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JR's Blog: Kurt Angle Part 2 on Ross Report Podcast Tonight at 9 eastern, Richmond RAW Ramblings, Meet You In Waterloo, Prowrestlingtees.com/jimross

Posted: Jul 16th 2014 By: Jim Ross

Another busy Tuesday with part two of my conversation w/ the great Kurt Angle dropping tonight on podcastone.com at 9 eastern. Also, tonight I'm talking to my old friend @TonySchiavone24 for a future Ross Report so it's going to be another great day. Expect a super ending to the week in Waterloo, Iowa at the Tragos-Thesz Museum activities where I will re-connect with many old friends. Let's grill.....

The Mrs. and I attended @RealMickFoley show in OKC Monday night which was a sellout of about 200 or so great fans. Mick did a stellar job and he even invited me up on stage to participate in the Q&A section of his performance. I can't believe the miles that Mick is logging on his tours as he drove in Monday from Austin which is approximately an 8 hour drive, after starting in Florida, and had to leave Monday night for Huntsville, Alabama where he performs tonight. Mick has a great show that I encourage any wrestling fan or fan of comedy to attend. Great stories of a magical career. We provided Mick ample JR's Beef Jerky which I know doesn't compete with his favorite, Whataburger, but it will be a nice snack and is 97% Fat Free.

Because we were at Mick's show, I caught RAW on DVR which worked well for me. Zipping through those commercial breaks, 15 at last count, did not hurt my feelings.

Nice crowd in Richmond which was the first market that I worked in for JCP back in the day after the UWF buyout. Richmond was a Mid Atlantic Wrestling staple for years and the Virginians represented well Monday night.

WWE's depth issues are easily identified when so many top, top stars are seen on the show in front of the live audience multiple times. We live in unique times as it relates to being not only a wrestling fan but a talent as well. Never in my recollection has the landscape been more conducive for someone to break though and soar to the top of a card than now. That speaks to the overall depth issues within the business in general. Secondly, it's never been more challenging to be in the biz as there are simply too few places that one can work full time and earn a good living. It's the old, double edge sword conundrum as in damn if you do and damn if you don't.

I enjoyed the Cena-Reigns dynamic throughout the broadcast as both men walked a fine line but one can easily see that a personal issue could develop between the two quite easily although I somewhat doubt that it would be a long term one considering that WWE needs both men to be fan favorites. Nonetheless they have noticeable chemistry together which interests me.

Dean Ambrose took a fine, restaurant quality ass whipping early in the show. Heroes who don't quit and show no fear while selling thoroughly usually get themselves over. Ambrose is.

Dolph Ziggler getting a MNR win was appreciated by the fans in attendance as the underutilized athlete got a great 'pop' upon winning thanks to another 'distraction' which seems to be the go to conclusion these days.

The USA/Russia angle is so simplistic that it can't help but work and likely will provide Rusev with a victory this Sunday in Tampa at Battle Ground. There is nothing wrong with simplistic BTW.

The CM Punk promotional material for the WWE Network is a good way to create interest and sell subscriptions for the Network and I don't think it means any thing more than that which is merely my speculation and not based on any 'inside' knowledge.

Great video done by 2K Sports to promote @Sting as a player on their upcoming, WWE video game. Sting will be available if one pre orders the game as I understand it. Does this mean that Sting will be wrestling in WWE? It's not a lock whatsoever and I'd suggest it is a long shot but things can always change. I'd love to see Sting have a WrestleMania moment in his career but I'll admit that I'm biased.

Sting will be a guest on my podcast on July 29 of which we've already taped and it's a great conversation.

Surprised to see Cesaro lose to Big E with Kofi Kingston's help. I'd assume this is leading to something but I'm not sure what.

Expecting Jericho vs. Wyatt Sunday to be a really solid affair. Wyatt looks to be in the best shape that he's been in since arriving in WWE and Jericho loves to steal the show and is more competitive in his mindset regarding such than most people would think. Everyone on the card should have that philosophy but unfortunately that's not the way that it is in life. Nonetheless, I thought Chris should have been more serious and even P.O.'ed.

If given the time to tell a story I'd guess that AJ Lee vs. Paige this Sunday should be a really good wrestling match. I look forward to watching it and it will be taken as seriously as it is presented.

If Bo Dallas continues to be the annoying, opportunistic villain that he's currently portraying and he stays on his roll I can see good things for the 3rd generation wrestler in the future. Beatable heels who cheat to gain unfair advantages and then who disingenuously 'preach' to the audience can be very marketable. It's not a complicated formula but will WWE steer the course and be patient with Bo?

The tag team main event exposed all four men who will be in Sunday's main event in an every man for himself scenario in the Fatal 4 Way. The ending of a disqualification was somewhat anti climatic but there was a nice spotlight on Roman Reigns who should still grind it out until WM31 before inevitably winning the WWE World Title.

Will some critical fans protest that Reigns winning the WWE World Title at some point as being "too predictable?" SMH.

RAW was essentially a two pronged show....sell the Fatal 4 Way main event for Sunday and to aggressively push the WWE Network. I bought the Network on day one and have not regretted it whatsoever. I encourage all fans to invest in it and you won't be sorry.

JR's shirt sales are doing great at http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/jimross where you get a FREE JR's Ringside event shirt with every JR's shirt that you buy while supplies last.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ