The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
It’s time for a new edition of Wrestling Weekly with myself and Les Thatcher.
We have a wide-ranging conversation covering everything from Seth Rollins first title challenger for the WWE World title to Kris Statlander’s return to AEW to wrestlers from the early 2000s whose fate might have been vastly different had they come along today.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
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Jerry “The King” Lawler continues to make progress following the stroke that he suffered this February.
In a tweet on Monday, Jim Ross provided an update on his former broadcast partner after speaking with Lawler for an hour. Ross wrote that Lawler’s voice seemed to get stronger the longer they spoke — and Lawler will be undergoing a procedure next week to help with the situation.
“Had a great one hour convo today with @JerryLawler who’s recovering from the affects of a stroke,” Ross tweeted. “Jerry’s voice seem to get stronger the longer we spoke. The King will undergo a procedure next week to help his situation.”
The 73-year-old Lawler suffered a massive stroke while in Florida on February 6. Lawler’s speech was limited after the stroke, but it was said that he was expected to make a full recovery with rehabilitation.
Less than two months after suffering the stroke, Lawler appeared on WWE programming via a taped video that aired at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. The video was part of Andy Kaufman’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Lawler previously suffered a stroke in 2018.
Lawler sent out a tweet last week thanking everyone who has sent their prayers and well-wishes during his stroke recovery.
Just allow me to thank you for sending me your prayers and well wishes concerning my stroke!!! And my thanks go out to these 3 caregivers who devoted an entire week to help me out! pic.twitter.com/mFqiF96idf
— Jerry Lawler (@JerryLawler) April 22, 2023
Jim Ross won’t be at the commentary booth for AEW Rampage this week.
Ross revealed on his podcast that he’s “enjoying the week off” after a hectic travel schedule for AEW’s recent shows in California.
Ross said to Conrad Thompson:
We had a lot of travel the last couple of weeks. You and I were talking off-air that I was gone like, oh hell, ten days.
He also noted that the travel caused discomfort to his ankle, which he had radiation therapy on in 2021 to treat skin cancer. Ross was declared cancer free in December of that year but his ankle has continued to bother him.
Ross continued:
Living here in Florida, part-time, anyway, Florida to California is a haul. People can say what they want but that’s a long-a** trip.
With my ankle as it is, the more I fly the more painful it gets because like any other human, your feet swell, your hands swell, it’s just normal flying s**t. But when you got a bad ankle and you’re trying to get this wound to close and not open, it’s challenging.
We don’t have anymore of those bad trips.
I did not make [Winnipeg] so therefore I won’t be on Rampage this Friday night.
AEW will film Dynamite and Rampage on Wednesday from the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Rampage this week will be the annual St. Patrick’s Day Slam event.
I’m enjoying this week off, so to speak, I’ve got a lot of things to do. You know the stuff you do in your real life doesn’t stop. Big time TV personality my a**. I still gotta get a haircut today, I still have to go to the pharmacy.
Following tonight’s show in Winnipeg, AEW heads to Troy, Ohio for House Rules on Saturday. They will then have two straight shows in Missouri, with Dynamite and Rampage tapings from Independence on March 22 and from St. Louis on March 29.
Five years from now, when E! or someone else does its documentary, “The Self Destruction of Vince McMahon,” some people may trace it to this past week. The reality has been a slow burn, starting with the failure of the XFL, but this was the one week where even his apologists had to give up the ghost.
For weeks, the Raw television has been completely bizarre, mostly being built around making Jim Ross the lead babyface and the McMahon family as the lead heels. Because this played out in storyline form, it was easy to accept the idea that they were trying to create an angle off the Mike Goldberg negotiations getting out, and with Ross undergoing colon surgery and having to be out anyway, this was just an angle to build for his return. Even though everyone who should be in the know was being told differently, that McMahon made the decision to take Ross off the air and wanted to give Raw a new look, all wrestling logic after watching every Monday television told you otherwise.
Ric Flair says Jim Ross has lost all credibility with him.
Speaking on the most recent episode of his To Be The Man podcast, Flair was critical of Ross for his appearance on Dark Side of The Ring last year.
“Jim Ross lost every bit of credibility with me in life, in spite of calling me the greatest wrestler of all time or whatever in his induction, when he jumped on Dark Side of [the Ring],” Flair said. “Because all he is starving for and leaning on in life is to be relevant because he ain’t.”
“I can forgive Jim Ross for Dark Side, which I have because there’s nothing worth it, but I don’t appreciate it. Jerry Lawler texted me, I don’t know how many people said, ‘What the f–k did Ross mean? You got to know when to walk away from Ric Flair?’ Well, the WWE learned when to walk away from Jim Ross. I’m going to the 30th reunion, do you think he is?”
“At the same time, Jim Ross will always be my favorite announcer,” Flair would say later. “I’m not diminishing his skills. I’m not like Eric [Bischoff] saying I was no good at anything. I’m telling you Jim was the f—ing best but I also thought he was one of my best friends. A friend doesn’t do that.”
Ross appeared on the September 16, 2021 edition of VICE TV’s Dark Side of the Ring episode covering 2002’s Plane Ride from Hell.
“He’s the life of the party,” Ross said of Flair on the show. “If you know him, you know where to exit the party and go to your own safe place or you don’t know the rules, and you find yourself in deep water.”
When asked why Flair wasn’t suspended or punished for his behavior on the flight, Ross responded:
“Good question. I guess for lack of a better term, he was a made man. He was such a high level made man that he got a pass. Was it the right thing to do? I don’t know. You’re listening to it, folks, you decide. He got a pass.”
Ross later said that he was “misrepresented a time or two” on the show and that he would no longer appear on the series. He did take part in VICE TV’s Tales from the Territories, however, which Dark Side of the Ring creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisener were also involved with
Earlier in the show, Flair also responded to comments Eric Bischoff made about him recently that were critical of his drawing power.
“When are they going to make [a documentary] about him?” Flair asked about Bischoff. “You know why they don’t? Because you can’t find three people to say a good thing about him. Well? Name them. Who?”
Later in the show, Flair mentioned two good things about Bischoff.
“Eric and I have been friends off and on and I respect him for two things: He called me when my son died which is more than a couple other people I can name did. He did the right thing, I swear to god and people will be mad at me for saying this, but when Charles [Robinson] and I wrestled Savage and Madusa and Randy dropped off the top rope and broke Charles’ rib and almost killed him?”
“Randy didn’t give him a f—ing dime. Eric wrote him a cheque for 25 grand. So I will thank Eric for that.”
WWE has changed courses again with the Jim Ross angle leading to Steve Austin’s first wrestling match since Wrestlemania on March 30, 2003.
On the 10/17 Raw from Sacramento, a match was announced with Austin vs. Jonathan Coachman for Taboo Tuesday on 11/1 in San Diego, where if Austin won, Ross would return as lead announcer on Raw, and if Coachman won, then Austin would be fired. It’s neither the first time Ross’ job has been at stake on a PPV, and it’s a repeat of the 2003 Survivor Series angle where Austin lost his job with the company as a result of his team losing a match.
Exactly where things are going is anyone’s guess. Everything on Raw was built to lead you to believe it’s a formality that Austin wins and Ross returns on 11/7. First, the very nature of Austin returning and facing Coachman, as well as the entire show being built around Ross, which makes no sense if he’s not coming back to announce. In addition, in Coachman’s first week as lead announcer, he did a horrible job, by design no less, in a role where his main focus was to parody Ross. In many aspects, the show came across as a disorganized mess, largely because you can see so many changes in midstream and more desperation booking reminiscent of the last years of WCW.
It was one of those surreal moments on Raw where fiction and reality blended together as the show ended on 10/10 in Corpus Christi with Linda McMahon turning heel, firing Jim Ross, kicking him in the balls and going off the air in what may be Ross’ final television appearance.
The angle was done to turn Linda heel, using Ross in his role of being the “go-to” guy when it comes to attempting to turn popular figures such as Steve Austin, Undertaker, Kane and others, or for Vince McMahon or HHH to use to build steam on themselves as heels. As a wrestling fan, he was portrayed going out as such a sympathetic babyface character that one would believe it couldn’t be anything but the start of a storyline to build for his return. It’s unfathomable that angle was done to write him off the show, even though internally, it does appear nearly everyone believes that to be the case.
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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
*Match and performer of the week
*WWE business in detail, explanations and comments from Nick Khan, Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon
*Where revenue increased
*Numbers after the first nine months of the year
*WWE current value
*Lots of talk on the Bray Wyatt angle and how it performed
*Levesque talks the Wyatt angle
*Levesque talks future booking
*Notes on how the major events performed
*New TV shows WWE is producing
*Nick Khan talks sports rights
*Vince McMahon investigation notes
*How Raw and Smackdown are dong compared to the rest of television
*Why the USA Network needs Raw or it will become an also-ran station
*Khan talks future of television
*WWE attendance
*Nick Khan’s contract
*Jeff Jarrett, Colt Cabana, Katsuyori Shibata and Mike Tyson in AEW
*Jarrett’s planned role
*Why Cabana was brought back
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*WWE Crown Jewel note
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*Wrestler gets heat from the family of the originator of his gimmick’
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*Popular wrestling TV show being revived in 2023
*Vikingo debuts outside Mexico
*MLW recent hires from ROH
*Dynamite ratings for the year as compared to last year
*AEW stars in England
*Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva PPV numbers
*WWE PPV updates
*WWE returns
*WWE injury notes
*Story behind recent WWE cuts
*Sheamus wedding
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September 21, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Spike & WWE counterprogram one another, TNA Unbreakable
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Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio going over the news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
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Jim Ross feels there are logistical concerns to address regarding the build to Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk at AEW All Out.
JR appeared on a fundraiser for Steve “Mongo” McMichael on Saturday along with Conrad Thompson, Ric Flair, Jeff Jarrett, and Tony Schiavone. During the panel discussion, JR was asked about Sunday’s pay-per-view.
“Well, I think it’s going to be very unpredictable because I don’t know how you book this card. I don’t know how you have a match on Wednesday and your champion gets his ass whipped like a government mule and then you expect to return it Sunday. Why do I need a return? You just got your ass whipped. So there’s logical things we have to address, quite frankly. I think it’s going to be a very challenging show for Tony Khan to book but it’s loaded.”
JR then shared his concerns about the length of the show.
“My biggest concern is the fact that I will definitely be wearing darks because a brother’s got to piss,” JR said.
“This is going to be a 5-hour show. I’m not in favor of any 5-hour show. It’s just too long. Our attention spans are not going to maintain what it needs to be. It’s a chance for a lot talents to clear the deck and make a name for themselves. I say that at every pay-per-view.”
Jim Ross says the reason his commentary schedule changed in AEW is to give both Rampage and Dynamite “a boost.”
In recent weeks, JR has been joining the broadcast team midway through episodes of Dynamite. He then continues to call the action as AEW tapes Rampage after. He spoke about the reason for the change recently on his Grillin JR podcast.
“That was a Tony Khan decision,” JR said.
“I was coming out before the show and I was doing all of Dynamite and the reception was humbling. Fans are glad to see me and they express themselves and the reception has been really good. So, he thought the show in the middle of the show, speaking of Dynamite, needed a boost so JR became the booster. So, I come out in the middle of the show, still going to call the main event or main events. Then we all take a bathroom break with the crew and so forth and then we go right into taping Rampage.”
“I didn’t have any issues with it at all. I said, now I’m Mariano Rivera, I’m going in for long relief and we’re going to get some results for you. That’s the deal there, just keeping me fresh and ‘special’ and trying to give Rampage a little boost commentary-wise, selling-wise. So, we need to obviously get the ratings up which I think we are and that’s the reason for that. No problem with me whatsoever, I get more exposure now than I did before because I wasn’t on Rampage.”
AEW was shorthanded for Dynamite on Wednesday.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that several wrestlers were not available for the show due to COVID-19.
“There were a lot of people who were not available for the show because of Covid,” Meltzer said. “That’s why they did not announce the show until pretty much (Wednesday) other than Blood & Guts. They didn’t announce much of the show ahead of time because literally the show was being put together…”
Other than a Christian Cage promo, nothing was announced until late-Tuesday when Orange Cassidy vs. Ethan Page was made, followed by TBS Champion Jade Cargill vs. Leila Gray announced a few hours later.
“The show was being put together late because of fears and things like that. That’s why some of the matches, besides the Blood & Guts match, the matches themselves are not exactly the usual… you know, Jade Cargill and Leila Grey, although there was a reason for that as it played out,” he said.
Meltzer didn’t provide a total number of talent affected. The post-Dynamite Rampage taping featured a battle royal for a future interim World title shot in addition to a Young Bucks match, so it’s unclear how much COVID-19 truly affected the Wednesday lineup.
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Dynamite also had a different feel in the announce booth as Jim Ross wasn’t present for the first hour. Taz instead took the third man role, later joined by Ross for the second hour’s Blood & Guts match along with William Regal.
Meltzer said that Ross was present for the Rampage taping which is also a change as that booth is manned by Excalibur, Taz and Chris Jericho.
He speculated that they may be doing an experiment where Ross does the second hour of Dynamite and then does Rampage.
It’s also likely that Ross was simply replacing Jericho in the booth for the week due to selling the Blood & Guts match. Jericho will be off next week’s Dynamite/Rampage as he is in London for a Q&A/meet & greet event.
Jim Ross has signed a new contract to remain part of the AEW broadcast team.
On an episode of his Grilling JR podcast on Ad Free Shows, the legendary pro wrestling commentator announced that he signed an extension with AEW “not too long ago.” Ross estimated that the length of the contract extension is for about a year and a half.
“I don’t think we’ve made this announcement, but I signed an extension with AEW not too long ago,” Ross said. “I appreciate Tony Khan’s confidence and his willingness to keep me on the team and contribute. We’re not going a long time, but I think I signed for about a year and a half or something like that to stay in the position I’m in. I’m just really pleased that at 70, I still have a future, and at 70, I’m still loving what I do.”
Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Ross’ new contract is for 18 months.
Ross’ previous contract with AEW was up this year. He signed a three-year deal with AEW prior to the company’s debut show in 2019.
Ross calls AEW Dynamite every week alongside Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.
During the Grilling JR episode, Ross said that one of his goals is to make it to 50 years in wrestling.
“I want to get to 2024, I really do. That’s 50 years in the wrestling business. Not a lot of guys can say that they’re in the same job in a fickle, crazy-ass, unpredictable business like pro wrestling for 50 years,” Ross said. “The good lord is looking down and cutting me a break, and if I can get to 50, I’ll be the happiest guy in Norman, Oklahoma.”
Last November, Ross took a hiatus from AEW commentary to undergo radiation treatments during his battle with skin cancer. Ross was declared cancer-free in December and made his return to AEW television.
Jim Ross will be working with the Rock’s production company on a project that will, “go back and look at the territories.”
Speaking on an episode of his Grillin JR podcast released April 27 on AdFreeShows.com, JR revealed details about the production.
“I’m going to be doing some work with Rock’s company coming up soon,” he said. “We’re going to go back and look at the territories. I’m not sure of the platform that it’s going to be airing on, but I was really happy to have the opportunity to participate. It will be a nice little gig. I think I’m going to be joined by Jake, Michael Hayes, and Ted DiBiase. We’re going to look at the Mid-South territory first, so it should be fun.”
The Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions was founded in 2012. The company has worked on projects such as 2019’s Fighting with my Family, and the NBC sitcom, Young Rock.
Ross first started with NWA Tri-State in 1974 working as a referee. The promotion would later be re-branded as Mid-South Wrestling in 1982. Ross remained with the promotion through its renaming as the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986 and sale to Jim Crockett Jr. the following year.
H/T WrestlingNews.co
Jim Ross is cancer-free.
The AEW commentator announced on Twitter today that after undergoing 20-plus radiation treatments to battle skin cancer, he is now cancer-free. Ross posted:
“I’m CANCER FREE!
We did it!
See you tonight on #AEWDYNAMITE at 8 ET!”
Ross is set to return to commentary for tonight’s AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash episode, airing live from Jacksonville, Florida.
The 69 year-old Ross went public with his cancer diagnosis on October 23. He initially was not certain whether or not his treatment would force him to miss time at the AEW announce desk, but he ultimately stepped away for just over a month, with his last AEW appearance coming on the November 24 Dynamite.
Ross, who turns 70 on January 3, is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, inducted in the class of 1999. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007, the NWA Hall of Fame in 2016, received the Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2010, the Lou Thesz Award from the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011, and is set to receive the Gordon Solie Award from the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame in 2022.
