Kemo
11-21-2015, 06:43 PM
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently spoke with Downtown Magazine NYC about a wide variety of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On why he feels wrestling is becoming more mainstream despite a Hulk Hogan level star:
“The genre of pro wrestling – a.k.a. sports entertainment — is amazingly tenured and has been a TV staple for decades. So why wouldn’t mainstream media cover it as they do a litany of other entities? It’s a global product with millions of fans, so covering the business seems logical to me for the ESPN’s, FOX Sports’, etc. of the world. Plus, the decision-makers at many of the companies covering WWE grew up as fans, perhaps.”
On whether or not he had any investments besides his Bar-B-Q sauces during his WWE run, such as real estate or the stock market:
“We did not venture out too far with our portfolio, but have been doing organized financial planning for over twenty years with the same representative. I accumulated a great deal of WWE stock over my years there which has served us well. We had a failed restaurant concept that was derailed by the state highway department closing the exit to our location for an excruciatingly long period of time. That was the only set back that we’ve encountered financially, but it also made us some money while it was open. So we look at it as a unique experience, take the good we learned from it, and continue to move forward. Our next major move will be to continue to get our line of condiments into major grocery store chains including Ingles Markets in the Southeast, over 200 stores, that should be in place soon.”
On the status of his autobiography:
“The writing of my autobiography is certainly a process and we hope to have it finished by the holidays of 2016, but we aren’t going to compromise quality and accuracy to meet a commercial, self-imposed deadline.”
On why he feels wrestling is becoming more mainstream despite a Hulk Hogan level star:
“The genre of pro wrestling – a.k.a. sports entertainment — is amazingly tenured and has been a TV staple for decades. So why wouldn’t mainstream media cover it as they do a litany of other entities? It’s a global product with millions of fans, so covering the business seems logical to me for the ESPN’s, FOX Sports’, etc. of the world. Plus, the decision-makers at many of the companies covering WWE grew up as fans, perhaps.”
On whether or not he had any investments besides his Bar-B-Q sauces during his WWE run, such as real estate or the stock market:
“We did not venture out too far with our portfolio, but have been doing organized financial planning for over twenty years with the same representative. I accumulated a great deal of WWE stock over my years there which has served us well. We had a failed restaurant concept that was derailed by the state highway department closing the exit to our location for an excruciatingly long period of time. That was the only set back that we’ve encountered financially, but it also made us some money while it was open. So we look at it as a unique experience, take the good we learned from it, and continue to move forward. Our next major move will be to continue to get our line of condiments into major grocery store chains including Ingles Markets in the Southeast, over 200 stores, that should be in place soon.”
On the status of his autobiography:
“The writing of my autobiography is certainly a process and we hope to have it finished by the holidays of 2016, but we aren’t going to compromise quality and accuracy to meet a commercial, self-imposed deadline.”