Ross opens today’s show by addressing the death of King Kong Bundy. He notes that Bundy was a larger than life character and a great man. Ross actually introduced the idea of the ‘5-count pin’ for Bundy, as a way to show his dominance. This also allowed for some unique finish opportunities in Bundy’s matches.
Moving onto this week’s RAW, Ross thinks we’re getting close to there being too many intangibles in the Women’s Championship picture. He notes that those 3 women can’t lower themselves to other talent, but they can be used to elevate others if booked correctly. Ross thinks Becky Lynch will win on Sunday at Fastlane, and at WrestleMania as well.
Ross thinks The Shield’s return will be a nice attraction for WWE, even though it mightn’t mean as much on a one-week build as it would have over a more lengthy build. Roman Reigns was right when he said that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and there’s no guarantee Dean Ambrose will remain with WWE, even though Ross has been told that WWE is actively trying to convince him to stay.
Ross loved Triple H’s promo on RAW this past week. He thought it felt organic and real, and he’d be very surprised if that was a scripted promo. If it was scripted, he says that Triple H should be in Hollywood. He notes that young performers should study this promo.
Ross is not a fan of Kurt Angle’s recent booking. He thinks Angle is being shown on television too much, and should be kept as a special attraction who only works larger shows.
Ross thought it was nice to see Samoa Joe win the United States Title on Smackdown Live this week. He notes that Joe has been under-utilized for a long time and he really loves the business, so he’ll work hard to make that Title mean something. He adds that Joe is an intimidating and believable character.
Ross thinks Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan have a chance to steal the show on a short build at Fastlane. There’s no reason these two men shouldn’t have a great match and if they don’t, “Shame on them”. Overall, he thinks Fastlane has a good-looking card.
It was announced on RAW this past week that SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost will be special correspondents for WrestleMania. Ross thinks these two guys are very talented and he understands WWE’s connection with NBC, but he thinks they’re essentially unknown on a larger scale, so he’s not sure who this partnership will help.
Ross notes that he’s in discussion with Conrad Thompson about doing a podcast. It looks like the show will be happening, and it will replace this podcast.
Ross informs that after talking with Vince McMahon for a couple of weeks, they mutually agreed to part ways. Ross had been working for WWE for 26 years and he has no regrets at all. McMahon was always amazing to him and his late wife, Jan, and provided him with a great living. However, at 67 years old Ross still feels like he has something to offer the business and he wants to challenge himself again. He doesn’t think he’ll be out of work long.
A listener writes into the show and asks Ross for his thoughts on Asuka. Ross thinks Asuka is grossly under-utilized. He thinks WWE dropped the ball by booking Asuka to lose at WrestleMania last year, and since then her creative hasn’t been good. He thinks there’s still room for another big female star in WWE, and Asuka should be that star.
Another listener writes into the show and asks Ross if he thinks WWE hired Bruce Prichard as a way to get back at Conrad Thompson, who recently booked The Undertaker and has been working closely with AEW. Ross doesn’t think that’s the case at all. He notes that WWE needs Prichard’s expertise and Prichard always worked well with McMahon.
Ross welcomes Brandi Rhodes to the show.
Brandi says she’s loved her role with AEW thus far. She’s been putting together AEW’s Women’s division, and she’s very excited with the roster she’s build thus far. She notes that they have more signings to announce in the coming weeks and she thinks fans will love it.
She admits that she took a couple of weeks off from her wrestling training recently, due to the demands of her new position in AEW. She knows she has to carve out time to train moving forward because she’s still an active wrestler on the AEW roster and she plans on wrestling moving forward.
She informs that it was important for her to book new female talent on Double or Nothing as a way to introduce them to the fans. That’s why she took a back seat on this show.
Brandi informs that she has a good sense of how ticket sales will go before they ever go on sale. She correctly predicted quick sell-outs for ALL IN and Double or Nothing, even when Cody and The Bucks discredited her predictions. She predicts AEW’s eventual television deal will be great for the company.
Brandi admits that Britt Baker irritated her at first because she was contacting them 24-7 until they booked her. After getting to know Baker she realized that Baker is just incredibly passionate about the business. She says that Baker is an amazing talent and they’ve become great friends.
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!
