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JR's Blog: JR's RAW Thoughts, Shield-Evolution, Alicia Fox, Bryan Neck Injury, RINGSIDE in Chicagoland, @GoldenBoyBoxing

Posted: May 13th 2014 By: Jim Ross

Thanks for stopping by and paying us a visit. Here are some quick thoughts....

Monday Night RAW from Greenville, South Carolina...

The WWE has one, hot storyline going for them right now and that's the Shield vs Evolution. This attraction will have to carry the Payback event coming to Chicago the day after I will be at the House of Blues there for our RINGSIDE show. One reason that this issue is working is that there are clearly defined roles in play, the heroes (Shield) vs. the villains (Evolution). 16 Shades of Gray this is not.

Having six 'star' talents booked in one match on PPV at this place in time demonstrates the lack of depth currently within WWE and actually across the board in the business these days. The upside is that other talents will be, out of necessity, put in positions whereby they can turn heads if they approach those bookings with a game changing passion.

Apparently Bray Wyatt will face John Cena in a Last Man Standing match which used to be called a Texas Death Match and is also often referred to as a No Holds Barred match at Payback. Cena accepting the match is a formality as when was the last time a hero turned down a challenge from their current, arch rival? The issue here is that Bray Wyatt has a cult following that's developing and the broadcasters seem to have a challenging time describing Wyatt. He's a controversial, unique performer who is getting more and more fans to "follow him" according to what I heard on TV Monday night which makes Wyatt....you guessed it....a fan favorite. Hmm. Nonetheless Wyatt is a compelling character, a growing star and his physical encounters with Cena have been enjoyable but I find myself as a fan not truly wanting either to lose.

There's no logical reason why Bray Wyatt should not beat John Cena at Payback.

One other point on Bray Wyatt...to make him huge as a fan favorite, simply have Harper and Rowan turn on him down the road. Cha Ching. Notice that I said down the road.

Sad news to hear that Daniel Bryan has to undergo neck surgery this Thursday. As in most surgeries, no one will know the exact severity or the time the WWE World Champion will be away from the ring until the surgery is completed. All other info in this area is merely speculation at this time even though the word on the street is that the injury isn't as serious as Austin, Edge, etc. My only advice to Bryan is to not rush back and to take no chances with a neck injury no matter how 'good' one may think that they feel.

Really loved Alicia Fox' performance on RAW as her post match antics were eye opening and showed just how marketable the lovely young woman can be if she is cast properly and she raises her game as she did tonight. Minutes Maximized.

Stephanie McMahon was very good at playing very bad with her on camera time on RAW. She is a great TV wrestling villain.

The post match scene with Fandango kissing Layla felt forced but seeing more of Fandango vs. Ziggler wrestle would have been nice.

Cody Rhodes cheated (eye rake) to gain an unfair advantage to beat Damien Sandow much like Wade Barrett did last week vs. Big E.

If you live in the Chicagoland area I hope that you will join me in your fair city on Saturday May 31 at 2 pm at the Chicago House of Blues. VIP Meet and Greet starts at noon and tickets are limited for that affair. All tickets are available now at ticketmaster.com and will be available at the House of Blues the day of the event as well. We will have plenty of JR's products on hand for you to take home with no shipping or handling charges plus some new JR's shirts from http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/jimross.

If you use the code Ross Report at wweshop.com you will save 20% on any JR's purchase. Great time to save here at the beginning of grilling season.

Part two of my Ross Report interview with Shawn Michaels drops today (Tuesday) at approximately 6 pm pacific time at podcastone.com. Shawn talks about writing out the game plan for his WM24 match with Ric Flair and how emotional he got while doing so, his WM22 bout with Mr. McMahon, how close, or not, that he came to having one more match with his former student Daniel Bryan and much more. This is a really informative podcast that you can download for free at podcastone.com and via iTunes.

Already doing some prep work for my boxing broadcasting debut which will be on Monday May 26 on Fox Sports 1 live at 9 eastern/8 central. @GoldenBoyBoxing have been very professional to work with and I am going to do my best to give them their money's worth come fight time. I'm also looking forward to interacting with the great folks of the Armed Forces stationed at Ft Bliss, Texas near El Paso.

How in the hell did Donald Sterling make SO much money when he apparently is not overly intelligent based on his Anderson Cooper interview on CNN? As I've often said, "Rich don't fix stupid."

Follow my pal @johnehoover, a great columnist for the Tulsa World newspaper, on Twitter for some fun JR's content.

Talking to Eric Bischoff Tuesday evening for a future Ross Report Podcast that will air in June. Should be a fun trip down memory lane and a look a head at what's in store for the future.

The Q&A's are updated as I write this and can be found elsewhere on this updated, snazzy, new website.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ