E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap w/ Jim Ross – Cena’s “Hokey” Promo, Ross Excited for Nakamura/Styles, Developing A Relationship With McMahon, More!

Edge and Christian open today’s show by speaking about The Revival. Edge points out that he really hopes those two guys can get back on their feet at some point in the near future. Injuries can really de-rail a talent’s momentum, and when it happens multiple times in a row that can become very frustrating for talents. Christian points out that the WWE train never stops rolling, so when injuries happen another talent often takes your place and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Edge thought the John Cena promo from last Monday’s RAW was “hokey”. He knows that sometimes Cena goes down that road, but for this type of a matchup against Undertaker, he wasn’t really happy with that hokey delivery. He liked some parts of the promo and it’s obvious that Cena is a great talker, but this should have been a more serious promo in his opinion.

Edge hopes we see Usos versus The New Day at WrestleMania this year. He thinks those guys could tear the house down and both teams are more than deserving of a highlighted role on the main show this year. Edge thinks it’s a shame that The Usos haven’t worked on the main WrestleMania card during their lengthy career in WWE.

Edge and Christian welcome Jim Ross to the show.

Ross helped sign Edge and Christian to their first WWE contracts several years ago. He points out that Edge and Christian might not have been the most physically impressive talents he’d seen, but he was very impressed by their work ethic, their drive, and their passion for the business. He wasn’t sure if they’d make it or not, but he’s very happy that he went with his gut instinct because they certainly proved them right.

Ross mentions that a wrestling locker room is about interaction and challenging each other to get better. He believes that every talent should fight to be in the main event. He adds that having huge biceps doesn’t guarantee you success in the wrestling business. The business is tough and not everyone is cut out for it.

Ross mentions that he saw something special in The Rock right away. Before Rock had even made his first trip to WWE’s headquarters Rock looked Ross right in his eyes and told him that he was going to be WWE’s top guy in no time. Ross adds that a big part of having success in WWE is having a good rapport with Vince McMahon. He thinks you need to establish a good open relationship with McMahon in order to truly reach your potential there.

Ross laughs as he points out that nobody ever really wants to talk to McMahon unless they really have to. When he was working as Vice President of Talent Relations his work day would often end with a meeting with McMahon. He points out that more often than not those conversations were pleasant.

Ross mentions that a lot of people have been asking him which match he’s looking forward to most at WrestleMania this year. He points out that the Nakamura/A.J. Styles match really has him excited because he had the pleasure of calling one of their matches for NJPW a couple of years ago and he was blown away by that bout.

Ross feels that Styles might be the perfect competitor to bring out Nakamura’s physicality – the physicality that he was known for in NJPW and the physicality that we should have seen from him a long time ago in WWE. He really thinks this match is going to be fantastic.

Ross talks about the passing of his wife, Jan. He points out that Jan’s passing was a terrible shock and he was very emotional in the days that followed. He went to WrestleMania last year and when he returned home to an empty house that was the loneliest he’s been in his entire life. He points out that he had to make a decision to keep living and to dive into his passions, and that’s exactly what he’s done.

He recently released his book, “Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling” and it has seen great success thus far. He points out that reading for the audio version of the book was one of the most difficult things he’s ever done because Jan was a huge part of his story, and reading all of those stories was very tough for him. He does admit that in another sense, it was almost a cathartic experience for him.

Ross has made the decision at this point in his life to only work with people he wants to work with, and that’s why his highly popular podcast, “The Ross Report” is moving from PodcastOne to a new home soon. He informs that he’ll have information on the show’s new home in the coming days.

That sums up this week’s episode of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!