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Review: An Evening With Jim Ross in Baltimore

Posted: May 20th 2015 By: Kevin Eck

If you're a pro wrestling fan of any era, whether it's the territory days, the Attitude Era or even if you're a new fan, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor by attending Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross' one-man show if you have the opportunity.

I was fortunate enough to catch "Ringside: An Evening With Jim Ross" this past weekend at Rams Head Live in Baltimore and it was every bit as captivating as I thought it would be.

With more than 40 years in the business and having worked in prominent positions behind the scenes with the biggest companies and alongside everyone from Cowboy Bill Watts to Ted Turner to Vince McMahon, Ross has a surfeit of material from which to choose, and he proved to be a masterful storyteller.

His stories were both entertaining and educational, as he talked about turning his love for the business as an 8-year-old into a career that saw him rise up the ranks from gofer to executive, holding just about job possible along the way.

Ross related memorable interactions he has had over the years with the likes of Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Rock, Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Savage and others.

His story about Jim Cornette's extreme fear of flying and their experience at the Canadian border was laugh-out-loud funny. It was exceeded only by his hilarious account of being the driver for the legendary Leroy McGuirk when the grizzled, blind promoter/former wrestler had murderous intentions toward a famous wrestler for dating his daughter.

The latter part of the show featured a Q&A session with audience members. No subject was off limits, and Ross spoke candidly when asked for his thoughts on how WWE handled the live Raw broadcast on the night of the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide, his opinion of McMahon and the current state of the business, his own booking philosophy and more.

The show lasted nearly three hours, but the audience was engaged for the duration. In fact, I got the feeling that they could have listened to Ross talk wrestling all night, and that's as much a testament to Ross' likable personality as it his to his ability to tell compelling stories.

One of the recurring themes throughout the evening was that Ross was no different than the people sitting in the audience. He started out as a wrestling fan, got to live his dream and is still a fan today.

After the show, I was privileged to be an observer backstage when Ross met with several wrestlers and staff members of the local independent wrestling promotion, Maryland Championship Wrestling. The insight and advice that Ross gave them was invaluable, and I was impressed by how generous he was with his time after a long evening that began by signing autographs and taking pictures with fans during a meet-and-greet prior to the show.

I can't imagine anyone who was at the show not having a good ol' time spending an evening with good ol' J.R.

Note: Ross will be doing his show in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 19 and New York City on Aug. 22.