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JR's Blog: RINGSIDE w/ Jim Ross, Latest on book deal, ROH & TNA Thoughts, Forgotten Fundementals, Shop JR's at WWEShop.com, Q&A's Updated

Posted: Feb 9th 2014 By: CMBurnham

Greetings on a fine Saturday here in the great state of Oklahoma. Enjoy your weekend as we kick off today's blog.

Busy weekend on tap here...more prep on our one man show....formatting our first Ross Report podcast ...some gym time...doing some phoners to promote RINGSIDE: An Evening with Jim Ross shows and more.

Tickets for all four RINGSIDE shows are on sale at http://www.ticketmaster.com plus the Gramercy Theater box office in NYC and at the House of Blues in New Orleans box office.

The NYC shows are Saturday March 1 at 4 and 8 pm while the NOLA shows are on Thursday April 3 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm during WM30 week.

I'm hopeful that you will join us and VIP Meet and Greet tickets are still available in a limited quantity.

We have info on all four shows right here on the site which makes ticket buying easy.

We had some discussions this week on a pending book deal and are interested but still want to make the best decision possible on the project. Allowing others to have complete autonomy on editing one's life story is an iffy proposition. Stay turned as I'm definitely writing my story but it will likely not be this year.

I made some comments about ROH recently on an interview. Some of my comments, taken out of context, could easily be interpreted as meaning that I am not a fan of ROH which isn't true. I merely said if they want to improve their product and be taken more seriously that ROH needs to significantly upgrade the look of their TV show via improved production values. That's a Sinclair Broadcasting matter and merely an observation from me answering a question. Part of the solution is as simple as adding a new lighting package.

ROH has some hard working talents who give great effort so my critique isn't talent or booking related. I will say what I always say and what I believe and that's the fact that many ROH talents perform at a faster pace than is necessary especially when one wants the audience to process what they have seen.

So, at the end of the day I'm a wrestling fan who supports all promotions as I hope that others get to live out their dreams just as I did.

Certainly the same goes for TNA where I have many, long time friends earning a living there and wish them only the best.

Upon reading the many, many opinions written on the 'net about pro wrestling booking, etc the one thing that seems prevalent no matter the website or at least the majority of websites is that too many novice onlookers try to make the product more complicated than it is. Crafting personal issues is a function of creating believable storylines that, if they weren't fiction, could easily pass for non fiction.

Secondly, titles cannot be perceived as merely props even though they largely are. Championships must nave value and be coveted. Titles with little or no meaning are counterproductive within the structure of any promotion. If you can name a title who's holder of said title hasn't had a meaningful 'program' since winning the championship then you are looking at an example of poor planning and a lack of attention to detail.

To get a talent to the next level there is no magic formula but one thing has to be in place, the talent must be perceived to be on a roll, to be hot and to be special. Extended rolls are imperative and that doesn't mean that a talent has a couple of good weeks of TV and then begins to be perceived as average or mediocre again. Slickly produced vignettes are akin to high quality TV commercials promoting a new, brand or product. Creating a new talent is not that unlike rolling out a new product....think a new, hot vehicle. Sell the positives and hide the weaknesses.

This can be illustrated by various champions losing an ample amount of non title bouts that don't lead to a marketable rivalry. There is nothing wrong with a champion losing a non title bout IF it makes sense in the big picture and leads to something that lasts longer than an episode or two of TV.

Another question, why would the primary champion of any promotion constantly bitch and moan about defending their title when allegedly defending said title earns them more money and perks? Feels illogical to me.

What happened to time limits in wrestling. I'd love to hear the latest reasoning and rationale as to why it's "too old school wrestling."

A well performed 'draw' in a pro wrestling match doesn't offend me. Hell, for some fans it's a new finish.

Get asked this daily and it feels as if it's to goad me into busting the balls of today's pro wrestling announcers and the question is why they don't do more traditional play by play? Obviously, they all know how to do it but that's not how they are produced. It is not what their respective companies require. Some day someone will realize that when you go off topic as in talking about something that is not directly related to the video one is seeing that it is counterproductive in enhancing the perception of a performer.

TV wrestling fans can only process and retain X amount of info.

Stars being created and 'made' are greatly enhanced and advanced by the soundtrack of what the TV viewer hears. "Witty repartee" gets no one over.

Lots of new Q&A's located here on the site.

Remember that my first ever Ross Report podcast from @PodcastOne drops on Wednesday February 19 with Steve Austin as my first guest.

We are selling an amazing amount of JR's packages from http://www.wweshop.com of the personally signed, @RobSchamberger artwork valued at $20 with four of the packages priced less than $10. All signed JR's items are personally signed by me. No faux signatures.

Thanks for stopping by and especially to those who not only support us with your online business but are also planning on attending one of our RINGSIDE shows. You won't be disappointed.

I'm on Twitter @JRsBBQ.

Boomer Sooner!


J.R. @JRsBBQ