The Jim Ross Report
Release Date: May 2, 2018
Recap by: Joe Aguinaldo
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0:00 – Intro and Greatest Royal Rumble Review With Pauly Kover
Jim welcomes everyone to the show and thanks everyone for their support. He is in Las Vegas to host the annual banquet for the Cauliflower Alley Club who help ex-wrestlers in need and their families. Check out http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/ for more info and if you’d like to contribute. J.R is in the x1075 studios with his friend Pauly Kover who he welcomes to the podcast.
J.R asks Pauly about his thoughts on the Greatest Royal Rumble. Pauly said it was unique to wake up Friday morning and watch WWE at 8:00am in the morning. He thought it felt like a WrestleMania as opposed to a glorified house which was the opinion of many other fans.
J.R asks why people are seemingly negative about the product. During the flight to Saudi Arabia, he and Jerry Lawler felt that no matter what the WWE did, people would complain. Pauly says the fans that grew up during the Attitude Era would read the dirt sheets and would ‘book the territory’. He says his generation of fans taught the next generation of fans how to ‘bitch’ about the product which has become the norm.
Pauly is really into Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy and was glad they won the titles. He wants to see where this team can go. He was also impressed by the Rumble itself, felt it stood out and was a good time. J.R says during Royal Rumble matches, the entry time lessens for each competitor as the match gets longer which can be due to timing of the show especially if they are running long. That said, J.R didn’t notice or pay attention to entry times. For a broadcaster, this match can be challenging because the stories change every minute or 90 seconds. J.R was watching the announcers to see if they could maximize their time during the entrances.
J.R felt the show was solid and wasn’t a glorified house show. He adds that Saudi Arabia is not used to these events and says if the WWE can come back often and brings in more western culture, it increases chances for old customs to be relaxed such as women not being allowed to drive.
J.R asks Pauly about women not being booked on the Greatest Royal Rumble. Pauly says even though they are behind the times, they are moving forward at a quick pace. He mentions that the WWE may have paid the women even though they didn’t compete. J.R says he doesn’t know if that happened but says he doesn’t think they should have. He says you have to earn the right to be on a card and that no one is entitled to be booked on a card. (I completely 100% disagree with this sentiment. This was not about earning the right to be on the card, this was about not being allowed to be on the card. Two completely different things).
Pauly was distracted by some of the people in the audience who were walking around in circles herding the children. J.R had no idea what that was and had never been to a show where he had to go through a metal detector or be escorted to his announce position by men with machine guns. J.R also had not done a lot of pre-game or half times shows. It was a unique experience and he was glad to be part of the first show.
J.R asks what Pauly thought of all the Saudi Arabia ‘propaganda’ that was advertised, specifically the tourist packages. Pauly didn’t have an issue with it and J.R understood and agreed they should do that. J.R says he was pretty comfortable in Jeddah. He was staying in a 5 star hotel and the food was great at the hotel and the venue. The WWE flew 500 people there and their travel people did a great job organizing the trip.
J.R left his house in Oklahoma at 6:30am CT and flew to Houston to Frankfurt, Germany to Jeddah. He left on Wednesday morning and got back on Saturday night at 7:00pm. He got criticized on Twitter for looking stoned or drunk. J.R says emphatically that you do NOT get drunk in Saudi Arabia and that he was very fatigued as he only got one night sleep in a hotel between Wednesday and Saturday. He left the event at 3:20am and flew from Jeddah to Paris to Atlanta to Oklahoma city. He thought those comments were disrespectful and immature.
J.R felt the matches on the GRR were good and thought Braun would win the Royal Rumble match. He thinks Braun will be the guy in 2019. Pauly thinks Braun is a cross between Andre The Giant and Stone Cold Steve Austin. One things the WWE needs to do is to push him slowly.
Overall, J.R enjoyed the trip and says the event was a great business decision for the WWE. It’s new money for them and is a very healthy deal for them.
26:43 – What’s On J.Rs Mind
J.R is excited for the All In Event in Chicago and wishes Cody, The Young Bucks and the rest of the boys the best of luck. He says they are young entrepreneurs who are doing a good job promoting themselves and hopes to have one of those guys on the podcast.
J.R congratulates Conrad Thompson and Eric Bischoff on the new 83 Weeks podcast which started off well.
J.R had a little rant last week regarding the investigation about Davey Boy Smith Jr. throwing coffee in Jake Roberts’ face. He doesn’t think it’s a laughing matter but thinks it’s ridiculous the New Orleans Police Department actually had to investigate. Thankfully the charges have been dropped and the NOPD can stop this ridiculous investigation.
Jake Hager and Jeff Cobb will be wrestling each other in Court Bauer’s MLW promotion. J.R had seen them wrestle and thinks they are both good workers.
The King and J.R have been talking about doing a show for years. They’ve finally booked a few shows and it will become a reality this summer. More details to come on next week’s show. These are small venues so get your tickets fast. He hopes he can find an MC for the show who has knowledge of the Attitude Era as you’ll have the two broadcasters from the Attitude Era. They are looking at a mid-August launch.
J.R will be in West Virginia on Saturday May 26th doing an appearance at the Appalachian Power Park, which is the home of the West Virginia Power baseball team, doing a legends of wrestling night.
J.R will be on the Busted Open radio show on Friday (May 4th) at 10:00am ET.
This Friday night will have the finals of the New Japan Cup on AXS TV. It will feature Zack Sabre Jr vs Hiroshi Tanahashi. They have been booking Zack Sabre Jr. to win a number of his latest matches by submissions.
J.R will be broadcasting for the New Japan show in the Cow Palace. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com.
J.R says the ticket sales for his UK tour are going great. For more info, check www.insidetheropes.co.uk.
35:48 – Slobberknocker of the Week
There were a lot of great candidates for Slobberknocker of the week including
- Dave Batista for his part in the Infinity Wars (which was great by the way)
- Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy for winning the tag titles
- Daniel Bryan for his performance in the Greatest Royal Rumble especially when you consider he just got back from injury
- Braun Strowman for winning the Greatest Royal Rumble.
The Slobberknocker of the Week goes to Oklahoma University’s QB Baker Mayfield who was the number one pick in the NFL draft. He had an impressive college career and won the Heisman trophy this year. When J.R’s wife got killed last year, ESPN called him to the OU stadium to do an interview. While waiting for the interview, Baker was there and went to J.R with tears in his eyes telling J.R he loved him and would always have his back. Fast forward to the season and J.R was at every OU game. Baker would go to J.R, give him a hug and tell him he loved him.
J.R also congratulates Glenn Jacobs for winning the Republican primary for Knox County. Kane will now move to the general election in the fall to face a Democrat and has a great chance at becoming the Mayor of Knox County Tennessee. J.R says Glenn was reliable and his word was gold.
44:27 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
J.R says the Pet Coon Goofy Award has developed a life of its own and there’s never a shortage of candidates. He saw a racoon on Monday while he was relaxing by his pool and it reminded him of this award. Some of the people under consideration:
- Trolls on twitters who want J.R to die or have a stroke. J.R says they’re inconsequential and pissants.
- Promoters who bait and switch talents or don’t pay them. J.R warns talent should not work with these people,
- People who complained that Finn Balor didn’t wear his LGBT shirt in Saudi Arabia.
The winner of this week’s Pet Coon Goofy Award is NBA player Carmelo Anthony. He’s got a player’s option for next season which is about $24 million. When asked on his exit interview if he’d be willing to be the 6th man for the Oklahoma City Thunder he said he wouldn’t because he’s not a bench guy. He can’t play defense, rebound or shoot the way he used to and is not willing to do what the coach wants so why does he even have a job. Unfortunately, due to his contract, the Thunder can’t cut him. Also for a guys who is in the twilight of his career, he still wants all the attention centered around him. J.R says the Thunder are Russell Westbrook’s team and Carmelo is this week’s Pet Coon Goofy Award.
49:17 – This Week In Wrestling
J.R talks about John Cena telling him the news Osama Bin Laden had been assassinated which broke on the WWE Extreme Rules PPV. Thirty one years ago this week, Curt Henning beat Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA title. The Rock’s birthday is this week on May 2nd. In 2011, The Rock had a big birthday night in Miami. The last WWF event (before it became WWE) was this week in 2002 which was the Insurrection PPV in England. This was especially memorable because of the Plane Ride From Hell. J.R made the following comments on WWE.com:
‘‘The flight was about 7 hours in length and at times was lowlighted by a handful of people who consumed too much alcohol and consequently acted like children whose parents were away and left the liquor cabinet open. The conduct of this inebriated minority was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Procedures have been put on place to ensure such conduct does not occur in the future. The bottom line is this folks, yours truly is the person in charge of the talent roster and the buck stops with me. We will do all we can to solve this issue so that it never happens again.’
After this incident, J.R has had a philosophy of either solving a problem or eliminating it. During the flight, they offered drinks on the plane to make the trip hospitable but never in his wildest dream did he think the guys would go apesh*t and do stupid things. There were guys using the seat back covers as a spitoon (which cost someone $5,000 in ginrd). Some guys even got released. J.R says the way to solve this issue is to recruit better talent and not offer free booze on an airplane. J.R felt humiliated because he was ultimately in charge. It’s a moment he’d like to forget but thankfully they took measures and it hasn’t happened since.
54:18 – Mailbag
Before getting to the mailbag, J.R congratulates John Cena, Dave Batista and The Rock for their recent film releases. Cena and Batista were in the same recruiting class along with Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin.
If you want to send J.R a question, send them to thejimrossreport@gmail.com.
Q: Which New Japan talent does J.R think the WWE will sign next?
A: J.R doesn’t have any idea. If you talk to any of the New Japan guys, they will say they are happy where they are. But he also believes that any wrestler that has an opportunity to compete in the WWE at the right time will be do. There are a lot of potential stars that could come to WWE and do well such as Cody and the Young Bucks.
Q: Whenever there were backstage brawls, were those done live or were they taped?
A: Both ways have been utilized but more often than not it’s live. However, if it’s an elaborate set up, they will tape and add to the show.
Q: J.R talked about his in-ring careers last week and was discouraged about his ability. Did J.R feel the same way about storylines he was involved in.
A: J.R says storylines were not his issue. He just didn’t feel he was very good at the physicality in the ring. He feels that in-ring time could have been better served for a full time wrestling talent than an announcer. That said, he did what he was asked. His favorite angle was in Oklahoma where he and Jerry Lawler went against William Regal and Lance Storm. J.R is thankful he was in the ring with three amazing pros.
Q: A non-wrestling related question from someone in the UK. He’s going to Disney in Florida asks J.R about driving in America
A: J.R says the person has to drive on the right side of the road, give yourself some time and don’t hurry. He recommends Sonny’s in Orlando which is a BBQ place.
Q: Someone writes in with a comment to say a selfie with more than one person is an usie.
Q: Will any of the big four WWE PPVs emanate from the UK?
A: J.R doesn’t have anything to base it on, but would not be shocked if the WWE had a major event in the UK. They have great facilities and fans but the biggest issue is the time zone.
Q: What does buried mean?
A: J.R brings up that people said Chris Jericho buried A.J Styles at WM 32. He disagrees as they had a match. Someone had to win and someone had to lose but losing doesn’t mean you’re buried. Companies are not going to spend a lot of time burying someone on TV as it doesn’t make any sense.
Q: What does J.R think Vince McMahon thinks about St. Louis as a wrestling market
A: Jim doesn’t want to get into Vince’s mind but he knows Vince respects all established markets including Sam Muchnick St. Louis. J.R thinks St. Louis could get a WrestleMania.
Q: In 2008, Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton had a match. During the match, Hardy hit the biggest Swanton bomb ever. What was going through J.Rs mind when Jeff was climbing the Titantron and what was going on backstage as the announcers were silent.
A: J.R said he stayed quiet on purpose and says the best announcers know when to lay out as sometimes, the picture and the ambient sound are a better salesman than any words an announcer can make. That move was very risky so J.R was scared and anxious because he didn’t know what was going to happen. He says that is also the great thing about not knowing because he didn’t precondition himself so whatever happened would be genuine and real for them. He brings up the Hell In The Cell with Foley and Undertaker when Foley flew off the cell. He and King had no idea that was going to happen so they reacted organically and naturally.
Last comment from the mailbag….a 21 year marine corp veteran says thank you to J.R for stressing the importance of mentoring in his last podcast. This veteran is about to complete his career in the marine corp says he would not have made it as far as he did without being mentored by someone who saw something in him. And as he gets ready to leave the marine corp, he is still looking for mentors to help him transition into civilian life. He once again thanks J.R for stressing the importance mentoring and says we need more positive influences like J.R in society.
1:11:23 – Show Wrap
J.R thanks Pauly Kover (@thepaulykover) on x1075 for being on the show and sharing his insights on Wrestling. Pauly says J.R is a hero as Pauly came down with Bell’s Palsy in 2000 and hit a low point. He turned on RAW and there was J.R who was going through the same thing with no complaints which Pauly appreciated. J.R says his two grandchildren have not seen him smile but they know he loves them and is not a scrooge. With all the good things going on in his life, J.R feels blessed to have overcome Bell’s Palsy.
Next week, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler will be on the program talking about their travelling show as well as The King’s thoughts on The Greatest Royal Rumble.
Rating – 7/10
Once again, another solid outing from J.R. Nothing flashy but nothing bad either. If nothing else, the focus of this show is much better than his first few outings making the show a lot easier to listen to. That said, IMO, it’s still missing something as it’s not popping as well as say Jericho or Austin’s podcasts.
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro and Greatest Royal Rumble Review With Pauly Kover
26:43 – What’s On J.Rs Mind
35:48 – Slobberknocker of the Week
44:27 – Pet Coon Goofy Award
49:17 – This Week In Wrestling
54:18 – Mailbag
1:11:23 – 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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