Steve Carrier on July 12, 2018
Ross thanks everyone for their continued support after he took a fall while doing commentary at the NJPW event last weekend. He notes that he has a bruised rib and lung on left side and doctors are worried about him catching pneumonia because of the issues he’s having with his lungs. He points out that he’s making out just fine thanks to his great neighbours and his wonderful doctors.
Ross points out that The Miz’s new reality show, “Miz and Misses” debuts soon on the USA Network. He notes that The Miz is great at reinventing himself and pushing himself forward as a performer. He’s unsure if The Miz is as great a natural athlete as some other WWE performers, but he’s a great entrepreneur and showman and this allows him to stand out as a performer. He wishes Miz and Maryse the best of luck with the new show.
Ross mentions that Impact Wrestling is gearing up for another Slammiversary show and that’s a good sign for the promotion. He credits Scott D’Amore and Don Callis for the work they’ve done there because the Impact’s programming is much better now than it was before, and Ross is happy to see that.
Ross talks about Hiromu Takahashi’s scary incident at the Cow Palace last weekend. Ross thinks that was just a botched spot, but he admits that this shines a bright light on the way talents are working nowadays. Ross informs that Takahashi is sitting up and talking which is great news, and doctors are thinking that he won’t need surgery at this point which is also very good news.
He thought Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre had a “ballbuster” on Monday Night RAW this past week. He thought those two had an outstanding wrestling match, and he notes that it’s only a matter of time before McIntyre becomes WWE Champion or Universal Champion. He adds that McIntyre as Champion makes too much sense as he’d be a great performer to build a brand around.
He also liked the pull-apart between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley. He thought that was done very well, but he’s still unsure how those two men’s styles will mesh in the ring on Sunday night. He enjoyed the A.J. Styles/Nakamura match on Smackdown, but it seemed like there were too many interruptions during the bout. Ross notes that maybe the match was separated by multiple commercial breaks which always negatively affects a match.
Ross notes that Rusev has a chance to spring up the depth chart with a win over Styles on Sunday night. He points out that Rusev makes fans laugh, so he has no idea why WWE considers him a heel. Ross doesn’t think heels should make fans laugh.
Ross notes that it was a poorly kept secret that Brock Lesnar would be returning to UFC. Lesnar is able to make a lot of money in UFC, even if he gets his ass kicked because UFC fans will pay a lot of money to watch him get knocked around the octagon. Ross thinks Lesnar will remain affiliated with WWE while he pursues a payday or two in UFC, but he’s unsure what WWE will do with their Universal Title.
Ross addresses the remark made my Coach on commentary during RAW this week. At one point during the show Coach said, “He might have broken a rib; seems like that’s going around lately”. Some fans think this remark was a shot at Ross, and Ross can’t understand why Coach would take a shot at him like that since he’s always been supportive of Coach. Ross hopes this remark was simply a coincidence.
A listener writes into the show and asks Ross what he thinks A.J. Styles needs to do to take his WWE run to a “legendary” level. Ross thinks Styles needs to avoid taking unnecessary risks so he can stay healthy. He thinks Styles is the best in-ring performer in the world today and WWE is very lucky to have him.
Ross welcomes Josh Barnett to the show.
Ross thanks Barnett for having his back at the NJPW this past weekend, when he was knocked to the floor accidentally during one of the matches. Barnett says he’ll always have Ross’ back, and he wasn’t a fan of the way Jay White mocked him after knocking Ross to the floor. That’s why he jumped over the guardrail and into the ring in pursuit of White.
Ross informs that both White and Juice Robinson sought him out and apologized to him after the show and he could tell they meant it, but they didn’t have an answer for him when he asked them what they were trying to accomplish with that spot. He thought the entire situation was dangerous, and he couldn’t understand why the ring crew didn’t have the guardrails secured.
Ross comments on the continued success of The Young Bucks. He points out that they have improved dramatically over the years, and they’ve taken their selling to a new level. They continue to reinvent themselves, and he considers them to be at the top of the game in terms of tag team wrestling.
Ross and Barnett continue to receive occasional criticism from specific NJPW fans regarding their commentary, and Barnett notes that he tries to ignore it most of the time. However, sometimes he enjoys to respond because those fans are so easy to rile up and he enjoys getting them going.
Ross admits that they style that he and Barnett utilize in NJPW is not a traditional wrestling commentary style. When Ross was hired by AXS to be the voice of NJPW in North America, he was asked to talk about the product as if it was a legitimate sporting event. Barnett agrees, noting that he had no interest in working as a “gimmicky” colour commentator.
Speaking about Brock Lesnar’s return to the octagon, Barnett says he wasn’t surprised to see Lesnar show up last weekend at all. Whether Lesnar’s appearance was a stunt that was intentionally setup or not, his interaction with Daniel Cormier was a cool moment that a lot of people are talking about and it’s going to sell a lot of PPVs.
Barnett doesn’t think Lesnar has much of a chance in his upcoming fight with Cormier. He notes that Cormier wrestles at a higher level than Lesnar and has done so for a longer period of time. Cormier continues to work on his craft and improve in the octagon, whereas Lesnar doesn’t spend his spare time trying to become a better fighter.
That sums up this week’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 12, 2018 1:07 pm
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