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JR's Blog: The CM Punk story....Austin & McMahon After RAW on WWE Network...WWEShop.com restocking JR's products..Hardcore Holly coming to Ross Report Podcast Tuesday Night..Wrestle Kingdom 9 on PPV Nears!

Posted: Dec 1st 2014 By: Jim Ross

I hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a great one. We spent it in Indiana, Carmel to be exact, and attended IU's Old Oaken Bucket game versus Purdue University on Saturday. It's late Sunday night as I write this and wanted to catch up on several news items as this is going to be a busy week for us on multiple fronts. So, with that said.....let's grill.

Many are asking when WWEShop.com will be restocked with JR's products. Firstly, I appreciate everyone checking in on that matter as it indicates that many are looking to do some holiday shopping for our goods. That we appreciate greatly. Two orders have been shipped to WWEShop.com and I hope that they arrive and are back up on the site early this week. I'm hoping that Federal Express comes through for us as they usually do. Hang with us folks and thanks for considering our products for those great stocking stuffer gifts.

I have not sat down and listened to the CM Punk conversation with Colt Cabana due to the Thanksgiving week activities. Some of my Twitter followers could not understand why I did not make time to listen to the interview. For years, I put the wrestling business way a head of my own family more times that I want to admit. Those days are over. I'm still a fan of the business and always will be but it's time that I balance my life better so that 's why I did not carve out time away from family and friends to listen to Punk's interview.

I have been involved in MANY issues with talents ranging from high profile matters such as Steve Austin/WWE, among many others. The issue is this....when communications break down and athletes feel their bodies changing and not for the better plus they feel under appreciated and under paid, it necessitates that a process be put in play to address every facet of the talent's issues. Obviously, WWE and Punk had lack of communication issues that apparently went on far too long and the issues addressed by Punk in his interview, based on what I've read online, festered and went unsolved.

Often times it is better for the talent to be given a leave of absence to allow feelings to become less emotional and bodies to heal. However, as always evaluating an issue of this magnitude in hindsight is generally 20/20. I don't know how all the internal conversations went between Punk and WWE. We've heard only one side of the story thus far. In general terms my philosophy was that I either solved the problem or eliminated it. Perhaps that methodology is out of date these days but at some point if every thing has been done to rectify a grievance and it's still a negative situation it becomes obvious that the two parties need to part ways. Was every thing done to address Punk's issues? I have no idea but if his issues had been simmering for a long period of time then they may have been unsolvable. That I don't know.

Its also very important for any company to pay close attention to all talents and it's also a fact that all talents can't be treated the same because all people are different. The wrestling business breeds paranoia and a variety of insecurities much like Hollywood actors and many athletes because the nature of their genres generally have shorter shelf lives as it relates to one's career. In other words, managing a talent roster in any pro wrestling company is and always has been a 24/7 proposition. I can ell you that it was the most emotionally draining, exhausting and stressful job that I ever had. It affected my health but I was blessed that it did not adversely affect my marriage. I'm a lucky man in that department.

I am truly sorry that this matter ever got to the point that it did. I was and still am a fan of CM Punk and enjoyed being around him whether he was Punk the wrestler or Phil Brooks the man. I also owe WWE a great deal as they allowed me to contribute to their company and helped provide for my family for 21 years. For me, this whole matter is a no win situation for everyone involved.

For those wondering how I feel about WWE and how they manage their talent roster today, I can't answer that question because I'm not around them and rarely talk to any one from the company which isn't a complaint but merely a statement of fact and that includes management and talents. I do know that WWE is serious about the medical status of their talent but I do feel that road schedules need to be constantly re-evaluated as it relates on how many days any one works on the road no matter their role. Some folks have different levels of tolerance as it relates to being on the road and how they deal with their injuries. Again, everyone is DIFFERENT and that's why everyone on the roster can't be dealt with the same. Rules. yes but communication, no.

At the end of the day it would seem to be, as an outsider simply observing and having talked to no one involved in this matter that the entire issue is an example of basic, poor communications.

I think that it is a brilliant idea to do the Austin-McMahon one on one interview on Monday night December 1 as it might be the highlight of the entire month of programming on the WWE Network including the TLC PPV. Mr. McMahon and the Rattlesnake had magical chemistry and a competitive rivalry that went well beyond the bell to bell action. Steve's proud of his podcast that can be found with my Ross Report on Podcast One and I don't think he would leave his Texas ranch to fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma to lob softballs to the Chairman of WWE. I fully expect Steve to address the Punk situation with McMahon. Vince rarely dodges any major issue in this sort of forum and Austin has become a great interviewer so I have extremely high expectations for this piece of business. I know that I will be watching and that's after sitting through another three hour RAW.

Seeing Austin and McMahon doing business together Monday night will be nostalgic and, at one time years ago, would have seemed unlikely but the two of them finally communicated, addressed each other's issues and then made more history in WWE that may never be rivaled.

My guest this week on the Ross Report podcast on podcastone.com is Hardcore Bob Holly who talks to me about his take on the controversial Brawl for it All as well as discussing that he was the last known person to talk to Chris Benoit on the day of the tragedy near Atlanta where an entire family was destroyed. Bob is blunt, honest and cuts no corners on all topics including his reputation of being a 'bully' especially to younger talents. This is a helluva show that drops Tuesday night at 9 PM ET at podcastone.com and via iTunes.

I updated the Q&A's here on the site including one where I was called an egotistical jerk.

Hard to believe that I leave for Tokyo in one month to broadcast the much anticipated PPV in the Tokyo Dome from New Japan Pro Wrestling entitled Wrestle Kingdom 9. I've been preparing daily for this assignment and if it's my last, major PPV pro wrestling broadcast I want to go out in a big way. I hope that you will join me on PPV January 4. In North America you can see it on all majors cable systems and satellite providers plus the Flipps app for countries such as the UK, Ireland and elsewhere around the world except in Japan.

Thanks for stopping by and also for supporting our efforts to provide JR's products for the holidays to one and all. Keep WWEShop.com, americansoda.co.uk and beyondtheropes.co.uk plus prowrestlingtees.com/jimross in mind for your holiday shopping.

Thanks to all and have a great day!

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ