*Official Jim Ross Blog Thread*

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- We're doing another RINGSIDE show in Toronto on Friday May 9 at the Danforth Music Hall and tickets for the show go on sale THIS TUESDAY in Toronto at the box office of the Music Hall and via ticketmaster.ca. It's one show only and it's the night before the ROH-New Japan show in TO. VIP Meet and Greet tickets will go fast and are limited. We will h ave the meet and Greet before the show on the Friday May 9 event.

- Thanks for the great feedback on this week's Ross Report with Lita aka Amy Dumas. Next week my podcast guest will be DDP Diamond Dallas Page who I suspect will induct Jake Roberts at the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony the night before WM30. That's not a conformation but my personal assumption. Without question DDP impacted the lives of both Jake and Scott Hall in a major, life saving way.

Great lineup of guests coming to the Ross Report podcast via [MENTION=45]POD[/MENTION]castOne including, the aforementioned Robert Flores, Jim Cornette, Gail Kim, Shawn Michaels, Bill Goldberg, ESPN's Michelle Beadle and Eric Bischoff, among others.

- WWE has invited me to attend the WWE Hall of Fame next Saturday night in New Orleans. I'm going to endeavor to attend. Grat night for some very deserving performers.

- Some seemed surprised that I applauded [MENTION=16293]michael[/MENTION]Cole work in WWE recently on the Q&A's here. Cole is without question the hardest working on air talent in WWE and his job has become so multi faceted that it exceeds the boundaries of being a play by play man. I'm not even sure that WWE calls it play by play any longer but nonetheless Michael does a helluva job steering a diverse ship on 5 hours of prime time TV for WWE.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com with thoughts from WrestleMania XXX week. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

Certainly want to thank all the fans who joined us at the House of Blues Thursday night. Having enthusiastic audiences who care about wrestling is a blessing to the folks up on the stage. MC John Pollock of the Fight Network Canada was stellar. Old friends Jim Cornette and Steve Austin joining me was a helluva surprise for the fans. I sincerely appreciate them both. They always make me look better than I am.

Spent a lot of time with Steve Austin & 'brainstorming' some potential projects.

Our next RINGSIDE: Evening w/ Jim Ross show will be in Toronto on Friday May 9 at the Danforth Music Hall. Tickets for the one show only event are on sale now at ticketmaster.ca or hit jimrosslive.com. There are only 100 VIP Meet and Greet tickets and the meet and greets will be before the show in TO. This is our biggest venue to date but I'm confident that Toronto will respond and join me on Friday May 9 which is the evening before the ROH- New Japan event in TO that I plan on attending.

Getting some super feedback from wrestling people and fans alike on the Ross Report podcast. DDP is up right now and next week I visit w/ Jake Roberts who had a superb WWE HOF speech Saturday night. Jake and I talk about wrestling philosophy and what it takes to make it in today's wrestling biz. Download the Ross Report podcast free at PodcastOne.com or via iTunes.

Want to thank WWE for the invite and for the great seats to the HOF. Long event for the over hydrated. Lots of memorable soundbytes paired w/ raw emotions throughout the show. Anxious to see how it played on TV.

The speeches were certainly unique as they should be and my only critique, and Lord knows most fans love critiques, is that some could have gone shorter. I wish some fans who seemingly have an obsession to verbally interject themselves would re-think that mindset.

I'm optimistic that WM30 will exceed what some perceive to have been a unique or less that aggressive top to bottom build for the event. Amazing behind the scene preparation has been ongoing and if ever one was going to maximize their minutes, no matter one's role, is paramount at WrestleMania.

I expect some unique creative, a few surprises, some twists & turns, and the return of some of WWE's all time greats in the Super Dome.

Being as old school as I am, what will happen bell to bell has my utmost interest. Always.

Hoping for a big night for Daniel Bryan, among others.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- While answering the Q&A's here on the site, I've received a ton of questions about my thoughts on the STREAK being broken at WM30 by Brock Lesnar. I was legit shocked that it happened and I still find it hard to believe that it occurred. What's done is done and I'm interested now to see where the Undertaker goes from here notwithstanding if WWE takes advantage of the major win for Lesnar. Brock has never truly been on a legit roll since returning to WWE from UFC and if there ever was a time to pull the trigger on that matter, that time is now.

I could see Brock eventually becoming the WWE Champion and defending the title at WM31.

- Memorable night for Daniel Bryan who continues to dodge 'authority bullets' as the new, WWE World Champion and had a stellar night Monday. Bryan is beginning to feel more comfortable on the mic which is essential for him. This goes for anyone as the verbal side of pro wresting is and always had been imperative to one's success.

- Great night for Antonio Cesaro as he's taking his wrestling persona to a new and more upscale address. I do feel it will be challenging for fans to boo Cesaro on a regular basis as his work, consistency and the Cesaro Swing certainly seems to make him prime, fan favorite material even if he is a Heyman Guy.

- Speaking of Paul Heyman, Paul had a magnificent night on RAW delivering a home run on the Lesnar beating Taker promo. Heyman is the best talker in the business and continues to do amazing work and has to be considered as one of the greatest managers of all time on a short list that includes Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette. Before all is said and done, Paul may be the best, pure manager to ever fulfill that role in the history of the business.

Heyman's duo of Cesaro and Lesnar, who I'm sure some fans have already started fantasy booking to face each other down the road, may be destined for strong, fan favorite roles if the Monday night audience has any thing to say about it.

- The Shield declaring their true colors as the show went off the air was significant. This gives WWE creative plenty of options going forward and the chance for Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins to take another step vertically not to mention when one or more of them 'changes jerseys' how big a deal that will be. I'd hope that metamorphous is not any time soon as the hotter The Shield becomes as fan favorites the more impactful they will be as antagonists when the time is right.

- I'm optimistic that Alexander Rusev and Lana can be hits within the WWE. Rusev is an athletic big man while Lana is one of the most unique and marketable females to arrive in WWE in a long while. I love her accent and delivery.

- Paige has a significant upside and I can see her potentially having a Trish-Lita type rivalry with the talented AJ Lee who is still WWE's most consistent, in ring diva. Both ladies have marketable, bell to bell skills and both can be aggressive in the ring which translates well to all audiences.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- We have booked interviews in the immediate future with Shawn Michaels, Bill Goldberg, ESPN's Michelle Beadle, Eric Bischoff, Ted DiBiase, Cowboy Bill Watts and Tony Schiavone among others. Looking forward to also having Stan Hansen, Taz, MVP and many others from the pro wrestling world on the show sooner than later. We also plan on visiting with Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famer ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons down the road.

- Several new RINGSIDE: An Evening with Jim Ross events are being added to the calendar as the year progresses. Live Nation is really being aggressive in scheduling yours truly for more events. As soon as more dates are finalized, I will let you know but LA in August (insert your own joke here) and a show in Chicago are definitely on the drawing board.

- Where did the info come from that ESPN was interested in Renee Young? Not saying it's true or not but it certainly made the rounds quickly within the IWC. Renee is a talented, young woman, without question, and I wish her the best no matter what she decides to do long term with her career. Renee has skills, a great look and isn't a high maintenance talent but is easy to produce.

- Getting tons of questions regarding Sting signing with WWE of which I don't know the answer and if I did and was asked to keep it confidential I would, for the record. However, I see it as a no brainer for WWE to sign Sting and to begin immediately in monetizing his intellectual property. WWE owns virtually every minute of video tape that Sting has appeared on except his work in TNA. Some of the UWF content and early WCW matches are particularly outstanding. It's a match made in grappling heaven even if Sting never wrestles in WWE. In my perfect, booking world, which actually doesn't exist and is an oxymoronic statement, Sting would have one match...a retirement match at WM31 against a suitable villain even though some will lobby for that retirement match opposition to be Undertaker. A smaller, athletic young talent who needs the "rub" would arguably be ideal.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- Some Twitter followers [MENTION=1691]Jrs[/MENTION]BBQ are already growing weary of Daniel Bryan being WWE Champion as their logic is now that the undersized, highly skilled wrestler has won the title there's nothing left for him to conquer of which I find to be extremely misguided. Some might even say that theory is downright stupid.

Bryan is and always will be the physical underdog in 99% of his bouts and if the announcers tell a timely and fitting story, DB will be a WWE World Champion who will go into the vast majority of his Title Bouts as the underdog. If that isn't a sellable story, then I don't know what is.

When a scenario finds the 'hero' in jeopardy, it is generally a good thing in the genre of pro wrestling as it relates to telling a story both in the ring and at the announce table.

I also said that Bryan got over organically which is the best way possible and he will stay over if he continues to be positioned as I just described and he maintains his high standard of bell to bell excellence. The Champion's biggest challenge is to continue to improve on his mic work and I expect that he recognizes such and will continue to address that phase of his game. Nonetheless Daniel Bryan is a credit to the business and WWE, or any one else, can't get too many performers with his character and professionalism.

Hopefully Daniel Bryan's reign as the WWE World Champion will be longer than the cup of coffee that many of his fans fear but I do think it is inevitable that Brock Lesnar will be the next top dog in WWE and a Lesnar-Bryan match at Summer Slam would be a great attraction.

- Someone smarter than me, however, will have to explain why I should automatically think that Lesnar and [MENTION=9423]wwe[/MENTION]Cesaro should be perceived as villains in the squared circle simply because they are affiliated with Paul Heyman. Neither wrestler cheats or rarely takes unfair shortcuts and 'retreat' isn't too prominent either. Perhaps in today's marketplace it simply doesn't matter to those in charge of any wrestling organization even though the hero/villian dynamic is alive and well in UFC, NFL and in the NBA Playoffs.

- Love how some fans are so quick to blame 'creative' when something goes awry, in their view, on a pro wrestling TV show. Crafting consistent, 'money' creative is 50/50, at best, so smart wrestlers should always plan that they are going to have to add their own touches to make the creative that they are provided better than it is.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:

- This week we announced our first show ever in Chicago which will be Saturday AFTERNOON May 31 at 2 p.m. at the House of Blues. Tickets to the general public go on sale this Friday April 25 via ticketmaster.com. There are only 80 VIP Meet/Greet tickets so please don't delay if that ticket is of interest to you. One must be 17 and above to attend our Chicago event @HOBChicago.

Chicago is a very special city to me inasmuch as it was in Chicago in 2007 at a Monday Night RAW where it was announced that I would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class that year at WM23. That was a night that I will never forget and I hope to return the favor by providing the Chicagoland fans an afternoon that they will never forget on Saturday May 31. The doors open at noon and the show starts promptly at 2 p.m.

- WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Brisco has an amazing roster of world class athletes from the amateur wrestling world set to descend on Orlando and the WWE Performance Center soon to begin the process to see if they have what it takes to transition from amateur beasts to sports entertainment performers. I saw some of Jerry's recruits at the Division One Nationals recently in OKC and from a physical standpoint they are damned impressive. The key is to see if they have the aptitude and the personality to match their physical gifts. That matter becomes a collaborative effort between the talents and their coaches with the results, hopefully, being positive for all involved specifically the fans if these men make it.

- Amazing that some 'fans' are jumping off the Daniel Bryan bandwagon now that the highly skilled star has won the WWE World Title and the reason is that they feel that the 'chase' is over and therefore DB has no more challenges ahead of him. Has anyone noticed that Bryan is STILL smaller than virtually everyone he wrestles and is STILL an underdog even as the champion? Keeping a fan favorite in varying levels of jeopardy or peril works....it always has and always will. It has worked in films and in main stream sports since their beginning, which is why they keep score, keep track of the standings, and play for something at the end of the year. If Bryan can continue to amazingly overcome the odds and retain the WWE World Title in non fluke wins, when the time comes for him to lose the championship, to Brock Lesnar would be my suggestion, say at Summerslam or even in November at Survivor Series, DB won't fade away. The best pure wrestler in the world isn't going to disappear unless he is removed from TV or he suddenly forgets how to perform his craft.

The Daniel Bryan situation as it relates to going forward this year is seemingly being 'over thought' by many fans who have WAY too much free time on their hands.

IMO Lesnar should not lose in 2014....at some point become WWE World Champion and then pass the imaginary torch to a young, up and coming star at WM31 ala a Roman Reigns, etc.

- WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com with predictions for tonight's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here's what he wrote:

Daniel Bryan defeats Kane, overcomes the odds from a battered body and a much bigger, stronger opponent and then begins to get prepared for an eventual challenge to the WWE World Title from Brock Lesnar. Still of the mindset that the Bryan vs. Kane match exceeds expectations.

Thinking that The Shield overcomes Evolution in what should be a really strong 6 Man Tag. I expect this match to be very well produced and executed. Anxious to see it and hopefully the younger trio prevails to continue their ascension to the top of the roster.

Predicting that Bray Wyatt wins the cage match versus John Cena and I hope that it isn't via escaping the cage as that was designed years ago in another era to help 'save' the hero's image. Those days are long gone and Wyatt beating Cena by pinfall inside the cage helps build of the Wyatt persona and doesn't aversely harm Cena but instead facilitates the rivalry of which Cena will eventually prevail.

Can't see why Cesaro shouldn't to win the three man elimination match that actually should be really good featuring RVD and Jack Swagger as well. I'm a fan of all three men's work and have high expectations for this match.

If Bad News Barrett doesn't win the IC Title Sunday Night against Big E then WWE is missing a great opportunity to elevate a much needed antagonist and to continue to rehabilitate the image of the IC Title that used to mean so much in WWE. A loss to Barrett doesn't do significant damage to Big E who has cooled off since winning the IC Title and 'E' can easily become relevant by being on the chase in an attempt to regain it.

Paige should retain the Divas Title in her first major title defense against Tamina Snuka. Was asked on the Q&A's elsewhere here if Paige was called up too early and my answer was an emphatic no. Paige is young and being on the road is a challenge to all especially younger talents but as far as in ring action is concerned, the Brit has been ready a while. I see Tamina imposing her will and Paige battling from underneath to prevail. Keep it simple, logical and easy to execute. Plus, give these women time to tell a story.

Rusev is pitted against both R Truth and Xavier Woods as I assume that Truth & Woods will act as a tag team. Nonetheless Rusev should win but winning quickly is an important consideration. If WWE continues to play to Rusev strengths and the announce team continues to point out all the positives of the Bulgarian Brute, the rookie has a shot at getting over as in a year from now. I do like the package of Rusev and Lana as she has a distinctive look and accent that makes her different. Being different in today's world of pro wrestling, just like yesteryear, is imperative.

The obvious thing to do in the Hornswoggle vs. Torito match is to make the audience happy in this comedy outing and see the diminutive and talented masked grappler prevail but I'd go the other way and spotlight Horney as a way to promote his upcoming movie and to further the issue with Torito.

Anxious to see what 'shocking' moments or major surprises that WWE has in store on this show as those types of things are important to have in place to continue to aggressively market their WWE Network when folks hear what they have missed. If one is a wrestling fan and the Network is available to you, I can't see why one wouldn't subscribe for the $9.99 price tag per month.

WrestleMania 30 provided the end of The Streak and I'm curious to see what tonight brings. With that said and with the possible physical issues that Taker may be living with, one can make more sense of The Streak abruptly ending at WM30. I was/am a 'Streak' guy and it ending still has many of us talking about it weeks afterwards which is the sign of a shrewd promoter.

Jim Ross posted the following at JRsBarBQ.com.

On Interviewing AJ Styles:

Last night I interviewed AJ Styles for a future Ross Report and he was terrific. I missed on him during the WWE/WCW buy out as he was a young talent under contract to WCW when the deal went down. We got a good laugh at that obvious mistake on my end. AJ is one of the top workers in the world and his tenure in New Japan and in the indies has him busier than ever. I love his work and feel that he would be a definite asset in anyone’s company. BTW…AJ agrees with me that ROH Wrestlers should slow down a gear and sell more just as I’ve been discussing. Simple fix to make their in ring product better.

On The Upcoming Paul Heyman DVD:

Just got copy of the Paul Heyman DVD and I plan on watching it over the July 4th holiday. [MENTION=14457]hey[/MENTION]manHustle has perfected his craft and I remember so very well working with him on his first, national TV gig which was at TBS in Atlanta and tutoring Paul on the art of broadcasting pro wrestling. He was obviously a brilliant student and was a sponge when it came to absorbing info. However, he could test one’s patience from time to time. :)

On Battle Royals:

For the record, I’m not a battle royal guy. Never have been since the days of when I was a Ref. Too much fun and games at times during these matches and generally fans don’t emotionally invest until the match it down to a small, handful of talents. I can see one occurring annually like the old San Francisco Cow Palace days, etc but that’s about it. I hope it works out better than I expect for WWE to crown a new IC Champion via the Battle Royal route.

On Chris Jericho’s Return:

Chris Jericho looks physically good and that’s thanks to DDP Yoga considering Jericho’s massive work load and travel schedule. Bray Wyatt will have a positive experience working with someone new and that’s better than him in the immediate future. This is good, strategic booking with the goal to obviously have some entertaining TV but to help Bray continue to grow as a talent.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with a new blog on jrsbarbq.com. As always, you can purchase JR's BBQ products on WWEshop.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:
- The Mrs. and I attended @RealMickFoley show in OKC Monday night which was a sellout of about 200 or so great fans. Mick did a stellar job and he even invited me up on stage to participate in the Q&A section of his performance. I can't believe the miles that Mick is logging on his tours as he drove in Monday from Austin which is approximately an 8 hour drive, after starting in Florida, and had to leave Monday night for Huntsville, Alabama where he performs tonight. Mick has a great show that I encourage any wrestling fan or fan of comedy to attend. Great stories of a magical career. We provided Mick ample JR's Beef Jerky which I know doesn't compete with his favorite, Whataburger, but it will be a nice snack and is 97% Fat Free.
- The CM Punk promotional material for the WWE Network is a good way to create interest and sell subscriptions for the Network and I don't think it means any thing more than that which is merely my speculation and not based on any 'inside' knowledge.
- Great video done by 2K Sports to promote [MENTION=145966]Sting[/MENTION] as a player on their upcoming, WWE video game. Sting will be available if one pre orders the game as I understand it. Does this mean that Sting will be wrestling in WWE? It's not a lock whatsoever and I'd suggest it is a long shot but things can always change. I'd love to see Sting have a WrestleMania moment in his career but I'll admit that I'm biased.
Sting will be a guest on my podcast on July 29 of which we've already taped and it's a great conversation.
- Expecting Jericho vs. Wyatt Sunday to be a really solid affair. Wyatt looks to be in the best shape that he's been in since arriving in WWE and Jericho loves to steal the show and is more competitive in his mindset regarding such than most people would think. Everyone on the card should have that philosophy but unfortunately that's not the way that it is in life. Nonetheless, I thought Chris should have been more serious and even P.O.'ed.