Jim Ross is back with another new blog on jrsbarbq.com. Here are some 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.
– 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.
– 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.
