John
03-08-2010, 07:47 AM
Jim Ross has a new blog entry available on his official website. Below are the highlights:
- WWE's Gerald Brisco was in Iowa scouting the Division 3 college wrestling tourney this weekend. Smart, long term planning by WWE to look far and wide for future stars. As I wrote this week, if the independent wrestling scene becomes the primary source for the stars of tomorrow then the business is in trouble. Same theory applies for those brands who are trying to catch a quick fix using older stars as the thrust of their shows. Using bona fide legends to gather viewers to only see the younger guys featured is a viable concept but if the younger wrestlers aren't made to be perceived as special then success will be hard to achieve.
- Must be something in the water in some parts of the world as in hallucinogenics as I received emails that swore to me that WWE was going "out of business" after WM26 and that TNA was going to dominate WWE in the TV ratings "war" within a matter of weeks. You won't find many of these acts of delirium in the newly, updated Q&A's but there are some classics that I invite you to check out.
- I have to see a "wrestling war" to believe it but if that theory does come to fruition then I will be the first to admit mistakenly saying that no such "war" will happen. There is a huge difference in being owned by a media conglomerate such as WCW Monday Nitro being owned by Time Warner and being owned by a private entity that is in the pro wrestling biz. Plus, Spike TV doesn't have the chops right now that TNT had back in the day of Monday Nitro. The lay of the TV landscape is totally different that it was in the mid to late 90's.
- With all that said, I wish no ill on any business but my opinion remains the same. All entities should control what they can control and that is their own product. Don't fixate on other businesses especially the one's that are perceived as "competition." Just as in main stream sports, one wants to be in a position to control one's destiny and one does that by getting better every week, improving what one does, offering alternative concepts to their fan base, and not living and dying on every tenth of a rating point on a network that is still way back in the hunt.
- Those that are writing us, some of these fell by the wayside too BTW, about what they can't stand on a variety of wrestling TV shows are beating the wrong mule here. Most of those emails from people who obviously have too much free time on their hands have been deleted but you will get the general idea if you check out the Q&A's. I don't want to come off as a tool here but if ANY television show causes one as much consternation as some have written to this site complaining about then for goodness sakes....change the damn channel.
- We have many emailers that are curious to see what kind of match Bret Hart has at WM26 vs. Mr. McMahon. I am extremely anxious to see what I perceive will be Bret's last ever venture into the ring as a competitor. This is a big moment for this fan of the Hitman I can assure you. I don't expect to see any thing resembling a traditional wrestling match but I do expect this encounter to be one of the most dramatic and memorable moments on the PPV and will be a lasting memory of Wrestlemania. Not knowing what to expect makes the anticipation for this bout even better for me but for those who love to read the "spoilers" not knowing how this long awaited endeavor will go is driving some nuts.
- BTW I've been feeling great and I look forward to getting back to ringside sooner than later even if it happens to be for one night only.
- WWE's Gerald Brisco was in Iowa scouting the Division 3 college wrestling tourney this weekend. Smart, long term planning by WWE to look far and wide for future stars. As I wrote this week, if the independent wrestling scene becomes the primary source for the stars of tomorrow then the business is in trouble. Same theory applies for those brands who are trying to catch a quick fix using older stars as the thrust of their shows. Using bona fide legends to gather viewers to only see the younger guys featured is a viable concept but if the younger wrestlers aren't made to be perceived as special then success will be hard to achieve.
- Must be something in the water in some parts of the world as in hallucinogenics as I received emails that swore to me that WWE was going "out of business" after WM26 and that TNA was going to dominate WWE in the TV ratings "war" within a matter of weeks. You won't find many of these acts of delirium in the newly, updated Q&A's but there are some classics that I invite you to check out.
- I have to see a "wrestling war" to believe it but if that theory does come to fruition then I will be the first to admit mistakenly saying that no such "war" will happen. There is a huge difference in being owned by a media conglomerate such as WCW Monday Nitro being owned by Time Warner and being owned by a private entity that is in the pro wrestling biz. Plus, Spike TV doesn't have the chops right now that TNT had back in the day of Monday Nitro. The lay of the TV landscape is totally different that it was in the mid to late 90's.
- With all that said, I wish no ill on any business but my opinion remains the same. All entities should control what they can control and that is their own product. Don't fixate on other businesses especially the one's that are perceived as "competition." Just as in main stream sports, one wants to be in a position to control one's destiny and one does that by getting better every week, improving what one does, offering alternative concepts to their fan base, and not living and dying on every tenth of a rating point on a network that is still way back in the hunt.
- Those that are writing us, some of these fell by the wayside too BTW, about what they can't stand on a variety of wrestling TV shows are beating the wrong mule here. Most of those emails from people who obviously have too much free time on their hands have been deleted but you will get the general idea if you check out the Q&A's. I don't want to come off as a tool here but if ANY television show causes one as much consternation as some have written to this site complaining about then for goodness sakes....change the damn channel.
- We have many emailers that are curious to see what kind of match Bret Hart has at WM26 vs. Mr. McMahon. I am extremely anxious to see what I perceive will be Bret's last ever venture into the ring as a competitor. This is a big moment for this fan of the Hitman I can assure you. I don't expect to see any thing resembling a traditional wrestling match but I do expect this encounter to be one of the most dramatic and memorable moments on the PPV and will be a lasting memory of Wrestlemania. Not knowing what to expect makes the anticipation for this bout even better for me but for those who love to read the "spoilers" not knowing how this long awaited endeavor will go is driving some nuts.
- BTW I've been feeling great and I look forward to getting back to ringside sooner than later even if it happens to be for one night only.