Ross opens today’s show by saying he’s looking forward to this weekend’s Royal Rumble and Takeover shows. He notes that outdoor venues can be tough, and selling 40,000 tickets can be tough too so this weekend presents a couple challenges for WWE. However, he’s sure they’re more than prepared to tackle those challenges.
Ross notes that he hasn’t seen as much online buzz surrounding this Takeover show compared to shows in the past. He notes that maybe we’re at a point where we’re taking these amazing shows for granted, and he really hopes that’s not the case.
Ross says his favourite part of RAW this week was the tribute video for Martin Luther King. Those things were his favourite things to be a part of when he was working for WWE, and he’s happy WWE dedicated the time and resources to making that great video this past week.
Ross is excited to watch the Universal Title match between Brock Lesnar and Finn Balor this coming Sunday. He notes that a victory over Braun Strowman on RAW this week really would have positioned Balor strongly heading into this title match, but clearly WWE didn’t want to beat Strowman like that.
He liked Ronda Rousey’s promo on RAW, even though some other people didn’t. He thought the promo felt real, and it didn’t seem like she was reading someone else’s words line-for-line from a script. She was passionate and angry, and he liked that.
Ross was happy to hear that Alexa Bliss is cleared for a return to in-ring action. He notes that Bliss is a big-time player, and she has a great attitude. He just hopes that she can stay healthy moving forward.
Ross thought Smackdown Live was a good show this past week. He really enjoyed the opening segment, and notes that Becky Lynch is over. He’s also happy to see Asuka in the main event picture, especially after some of the struggles she’s had in the last year.
Ross notes that Asuka was so hot leading into WrestleMania this past year, but after one loss to Charlotte on the grandest stage of them all she fell into obscurity and Ross never understood that.
Ross points out that Daniel Bryan has really found his niche with his new gimmick, and he thinks Bryan fits this role perfectly. He’s sure Bryan and A.J. Styles will have a slobberknocker of a match on Sunday and he’s looking forward to it.
He’s looking forward to all the matches on the NXT: Takeover special, noting that any of the matches could steal the show. Ross loves listening to Mauro Ranallo and is excited to hear him commentate the show, but he can’t understand why there seems to be a lack of buzz surrounding this Takeover.
Ross comments on the reports that the XFL has interest from multiple television networks. This news doesn’t surprise him, especially since two major networks are already involved with WWE through RAW and Smackdown and they might want to strengthen that connection.
Ross notes that at 41 years of age, Sheamus looks great. His tag team partner, Cesaro, is a freak, and if WWE is serious about building a tag team division that can compete with the women’s division in terms of popularity, you’d think Sheamus and Cesaro would be two key pieces in making that happen. There’s no doubt in Ross’ mind that if WWE wanted to elevate their tag team division they could, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority right now.
A listener writes into the show and asks Ross about his memories of the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness character. Ross says he recalls being apprehensive about the Undertaker’s character change at that time, because the original character was still working.
Undertaker also hadn’t cut many promos in the several years prior to the change so Ross was concerned about Mark Calaway’s promo ability. Nonetheless, his apprehension was unnecessary as the Undertaker character has changed multiple times in the last two decades and it always worked out.
Ross welcomes Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) to the show.
Hager is preparing for his MMA debut at Bellator 214 this coming weekend, and notes that training has been going well thus far. He feels like he’s in the best shape of his life at 36 years old.
Hager admits that it was tough to leave the wrestling business, where he was making hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, in order to pursue MMA. It was a risky decision, but he knows that if he’s successful in MMA that’ll only help his wrestling career.
Hager notes that getting hit in the face sucks, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. He mentions that constant head motion is very important along with footwork, and he worked on both those things a lot in preparation for this fight.
Hager says he couldn’t be more excited to see the development of AEW. He really thinks those guys are changing the business, and notes that the rise of this brand is good for the wrestlers, the fans, and the business as a whole. He informs that he had a brief chat with Cody and AEW officials about the possibility of him joining the promotion, but he’s been so busy with his MMA training since September that he hasn’t really pursued more talks.
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!
