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Jim Ross Discusses WWE Divas

Posted: Feb 14th 2008 By: CMBurnham

Leading up to WrestleMania 24 (XXIV) in Orlando on March 30, JAWBreaker will have some exclusive questions and answers with WWE announcer Jim Ross. Thanks to WWE's Bob Collins for setting this up. Here is Week 3 with Jim Ross.

This week, in honor of Valentine's Day today, all the questions will be on women's wrestling:

Question: With Beth Phoenix's domination of the women's division, what's more likely for the main event for the women's match at WM 24: a world-title match or a Divas' gimmick match?

Answer: "The trend has seemingly been 'the more the better,' so my money would be on a multiple-entry Diva bout of some sort to allow for more talents to appear on WrestleMania."

Question: What's your favorite all-time WM moment involving women wrestlers and/or Divas, and why?

Answer: "Many come to mind, but WrestleMania 18 in Toronto featured an outstanding women's title bout between Jazz vs. Lita vs. Trish (Stratus), three of the most talented and athletic in-ring Divas ever in the WWE. The Toronto crowd was red-hot and emotionally invested in hometown girl Trish Stratus. I remember the atmosphere being awesome and the match being one of the better Diva contests the WWE had featured on such a high-pressure, major stage. It had to be a thrilling experience for Trish, whose hard work and love of the game makes her one of my all-time favorite WWE Superstars. I always loved the physicality of Jazz, a former college basketball point guard. And Lita was a fearless risk-taker who was extremely innovative. All three of the aforementioned ladies' work ethic separated them from their peers."

Question: With "the competition" (TNA Wrestling) rumored to be thinking of having a one-hour weekly program of just women's wrestling, is WWE thinking of this as well? Or has WWE been thinking of this?

Answer: "This is news to me but doesn't seem like a sound idea. It seems to be based on the success of a handful of matches that were allowed to not be overthought and that allowed the talents to go out and do their thing without being overmanaged. Talent-depth issues would be a definite concern for an all-women's broadcast. I have no idea if the WWE is thinking of such a move, but if they were I would be shocked."

Question: What advice would you give a married man or attached man whose significant other hates them watching the women's matches and angles?

Answer: "In a nutshell -- compromise. Agree to watch Oprah, etc., and acquiesce to all the 'chick flicks' your significant other wants to see at the neighborhood theater in exchange for the two hours out of 144 hours in the week to watch Monday Night Raw. One could also learn more about the Divas and provide the significant other some background on them that might be of interest. My wife has become hooked on Oklahoma women's basketball because she has gotten to know the players, and now we are season-ticket holders. If all fails, go the DVR route. If men are smart, they will make sure that their ladies always get their hand raised."

Question: Cross-promotion is strong with the Divas, with Playboy and recently "Project Runway" on Bravo to name a few. How come WWE hasn't been promoting Torrie Wilson's clothing line (or has it)?

Answer: "I only became aware of Torrie's clothing line recently myself, and it wouldn't surprise me to see WWE Magazine and/or WWE.com do something in support of one of our favorite Divas. I think Torrie's venture is a new one. Torrie has been having back problems, and I look forward to her return. I wanted to put Torrie's autographed copy of her Playboy cover in J.R.'s Family BBQ in Norman, but it was suggested that wasn't a great idea."

Question: Will Stephanie McMahon grace our television sets again anytime in the near future?

Answer: "I have no idea, but if she does it will be for something impactful. I always thought it was entertaining when she had conflicts with her 'Daddy Dearest' (Vince McMahon) on Monday Night Raw."

For more with Jim Ross, visit his blog at jrsbarbq.com/blog/

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE