought the production values were amazing.
David thanks Jeanie Buss who is the CEO of the Lakers and is the reason women’s wrestling is going to be elevated.
What makes W.O.W. different is that they took time to talk to the fans to find out what they wanted. They said they wanted to see more fun and a show that highlighted women’s wrestling. Also, the timing is right and today’s female athletes have never been told ‘no’. They are fortunate to have a platform to show women’s wrestling.
Jeanie Buss wanted the production values to be over the top. Mark Burnett and Mark Cuban are also involved.
J.R. says this isn’t just a remake of GLOW. David grew up watching Dick The Bruiser and old school wrestling. He was president of Dick The Bruiser’s fan club when he was 13 years old. GLOW became too much of a comedy show and he did not want that in W.O.W.
David has tried to emulate the Olympics where they do a packaged feature that introduces the athletes to the audience. Also as the season goes on, the number of skits will be reduced.
AXS TV has had success bringing NJPW to North America and GLOW will follow that same model where they slowly roll W.O.W. out.
They want to do an 8 package series then see what works and what didn’t work before they move forward which Jeanie Buss appreciated. They want to have all the right partners involved to make this a long term success. Now they just need the fans to watch and comment on it to help make it grow.
The show debuts Friday, January 18th at 9:00pm on AXS TV.
J.R. wishes David luck and they sign off.
49:34 – Slobberknocker Of The Week
This week’s winner is Katelyn Ohashi, a gymnast from UCLA who scored a 10 during the floor routine. It was amazing and she has a ton of charisma.
56:11 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
This week’s winner is Otis Dozovic who interrupted Paul Heyman and Alexa Bliss. It may have been the worst TV segment J.R. has seen Paul Heyman in. He never understood why Otis was there.
1:01:48 – This Week In Wrestling
January 17th, 1991 – NJPW New Year’s Dash – In the main event, Big Van Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Title.
January 2nd 1995 – Royal Rumble – J.R. was working as a producer. Shawn Michaels was the first bell to bell winner of the Rumble. Jeff Jarrett beat Razor Ramon to win the IC title, The Undertaker defeated I.R,S, Diesel beat Bret Hart to retain the WWE Title.
January 19th, 1997 – Royal Rumble – Austin won the Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels beat Psycho Sid to win the WWE Title in the main event.
January 18th, 1998 – Royal Rumble – The Rock beat Ken Shamrock to retain the IC Title, The New Age Outlaws retain the tag titles after a DQ loss to The Legion Of Doom, Stone Cold won his second Rumble in a row and in the main event Shawn Michaels defeated Undertaker in a casket match.
January 20th, 2002 – Royal Rumble – Ric Flair defeated Vince McMahon in a street fight, Jericho defeated The Rock to retain the Undisputed title, Triple H won the Rumble, Trish Stratus defeated Jazz to retain the women’s title.
January 19th, 2003 – Royal Rumble – Brock Lesnar defeated Big Show to earn the 29th entry into the Rumble, The Dudley Boyz won the tag titles from Lance Storm and William Regal, Torrie Wilson beat Dawn Marie. The heavyweight title match between Scott Steiner and Triple H ended in DQ, Kurt Angle beat Chris Benoit to retain the WWE title and Brock Lesnar won the Rumble.
January 19th, 2007 – Former ECW, WCW Hardcore champion and IGWP Tag Champion (with Big Van Vader) Bam Bam Bigelow passed away.
1:23:58 – Tessa Blanchard
J.R. welcomes Tessa Blanchard to the show.
It’s been a busy travel week for Tessa. She was in Tijuana the night before, Long Beach for this interview, two shows in LA, then to San Antonio for her father’s birthday (Tully Blanchard) then off to Mexico.
Tessa enjoys managing her own schedule. A few years ago, she had an idea of where she wanted to go in wrestling and over the years she has found herself and her dream has changed a little. She loves the freedom of travelling the world and wrestling people she considers the best in the world. It’s a neat thing for her to work for so many different companies and Impact at the same time.
J.R. talks about Tessa’s grandfather Joe Blanchard who Tessa calls the one of the best people she’s met in her life.
J.R. says it can be challenging for talents to book travel and negotiate payments and prices. Tessa has a booking agent that helps her with travel and negotiations and keep her organized. She is in good place because she doesn’t have to work as many indie shows. She can concentrate on Impact and W.O.W shows.
Tessa was in the movie about Paige as her stunt double. She says it was an amazing experience and she got an opportunity to train with the Rock. He really cares about the end product and takes the time to work on the details.
There’s a lot of talk about the film at the Sundance Festival.
Tessa feels this has been a hard year for Paige but this movie focuses on the inspirational parts of her life. When Tessa read the script, it hit home for her.
Tessa is in the SI sports ranking (#3 in the Top Ten Women’s Wrestlers of The Year). She wants to be one of the best in the world…not good but great. This past year she’s had to make some hard decisions and change her path. She wants to go everywhere, learn every style and become the most versatile, in-shape female in the business. There’s never an exception for hard work which is why she works hard. Being on the list means a lot because it shows fans are noticing.
She is blessed because she is able to make history in a different way than other women in the WWE.
J.R. asks about how the men are handling Tessa’ success and skillset in the ring. Tessa doesn’t think there’s a such a thing as ‘man’s sports’, it’s just sports. Women’s sports have evolved where it’s looked in the same light. This is one of the reason she likes intergender wrestling because if done correctly it can tell a good story.
There are women like Gail Kim who she considers one of the best in the world but does not get the credit she deserves for being part of the growth of women’s wrestling.
Tessa feels Becky is phenomenal talent. When she was brought in she wasn’t handed the cards other people were dealt and it wasn’t as easy. Becky had to claw and fight to get to where she is. Tessa has a lot of respect for people who work hard and Tessa can see Becky has worked hard. It’s good to see all that work come to full fruition.
It shows others it can be done. The business is not easy or fair. Tessa may get opportunities because of her name but ultimately, she works extra hard so when people say that she gets opportunities or breaks because of her name, there’s no validity to it.
J.R. talks about the evolution of women’s wrestling and how today’s athletes are not divas. Tessa says this is a huge point with W.O.W. A lot of people think the many of the women are actors that were hired to learn to wrestle and associate it with the Netflix series G.L.O.W. Many of the women come from athletic backgrounds such as Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA. The target for W.O.W. is wrestling fans.
All the women treat each other with respect and have their own characters.
Tessa has not met Jeanie Buss yet however, Jeanie has watched her wrestle. Tessa says Jeanie’s vision for wrestling is very special.
Tessa didn’t expect this was where she was going to be in the business. Over the past year she had to make some difficult decisions. She decided to go to Impact until 2020 and feels it’s been the best thing for her because she’s grown to find herself and learned the TV style. Additionally, she’s met some really good people in W.O.W.
Tessa has never been motivated by money. She cares more about who people are and being around good people. Jeanie and David McLane are two of the best people she’s ever met and motivate her to be the best person in and out of the ring.
Tessa hasn’t looked too far contractually about working in AEW but thinks they will be very successful.
She doesn’t think AEW is trying to compete with anyone (neither is W.O.W). Both offer alternatives.
Tessa feels 2019 is going to be an interesting year for pro wrestling. You can make a living in different places due to opportunities
Tessa is somewhat of a locker room leader in the W.O.W locker room but there are some indie wrestlers coming in that Tessa looks up to.
She believes you have to be selfless to be successful in the business and she’s constantly learning.
In the W.O.W locker room, there’s a team mentality and everyone checks their egos at the door which is where a lot of problems come.
Shaul Guerrero is the ring announcer in W.O.W which is a huge asset for them because she is a generational wrestler.
J.R. Thanks Tessa for being on the show and they sign off.
1:55:17 – Show Wrap
J.R. goes through some of his 5 star reviews. On next week’s show will be Jack Hager who will be fighting on Bellator on January 26th. Send questions, comments and suggestions to thejimrossreport@gmail.com and that’s a wrap.
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
2:40 – What’s On J.R.’s Mind
34:38 – David McLane
49:34 – Slobberknocker Of The Week
56:11 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
1:01:48 – This Week In Wrestling
1:23:58 – Tessa Blanchard
1:55:17 – Show Wrap
Rating – 7/10
I didn’t know much about David McLane and it was interesting to hear about the W.O.W show. I’m really curious to see that. I did really enjoy the Tessa Blanchard interview. Her enthusiasm for the business and the W.O.W project really shows. I also like the fact she’s taking a different path through the wrestling business and hope she continues moving forward. All the other normal segments of the podcast are here as well. Overall though, it was an O.K podcast. I’d recommend listening to the first part of What’s On J.R.’s mind if you want to get J.R.’s opinions on RAW and Smackdown Live, then skip to the Tessa Blanchard interview.
About Joe:
Joe is a long time wrestling fan from Toronto. He is a co-host on the Pull Apart Podcast with Jeff Rush and Caitlin Lavelle as well as a contributor to www.pwpodcasts.com. One of his life goals is to be a guest host on one of Wade Keller’s post-show podcasts. He doesn’t consider himself any sort of expert, he just likes wrestling. Check him out on Twitter and Instagram @ja113.
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