Steve Carrier on July 23, 2018
Ross opens this week’s show by discussing the Extreme Rules PPV. He was a bit surprised that the WWE Title match between A.J. Styles and Rusev didn’t close the show. He thinks the WWE Title is the pinnacle of the industry, and when it’s booked on the show he feels it should go on last.
Ross wasn’t very happy with the crowd in Pittsburgh, who tried to take over the show. Things were quite bad during the Styles/Rusev match and the main event Iron Man match between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler. He points out that the fans are there to enjoy the show, and it’s unfortunate when their antics take away from the matches in the ring.
He thought Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns had a good match. He thought their styles meshed nicely which he wasn’t really expecting so that was a nice touch to the show. He assumes Reigns will go on to defeat Bobby Lashley on next week’s RAW, moving on to face Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Ross also thought Ronda Rousey made a nice impact at Extreme Rules, and he’s looking forward to her match against Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam.
He was surprised to see Carmella defeat Asuka at Extreme Rules but he’s still confident that when all the smoke clears Asuka will reign again. He thinks she’s too good to stay down for long, and he doesn’t think a tainted loss (with outside interference) hurts a performer at all.
Ross says he loves Kevins Owens and if he was starting a promotion Owens would be at the top of his “most wanted” list. Owens took a huge bump from the top of the cage during his match against Braun Strowman, paying homage to Mick Foley who took a similar leap from the top of Hell in A Cell in the same city 20 years ago.
Ross notes that he’s a big fan of Drew McIntyre. He thinks McIntyre needs to be towards the top of next year’s WrestleMania card. He also thinks Mojo Rawley is taking steps forward, winning matches with extreme physicality and that has caught Ross’ attention.
Ross likes Cien Almas as well and he enjoyed his match against A.J. Styles on last week’s Smackdown. However, he thinks the lack of buildup for that match might have affected it negatively. He adds that he loves Zelina Vega’s facial expressions.
Ross mentions that Samoa Joe is working like a beast right now, and he’s a step or two away from being where a lot of people think he should be according to Ross. Ross says he’d embrace Joe as WWE or Universal Champion without question, and he would love to see him fight Lesnar but the ship has probably sailed on that.
He says he’s not surprised to see Hulk Hogan return to WWE, adding that he predicted Hogan’s return to the company recently. What Hogan did was terrible and he thinks Hogan’s aware of that now, but he doesn’t think Hogan should be penalized forever for that mistake. Hopefully Hogan’s learned his lesson and he’s proud and happy to see Hogan back in WWE.
Ross addresses members of the wrestling media who thought his fall at the NJPW Cow Palace show was a stunt and part of a bigger storyline. He says there’s no truth to that, and although he’s feeling better he’s still having trouble sleeping.
A listener writes into the show, saying that he thinks Roma Reigns has everything it takes to become a legend. The caller doesn’t understand why Reigns is constantly ridiculed by the WWE Universe. Ross doesn’t think it’s very complicated at all, noting that it has become “cool” to boo Reigns now and that’s why fans continue to do it.
Another listener writes into the show, asking Ross what he thinks Hogan’s role will be with WWE now that he’s returned to the company. Ross thinks Hogan might just have a Hall of Fame role, noting that Hogan doesn’t really need to wrestle anymore at 65 years old. However, if he was to wrestle one more time, Ross thinks it should be at a huge event in New York.
Ross notes that the main roster booking of Asuka has certainly been controversial since WrestleMania. Ross had an issue with Carmella’s post-show interview after she defeated Asuka at Extreme Rules. He thought it was over the top and awkward, and it almost seemed as if she went into business for herself during her post-show interview. He adds that Carmella has continued to improve during her main roster run.
Ross welcomes Joh Hennigan (Johnny Impact) to the show.
Hennigan has worked with Court Bauer at MLW for years now, and he notes that Bauer is doing tremendous work with that brand. Hennigan will be challenging Low Ki at an upcoming show and he notes that Low Ki is a terrific performer who’s been at the top of his game for a long time. He recalls Low Ki doing incredible work with Ring of Honor over a decade ago, adding that Low Ki was so far ahead of his time.
Hennigan’s wife is a professional wrestler as well, making it easier for both of them to understand each other’s work schedule. He notes that they try to get booked with each other on as many shows as possible but sometimes it doesn’t work out. He estimates that they’re able to work together about 50% of the time.
Ross asks Hennigan what he thinks makes a NJPW match different than a WWE match. Hennigan notes that NJPW doesn’t utilize false finishes nearly as much as WWE, and NJPW also gives their top stars much more time to work longer matches. Ross agrees, adding that false finishes can be over-utilized at some points in the business today.
Hennigan informs that his film, “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” has been doing very good. He just finalized a deal with Netflix so that they’ll be able to add the film to their library, and the film’s sales have exceeded the expectations of both Sony and the film’s distributor. He says he’s very proud of the film, and Ross says he should be.
That sums up today’s episode of The Jim Ross Report. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
July 23, 2018 1:33 pm
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