The Jim Ross Report
Release Date: May 23, 2018
Recap by: Joe Aguinaldo
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0:00 – Intro
Welcome back to another week of Slobberknocker audio. Eric Bischoff will be on today’s show talking about his podcast ‘83 Weeks’, his involvement with All In as well as a variety of other topics…but up next
1:59 – What’s On J.R’s Mind
J.R starts off talking about the new TV rights fees deal between Fox and the WWE which is a billion dollars over 5 years. Smackdown will move to Friday nights on ‘Big Fox’ (the network, not Fox Sports) which is the home of the NFL. J.R also thinks the Friday night show will be live although that is not confirmed. He feels with the amount of money Fox paid for this deal, the best way to monetize it is to go live and he thinks people will tune in more readily if it’s live.
Additionally, the WWE will have to change their production schedule to accommodate a live Friday and Monday night show. J.R goes on to say the WWE is not a wrestling promotion but rather a TV production house and their primary product is wrestling. This is a tremendous deal for investors and those who have WWE stock.
On another note, ESPN has acquired the rights to all of the UFC. UFC is in need of developing stars that sell at the box office while ESPN is trying to get back on track as they are not hot right now. This deal could be beneficial to both parties.
TV rights fees are a big deal right now and he cites the Obama’s signing an 8 figure deal with Netflix. Content is king and the way you make wrestling work on TV is to have talent and television.
Switching over to RAW, J.R felt the women’s positioning on the show was excellent. The star of the show was Stephanie McMahon who Jim says is the best villain on the roster. He thought she did a great job during the contract signing between Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax. J.R says Stephanie is a chip off the old block (Vince) when it comes to being the best heel on Monday night. J.R likes the continued advancement of Braun Strowman and thinks he’ll be the next big thing in 2019. Another person that has J.R’s attention is Drew McIntyre. He looks great and is getting better. He sees Drew as a future WWE Universal champion.
J.R felt Smackdown Live was a better show than RAW. He loves the potential of Zelina Vega and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas. They are big attractions and can be main eventers. J.R likes the Last Man Standing stipulation between A.J and Nakamura. If Nakamura wins, there’s always a viable reason for a return match. He likes Naomi’s work and feels her time is coming. J.R also loved the match between Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy.
J.R is glad to hear that Enzo Amore has been cleared of the allegations against him. J.R has always liked Enzo and says he has charisma, is athletic and has a unique personality. He gives the advice of not giving any company any reason to not do business with you and says Enzo needs to stay out of harm’s way and away from controversy.
14:49 – Eric Bischoff
J.R welcomes Eric to the show and asks him about his 83 Weeks podcast. J.R enjoys the debate between Conrad Thompson and Eric and asks what the premise of the show is. Eric says they named the show 83 Weeks for different reasons, one of those being the number of weeks the WCW outperformed the WWF/E however, to Eric, the premise of the show is about some of the decisions made that still impact the product to this day and what those 83 weeks represented with regards to the history and evolution of the wrestling business. They touch on a lot of things such as negotiation and politics when dealing with talent but also the business of wrestling. Eric says Conrad does a lot of research, is very thorough and determined. Eric says it can be confrontational without being disrespectful.
Eric brings up the Starrcast event and is looking forward to being part of it. Eric can’t say enough great things about Cody Rhodes and everyone involved as it says a lot about the opportunity for independent promoters and wrestlers which is different than the WWE and this diversity is what makes wrestling interesting. J.R agrees with Eric about the diversity and also likes the fact it gives ‘lifers’ in the wrestling business a place to work and earn a living. Eric adds that as your prominent role (whether it was WWE or WCW) goes away and your career phases down, things like Starrcast give an opportunity to still connect with the audience, make a buck and is personally rewarding.
Eric brings up a book he read years ago while he was in WCW called ‘The Entertainment Economy’. His main takeaway from the book is that content is always going to be king. The way it’s distributed and accessed will always change due to technology. What Eric and J.R do with regards to creating interesting content will always put them in a position to control their destinies to some degree which is an empowering feeling.
J.R asks how a legitimate wrestling fan could say anything negative about the September 1st event. Eric says over his career when he’s talked to fans, they will reflect back to the period of time was the best period of time in professional wrestling. He says that wrestling fans are incredibly passionate and will always find something that doesn’t make them happy but that’s part of what makes them engage in their own community. They like to debate or talk about what could be better which is part of being a fan. Eric has learned how to listen them and realize that it’s just fans being passionate.
J.R and Eric bring up Jim Barnett. Eric enjoyed working with Barnett who was a walking encyclopedia of wrestling. J.R also loved his stories and thought he was a character.
J.R brings up the VIP and silver tickets for the Starrcast event are sold out. Gold’s are expected to sell out however general admission tickets are still available. Eric is amazed that All In sold out 10,000 seats in 30 minutes and that the Starrcast event is selling fast. He also feels this is a phenomenal statement about independent wrestling and is a phenomenal opportunity for everyone involved.
J.R asks if Cody and the Bucks should be thinking about show number two or should they wait and see how the first show plays out. What advice would Eric give. Eric says if it were him, he would have his eye on show 2, 3 and 4 in terms of when and where. He would also invest time in researching markets. If they can find the right venues in the right markets he would tentatively plan number 2 and 3 because time goes fast and you want to capitalize on the momentum and not let too much time go by. That said, he wouldn’t over commit either. Eric also says the show should be in the 3 hour range. He is a firm believer in leaving the audience with wanting more. J.R agrees with keeping the show to 3 hours and would suggest some old school tendencies like time limits.
Eric brings up some of the old timers like Ole Anderson who felt what worked in his day would work today which is not true. Eric says today’s wrestlers like Cody, the Bucks and Kenny Omega are not necessarily his style. He is always going to be someone who judges what he likes or dislikes based on the quality of the story the match represents. BUT, he’s also smart enough to know that people younger than him like a different presentation.
Eric brings up the fact the All In card has no storylines and they are starting from scratch. If they think ahead just a little bit, they could potentially use this as a vehicle to get them to All In 2 and 3 which is a reason to keep an open mind towards the next events.
Eric brings up Dusty Rhodes and says Cody was being confident enough to walk away from the WWE reminds him of Dusty in the fact that Cody, like his father, was his own man.
J.R agrees and plugs Eric’s podcast ‘83 Weeks’ which drops every Monday. He thanks Eric for being on the podcast and they sign off.
47:42 – Slobberknocker of the Week
Nominees for this week:
- J.R salutes the men and women who of the armed services who have given their lives and careers to protect us.
- Las Vegas Golden Knights who are in the Stanley Cup Finals
- Oklahoma Women’s Softball team who won their regional game and are in the super regionals this week on ESPN
- Mariska Hargitay from Law and Order SUV who J.R has a crush on (as well as her mother Jayne Mansfield)
- The team that negotiated the WWE deal with FOX
But the Slobberknocker of the Week goes to….the late great Owen Hart who died in a tragic accident 19 years ago this week at the Over the Edge PPV. J.R had not watched the footage of the Owen situation until he was finishing Slobberknocker. He couldn’t bring himself to do it and it still haunts J.R to this very day. Owen was a wonderful soul and as good a human being especially in pro wrestling. When Owen fell and the paramedics took him out, Kevin Dunn told J.R they were going to go to him and Lawler so they could do a report on Owen. J.R told Kevin no one had told him what happened to Owen and Dunn said Owen didn’t make it, then proceeded to count down from 10 seconds to get them back on the air.
In essence, J.R had 10 seconds to process the death of one of the best people he had ever met and announce it to the viewing audience. J.R said Owen was the greatest ribber, had a great sense of humor and had a great heart. Owen would occasionally stay at people’s houses to save money on hotels and no one was safe from an Owen rib. J.R hopes Owen gets voted into the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
55:03 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
Nominees this week:
- The NCAA for being in litigation for 7 years regarding a scandal case.
- Steph Curry for using profanity in his celebration after game 3 in Golden State (and his mom scolded him for that)
- The US Soccer Federation for not being able to get a team in the World Cup which is the first time in 32 years
- The people who did the Brandi Chastain bust (which is horrible)
The Pet Coon Goofy Award goes to the NFL for the National Anthem controversy. J.R would rather see the NFL concentrate on football and less on whether or not someone stands for the anthem. For the record, J.R is a big believer that you should honor the flag and find a way to protest which is less offensive.
59:49 – This Week In Wrestling
- May 23rd 1999 – the day Owen passed away
- May 24th 1999 – the Owen Memorial on RAW
- IYH Beware of Dog May 26, 1996 – When the power went out during the PPV during a Thunderstorm. They did a return show on May 28th.
- May 27th, 1996 – The unofficial start of the Monday Night Wars. Scott Hall arrived at Nitro which started an interesting time in the business
- Birthdays this week – Bray Wyatt (31), Roman Reigns (34), Alberto El Patron (41), Bo Dallas (28), Natalya (36), Eric Bischoff (63), Seth Rollins (32), Jeremy Borash (44), Hornswaggle (32), Steve Corino (45) and Pete Gas (48).
1:08:01 – Mailbag
Email questions, comments and thoughts to thejimrossreport@gmail.com.
Q: Why is pro wrestling are afraid to use a time limit draw as a viable ending to a match?
A: J.R is a big believer in time limits and thinks the main reason time limits aren’t used is because promoters don’t have the confidence that the attention span of today’s viewer will tolerate a time limit draw which J.R disagrees with. If two wrestlers are telling a great story, a time limit draw can work effectively.
Q: Question comes in about rioting in the territory days and if J.R was ever involved.
A: J.R has been in riots while he was refereeing, he’s seen things get out of hand while he was announcing at ringside and thinks rioting was a by-product of villains that people legitimately wanted to see get beat up (i.e. heat). J.R says today’s villains want to be cool rather than be a villain.
Q: What pieces of the puzzle need to be in place for a small wrestling company to rival the success of WWE
A: J.R doesn’t know if it’s realistically possible for any company to be as big or to rival WWE. The two things you need to have in place to have a successful wrestling promotion are talent and television and the WWE has too big of a head start compared to other companies.
Q: What is the Gorilla position?
A: It’s the last stop that a talent takes before leaving the backstage area and walking down the ramp. It’s a make ready area and because Gorilla Monsoon sat there for all those years, it was named after him.
Q: When J.R worked with WWE did he ever think the stock price would ever get to this level? (at the time of this recap, it was just over $57)
A: J.R didn’t think it would get to where it is. He thought it would be a $35 or $40 stock. J.R thinks the stock could go even higher depending on what happens with the USA/RAW deal.
Q: Person asks if J.R would call his wedding
A: This gets a laugh from J.R and says to call him closer to the wedding.
1:17:33 – Show Wrap
J.R reads some of the 5 star ratings he’s gotten about the podcast and thanks Eric Bischoff for being on the show. And that’s a wrap
Rating – 8/10
This was arguably J.R’s best show since he’s come back. The Eric Bischoff interview was really good. Like him or not, agree with him or not, Bischoff is well spoken and intelligent when it comes to professional wrestling. Also, as an older fan, I really dig the ‘This Week In Wrestling’ segment. I’ll admit, I’m still not quite feeling this podcast yet but I’m hoping this is the start of some stronger shows.
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
1:59 – What’s On J.R’s Mind
14:49 – Eric Bischoff
47:42 – Slobberknocker Of The Week
55:03 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
59:49 – This Week In Wrestling
1:08:01 – Mailbag
1:17:33 – Show Wrap
Writer Bio
Joe lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and two boys. He’s been watching wrestling for about 40 years (give or take) but doesn’t consider himself any sort of expert. He just likes wrestling. Check him out on twitter and instagram @ja113.
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