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JR's Blog: JJ Dillon on Ross Report Podcast Tues 9 PM ET, Has Ambrose Taken Reigns Spot? Rusev New US Champion But Why is He Booed?, JR Talks to The Grappler for future Ross Report, Buffalo RAW Thoughts

Posted: Nov 4th 2014 By: Jim Ross

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New, Ross Report Podcast drops Tuesday night at 9 pm ET with my special guest Hall of Famer JJ Dillon on podcastone.com. JJ will address his amazing career beginning as a referee in WWWF, then working the territories as a wrestler and a manager, helping book the NWA/Crockett territory, managing the Four Horsemen, becoming the VP of Talent Relations in WWE, becoming an administrator in WCW through his current career as a corrections officers in the Delaware Prison System. JJ is one of our most interesting guests and this is a show that fans young and old will enjoy.

You can subscribe to the Ross Report for FREE at podcastone.com or at iTunes and you will never miss a show. Many fans are just discovering our podcasts as I'm getting amazing feedback from many who are just listening to some of our very first shows.

I hope that you will join our team and subscribe for FREE as well and help support our growing brand. We are grateful to all that do.

Tuesday afternoon I will also talk to Len 'The Grappler' Denton about his career as a masked maniac of the mat during the territory days including his great run in Mid South Wrestling working with JYD and for Bill Watts. Len settled in Portland but his territory career saw him criss cross the country more than once.

Several interesting projects being afforded us to get back behind a mic that are intriguing and are under consideration. I'd hope that we will have some definitive answers on a couple of the more provocative ones within the next week to 10 days.

@JRsBBQ on twitter has been deluged with questions from fans in the UK and Ireland about why the WWE Network did not launch as was promoted and was put on hold in the 11th hour. I have no idea what the issues were but my instincts would lean toward speculating that the matter had something to do with WWE's broadcast partner Sky TV there. If so, how anyone would want to promote something that isn't a solid 100% firm is reckless. These matters, if accurate, are the things that get people fired and disappoint consumers, neither of which is a good deal. The WWE is certainly due a break somewhere down the line as it relates to their much ballyhooed and maligned network.

RAW Thoughts:

With no John Cena on RAW, WWE rolled out Mr. McMahon which was a nice surprise. McMahon raised the stakes on the main event at Survivor Series inasmuch if the Authority's team doesn't win then they are no longer "in power." I think that the authority figure persona has run it's course, by and large, even though I have enjoyed the work of HHH and Stephanie the past several weeks. It just seems as if it is the same presentation over and over again. On a recent Ross Report Podcast in one of my opening monologs I suggested that one way to freshen up the current Authority figure personas was to have friction between HHH and his wife which could take on various incarnations and involve others.

Ambrose is the new "it" guy with Roman Reigns on the mend and it may be challenging for Reigns to unseat Ambrose upon his return. Notice I said challenging and not likely. Reigns still seems as if he's the chosen one for WM31 but Ambrose is making a name for himself while the opportunity is there. Hopefully, Reigns, for his own sake, is doing a great deal of study and mental preparation for his return because if Roman returns unchanged then he has wasted an amazing opportunity to make himself better via DVD study, etc while off the road.

Something tells me that the re-start of the Bray Wyatt promotion might make Wyatt more heelish than before he went on a strangely timed sabbatical. I still like Wyatt as a character 'face but if he can be made a heel then more power to him as WWE is in need of top level main eventers of all types.

I like the "eyes" of Luke Harper vignettes. Good stuff and Harper is a keeper. Nice to see that Rowan hasn't been left behind either. Big men like Rowan who can move are a commodity that more opportunities and time are generally provided in the biz.

Would love to hear the logic of beating Sheamus, via count out by Tyson Kidd, on RAW before the Irishman lost the US Title to Rusev later in the night on the WWE Network. Just as I mentioned on my podcast several weeks ago Rusev will make a good US Champion and Sheamus now has the ammo to turn villian.

It's interesting as to why WWE apparently feels Rusev should be booed....apparently only because he's Russian. The powerhouse rarely cheats, is a patriot to his native land, is a beast, isn't a coward, and has not lost via pin or submission. What is there among those items that I am supposed to dislike? The nationalistic storylines can still work but the 'foreigner' still has to have heel tendencies and nuances.

Rusev should not lose until WM31 at the earliest and if he makes it to Summer Slam 'clean' it would mean so much more when someone finally knocks him off.

The ending of the Ziggler vs. Rollins match was a train wreck. Not sure what happened there but it took me out of the moment unnecessarily.

If Titus O'Neill can have more nights like tonight where he's not cast as a buffoon, then WWE might have something in the big athlete who can talk and can be a bigger asset to the company outside the right as well. Titus being serious and getting more offense on Ryback would have made Ryback's win more significant and not so predictable.

Big Show vs. Mark Henry is a storyline that has been drastically rushed.

Xavier Woods PHD has marketable charisma and from what I saw of him down in Florida doing promos with Dusty Rhodes the young man who has continued to get his education even while wrestling is a keeper especially if his TV persona isn't perceived by the fans as a joke.

The small amount of blood coming from the head of Randy Orton added tremendously to the drama of the moment in the main event featuring RKO vs. Rollins and a cast of Authority figures.

WWE starting their shows with action earlier and ending them with chaos makes the perception of the three hour marathons better.

Q&A's are updated here.

Remember that Tuesday night at 9 pm ET a new, Ross Report Podcast will drop at podcastone.com @PodcastOne and via iTunes. Our podcasts are free and we sincerely appreciate you joining our team.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ