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JR's Blog: JR's WWE Payback Feedback..@MikePWInsider on Ross Report, KO=MVP, Camp WWE TV-MA, Happy B-Day @TheRock

Posted: May 3rd 2016 By: Jim Ross

Greetings to one and all. Busy day here in Norman, Oklahoma as I'm talking with PWInsider's Mike Johnson tonight for this weeks Ross Report Podcast that will drop Tuesday night at 9 pm ET on www.podcastone.com, @iTunes, and here on the home page of our site. Should be a good show as we dissect WWE Payback and look ahead at WWE's lay of the land along with the ROH PPV. TNA business issues and much more including New Japan Pro Wrestling. Subscribe for FREE to The Ross Report at iTunes and never miss a show plus it helps us. Thanks.

WWE Payback Feedback:

Overall an enjoyable wrestling show that highlighted several talents who are apparently all being given a fair shot at turning heads therefore enhancing their chances of "getting over." The show, from a lively Chicago All State Arena, was in ring, wrestling heavy which never hurts my feelings and by and large the matches delivered.

After Enzo Amore sustained a concussion after being apparently knocked out thanks to a stiff ring rope/cable and the show slowed to a halt early, the talents rebounded and seemingly put the show back on track. Luckily for Enzo, a talented and tough kid, that he was not seriously injured but I'm not saying that a concussion isn't serious because they obviously are. I'm a major fan of Enzo and Cass and expect great things from them in the future.

The IC Title and those seeking it from The Miz received almost an hour of TV time to start the show. That should indicate that WWE is committed on rejuvenating the IC Title as well as providing those in that mix adequate TV time.

Kevin Owens had a great night including a superb bout vs Sami Zayn and then an entertaining stint at the announce desk to set up more Attitude Era/Wild West shenanigans including Zayn, Cesaro and The Miz.

Owens vs Zayn was my match of the night although I really enjoyed AJ vs Reigns, too. Hard to argue that Kevin Owens @FightOwensFight wasn't the MVP of the show.

Cesaro is truly an impressive athlete and if the TV presentation was more athletically based rather than entertainment based, one hss to assume that Cesaro would be a much bigger and more viable star.

There is not one person on the WWE roster that Cesaro can 't have an impressive, main event level match with IMO.

The crowd took a break during the early going of Jericho vs Ambrose but the two talents worked hard to get the fans back into their match. Solid storytelling but isolating a body part along the way might have helped facilitate a more compelling story as the fans started getting numb, or so it seemed while watching from home, from the overwhelming volume of 'moves' on display in this match plus the two bouts that preceded Y2J vs Dean. I enjoyed the match nonetheless.

Kalisto beating Ryback was a surprise and I'd love to see the same commitment to building Kalisto and the United State Title on Raw, in particular, and on subsequent major events.

While I am looking forward to Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon being the CO-GM's of RAW and hopefully an eventual departure from the 20+ year run of antagonist authority figures in WWE on RAW, the segment felt a bit long for me. While fantasy booking this scenario, it's hard to not to picture a Shane vs HHH match at some point in time.

The Women's Title match was stellar until the finish which did not resonate with me but it's obvious that it was designed to keep the issue between Natty and Charlotte alive which does work for me. However, to dredge up the "Montreal Screwjob" yet again just did not flip the switch for me but I damn sure enjoyed the in ring work of the two women. They actually isolated a body part, the leg, and used it as an intrical and logical facet of their match.

Roman Reigns and AJ Styles did their part and more in closing the show in a solid and at times spectacular fashion. I felt that match, in hindsight, had a few more 'near falls' for my taste but it's better to miss on that side of the equation than for wrestlers to rarely attempt to win a match. Both men demonstrated an intense work ethic and even though and the extra involvement by Gallows, Anderson and the Usos might not have been everyone's favorite BBQ Sauce it allowed our more talents to get a bit of a rub fom the main event.

My wife and I watched Camp WWE and the Edge and Christian Show on the WWE Network Sunday night after Payback and enjoyed both broadcasts. The animated Camp WWE was a legit TM-MA program and was laugh out loud funny at times especially when art imitated life as in Natich, his open robe, and a amorous bear in a romantic interlude in a cave, in particular. Vince McMahon was tremendous in his voice acting role.

E&C are naturally entertaining together and their show is very well produced. I can still remember the day that I signed them both to matching contracts after we recruited the lads from the Indies in Ontario Canada. The WWE even paid off Edge's college loan to allow him to better focus on becoming a WWE main eventer of which he did quite famously as did his boyhood pal Christian.

Happy Birthday to the incomparable Dwayne Johnson aka @TheRock who was the bluest of blue chippers that we signed back in the day while I was EVP of WWE Talent Relations. It's so rewarding to see a guy who had approximately $7 Bucks to his name essentially 'lap the field' to become WWE's top star during a crucial time for the company and then go on to earn worldwide fame as a major, Hollywood star. Rock's value can be measured in many ways but when a white hot Steve Austin went down with a neck injury it was Rock who took the role of WWE's top star and the company continued to thrive because of Rock's talent and drive along with the talents of many of his teammates in the WWE locker room. Rock was handed nothing but he made it clear that he was an alpha male as he told me matter of factly from day one that "I'm going to be your top guy."

As usual, the Great One was spot on.

NJPW returns to AXSTV with extensive coverage of the 2015 G1 Tournament that Josh Barnett and I will broadcast. 10 Shows over 6 weeks on AXS. I saw a listing of the matches and they are are badass, let me tell you. For those that follow NJPW regularly I know that I'm preaching to the choir but there are so many more fans who have yet to engage the brand . There is no better in ring product to enjoy than the action that we get to bring you most Friday nights on Mark Cuban's AXSTV.

Thanks to all who have downloaded for FREE our Ross Report with Joe Koff, COO of Ring of Honor Wrestling, and thanks to ROH and to Joe for helping us deliver one helluva show.

Our @FiteTV app is distributing the ROH PPV this Sunday at Global Wars emanating from Chicago. If you have a smart device and WiFi then that's all that you need to watch this PPV Sunday night live as it happens.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ