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Five Questions with? Jim Ross

Posted: Feb 4th 2016 By: www.si.com

The new voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV spoke with Sports Illustrated to discuss his broadcast debut on March 4, goals moving forward and touched on the current storylines in the WWE.

SI.com: How did you connect with AXS TV to become their lead broadcaster for New Japan Pro Wrestling? And what are your goals?

Jim Ross: [Broadcast partner] Josh Barnett and I have two goals. One is to build the New Japan brand on AXS TV. And the second is to become the best broadcast team in the genre. AXS reached out in late November. I never reached out because there weren?t any openings. Mauro Ranallo and Josh Barnett were doing a great job, and I had no idea that WWE and Mauro were talking. Mauro?s a friend, and I?m happy for he and WWE?they got a great hire [to broadcast Smackdown] and he got a great gig. [My agent] Barry Bloom called me and asked if I would be interested in doing their Friday night show, but I said not at the expense of Mauro. Then I was told Mauro was going to WWE, so then I was interested. The schedule, travel-wise, is very compatible. I?ll make about eight to ten trips a year to LA. ​New Japan has such an eclectic group of people. They?re not hung up on body types, so you get a buffet of physiques. They are not ashamed to have a junior heavyweight division. Now I?ve had guys in WWE that begged me not to book them in a match that had that label?they just thought it was the kiss of death because of the connotation they perceive it brings. But I?m not putting these guys over by the pound. They?re on the New Japan show for a reason, and that?s because they are stars.

SI.com: What is so unique about the New Japan brand of wrestling?

Jim Ross: The New Japan style really fits my style. They?re not a television company?they?re a wrestling company that does television. Their first priority is producing really sound, logically booked, strong style in-ring work live events. They prioritize taking care of their first base over taping the event, though they do a nice job with that, too. I?ve always had great respect for their company, but I think they are very under-marketed in America. Their presentation, when the wrestlers get to the ring and the bell sounds, is serious business. They stay loyal and true to their basic philosophies. My goal is to see the relationship between New Japan and AXS grow. We?d like to see the TV shows get more current, as some of the shows are several months removed from when they happened. So we have an opportunity to build upon this great brand. The news of my hire was really good, and they had never received so much domestic PR in their company?s history, so they were very pleased with. We hope they are more open to Josh Barnett and I doing more shows for them, like the New Japan Cup. New Japan is motivated to build their brand, and I would enjoy going to Japan a few times a year with Josh and have AXS broadcast the shows live.

SI.com:The stars of New Japan include Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Kenny Omega. What excites you most about enhancing their product and helping elevate their talent?

Jim Ross: Kenny Omega is an intriguing talent, without question. He?s young and still putting his game together, but has a little bit of Brian Pillman in him?he dances to the beat of his own drummer, he?s fundamentally sound, and he?s very athletic. I?m also looking forward to seeing how Tanahashi continues to evolve. We know, right now, he?s got shoulder issues. All talents have to be challenged to get better. Austin, Rock, HBK and Undertaker all had that common denominator: they were always their own worst critics and they always felt like they left something on the table. There was always something they wanted to recapture. They were never in their own personal comfort zone?they never stopped trying to get better. We?ll see how motivated Tanahashi is to pay the price to become even more extraordinary. I see some of Bret Hart?s tendencies in Okada. He can do aerial things when he needs to, but he?s very, very proficient on the ground. There is a lot of Bret in this kid. When I got back from [broadcasting New Japan?s Wrestle Kingdom 9] Japan last year, I had the chance to speak with Paul Levesque and Vince McMahon?in separate conversations?about my experience and what I saw. I told Vince and I told Triple H that the talent was absolutely extraordinary, and I said Nakamura was the guy with the right age and sizzle. He has an MMA background, he speaks English, and his influences are Joey Mercury and Michael Jackson. He resonates to the fans.

SI.com: Roman Reigns is someone whom you respect greatly, but he remains unable to connect with a large section of WWE?s most hardcore fans. How would you book Reigns?

Jim Ross: Roman Reigns took more heat than he ever deserved for how he was booked at the Royal Rumble. He was a nose tackle in the ACC at Georgia Tech at 300-plus pounds, and then decided to go into the family business of pro wrestling. The thing we told him was, ?You?ve got to work on your body,? and I?m sure The Rock probably had some influence on that, too, but Reigns worked extremely hard and is very dedicated. The way he was booked in the Royal Rumble was decided by management. It was executed poorly. There should have been medical staff trying to help him and he could have pushed them away, refusing a ride to the trainer?s room. But the damn story was not told. And I?m not lashing out at anyone, because I don?t know if that was by design or not. In hindsight, instead of sprinting and running to do anything, Reigns should have walked very deliberately and used his facial expressions to tell a great story. But we have the luxury of re-booking something we?ve already seen. I understand the intent of the storyline, but we never got a medical update on Reigns. It might have been a philosophical thing from upper management to have fans forget about Roman for a while, so it wasn?t the announcers? fault and it damn sure wasn?t Roman Reigns? fault.

SI.com: You are scheduled to perform your Ringside with Jim Ross show twice on Saturday, April 2, and then a post-Raw show on April 4. As such a passionate wrestling fan, what do you envision unfolding on the road to WrestleMania?

Jim Ross: If I was booking the Undertaker at WrestleMania, I think AJ Styles needs a little more time before you go in that direction. I know there is some talk online about people at WWE endorsing an Undertaker-Braun Strowman match, but I would not book that. Strowman?s not ready. He may have a great future, but I haven?t seen him work that much because he doesn?t get booked that much. If I?m WWE, I?m booking Braun Strowman on the road in singles matches. Get him match time in front of the paying customers, that?s what?s going to make him better. Not to be the third guy in a six-man tag.
It also seems it?s going to be Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania. If Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar have a knockdown, drag out, physical, strong style, well-told story, that will be a hell of a match. Wyatt?s going to have a lot more credibility. Brock?s a real pro, and he knows that he?s the toughest dog in the yard. Knowing Brock, he knows he?s not going to break an egg with Bray Wyatt, because Wyatt is a tough, physical kid. That match will be intense, and Brock will love it. ​The piece that conflicts me the most is they want Reigns to be a babyface. I?m just not sure that?s in the cards right now. Look at the Fast Lane pay per view?Reigns is going to be in the ring with Lesnar and Ambrose. There is no doubt in anyone?s mind who remotely pays attention that Ambrose and Lesnar are going to be cheered, so the odd man out is the guy who they want to get over most as a fan favorite. Unless WWE already has another plan. It?s obvious to me that Reigns is better-suited, with today?s fan base, as a villain. That?s what I hear from the paying customer, who is the best research tool. Roman?s going to be a heel in that scenario, so what if Vince McMahon thinks his son-in-law is getting too big for his britches? He runs the successful NXT, he?s the WWE champion, and he married the boss? daughter. Maybe Vince is not ready to acquiesce the leadership of the company to his son-in-law, so maybe Vince makes a secret deal with Roman Reigns to win Fast Lane and then Vince orchestrates Reigns to screw Hunter at WrestleMania. No matter what happens, Vince McMahon is a smart marketer, and I have faith in Vince and his group.