Ross report for 5/3

[Guest]

Ross Report -- May 3, 2002

Greetings and cheers from under the black Resistol hat from London, England, the site of Saturday night’s UK Pay-Per-View Insurrextion. Terri and myself have been doing a variety of media appearances and interviews promoting Saturday Night’s event at Wembley Arena. These efforts will continue thru Saturday morning and seem to be going very well on all accounts. The event starts at 7:00 p.m. Saturday in the UK after which everyone will return to the USA to prepare for Monday’s live RAW in Hartford. The fans here are very knowledgeable and seem to be genuinely excited about World Wrestling Entertainment being in the marketplace.

Terri has been a big hit here this week, especially with the male “presenters” (TV hosts) we have encountered. Those studios sure are kept chilly, for the record. We were a few blocks away from the Mayday Protest in London Wednesday, where 6,000 police were deployed to maintain some level of civility. The only excitement of merit came when several young ladies took their shirts off to protest topless. Ah, you gotta love freedom of expression!

 

Injury Update:

 

Lita – Successful surgery on her broken neck was performed Tuesday in San Antonio by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood. Lita will be allowed to go home today (Friday). She will be away from physicality for nine months. She will have no limitations when she is cleared to return to the ring sometime prior to WrestleMania 2003.

 

Scotty 2 Hotty– Will have surgery Tuesday in San Antonio on his injured neck and will be out 9-12 months. He will be able to continue his career after Dr. Youngblood releases him next year.

 

DDP – Bone spurs are affecting his spine and he is under doctor’s care currently undergoing physical therapy. DDP tentatively is set to see Dr. Youngblood on May 16 for an examination.

 

Triple H smashed his finger against the Undertaker a week ago and is competing with a splint.

 

Billy Gunn – Still having problem with a hamstring and is seeing a doctor today to better address the problem.

 

Perry Saturn – Currently recovering from ACL surgery and most likely will have to undergo another surgery on his shoulder to address a rotator cuff problem.

 

Sharmell Sullivan had ACL surgery Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., by Dr. Jim Andrews.

 

Kane continues to rehab his torn biceps and is on target to return in approximately three months.

 

Jazz has a sore knee.

 

Molly has a bruised arm.

 

Spike has a sore neck.

 

Justin Credible has a sore shoulder and back.

 

All are working through nagging injuries on the European tour.

 

Chris Benoit is on target to return in about six weeks from neck surgery.

 

Kevin Nash continues to rehab torn bicep and is currently on the European tour.

 

Rhyno is about six months from his neck surgery with at least three months more of rehab ahead of him.

 

Kanyon is scheduled to be released from ACL surgery next week. He will need a few weeks to work on his conditioning, most probably in OVW/HWA.

 

Mike Awesome – About a month away from returning to the ring and will then need to address his conditioning for a few weeks in OVW and/or HWA.

 

Steve Bradley (HWA) may have a meniscus (knee ligament) tear. MRI pending.

 

All other injuries previously reported last week remain unchanged and all talents are progressing on schedule. It will be great to get Benoit, Kanyon and Awesome back soon as all three have the ability to help us immediately, especially The Wolverine who is one of the world’s best, in my book.

 

Random thoughts:

 

There is a ton of interest in “The Scorpion King” here in London as we were asked to discuss The Rock’s success everywhere we went. You can feel this movie is going to do very well here. I spoke to Rock this week and we discussed his future schedule and he will be working WWE events around his next movie schedule. Dates will be strategically placed and will be determined in the next few weeks. The Rock made it clear he wanted to get back in the ring as he loves the opportunity to perform before a live, WWE crowd. The Rock will team with Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Jericho and Kurt Angle on Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale. The Great One turned 30 on Wednesday, May 2.

 

D-Von’s pre-match in-ring promos at live events seem to be effective. Once D-Von masters the verbal side of this presentation, he will become an even more effective competitor. D-Von is a main eventer waiting to happen.

 

Reports say Edge-Angle had an awesome cage match Wednesday night in Wheeling, WV. I love Edge’s rise up the ladder and he has made significant strides even in the past few week. Angle is a freak of nature and who knows how good he’s going to eventually become. Perhaps the best ever.

 

The cruiserweights rarely have an average match at a live event. More often than not, these contests are regularly excellent considering that our audience is generally not too familiar with these talents.

 

Planet Stasiak has people talking about the young second-generation competitor and that is certainly a good thing. Stasiak is no longer totally obscure and is getting increased ring time albeit sometimes abbreviated.

 

Jeff Hardy and X-Pac had a superb match Wednesday night in Cologne, Germany. Austin vs. Taker went 35 minutes and was reported to be excellent.

 

Lots of talk in the UK about Brock Lesnar, who apparently really impressed our German fans Wednesday night. Lesnar is really beginning to captivate our audiences worldwide after only a few RAW TV appearances. I hope we continue to bring him along slowly so this gifted athlete can continue to develop at a manageable pace. His natural, raw intensity is extraordinary.

 

Matt Hardy joined the European tour in Glasgow Thursday night after missing RAW and the Cologne event to be with Lita as she prepared for her Tuesday neck surgery.

 

I like where RVD is headed and my instincts tell me he is on the verge of greatness. I could watch RVD versus Eddie Guerrero every day.

 

Bradshaw has a significant upside, especially when it comes to his verbal skills. This big Texan is intelligent and physical and I feel he will capitalize on his recently increased TV time. We really need him to evolve into a consistent main event performer.

 

The King is reportedly having a blast in the mixed tag matches, surrounded by “puppies”. Who would have guessed?!

 

Our business lost two legends over the past few days with the passing of Wahoo McDaniel and Lou Thesz. Both these deaths evoke many personal memories for me of both men. Wahoo was an Oklahoma legend for the football Sooners which automatically made him a hero in my eyes. He was wild, passionate and very physical in the ring and out. He loved golf and was damn good even though he lost a ton of money to some of golf’s greatest players of which he was unusually proud. He could tell colorful stories from a variety of his unique life experiences. He would talk about “back in the day” with the likes of Mickey Mantle, Lee Trevino and Joe Namath. His seemingly endless tales would take one from an undefeated college football team, to the renegade American Football League, to the golf course, an occasional tavern, to an Indian Strap match with a who’s who in our business. It’s a damn shame a book on this colorful, yet very proud Native American, has never been written. Too bad the chief never told his story.

 

I remember last seeing Wahoo in Charlotte a few moths back at one of our TV events. He was moving a little slower and had gained a couple of pounds. He was still dyeing his hair as black as night. But Wahoo looked tired as his health issues had really started to get the better of him. However, his eyes lit up when we talked about the National Championship our Sooners had won a year earlier. He smiled. He looked like the chief again and that’s how I choose to remember Ed “Wahoo” McDaniel. God bless you, Chief.

To many of us “old timers” Lou Thesz is regarded as one of the most influential and significant figures in the history of this business. I have many personal memories of Lou, who won his first World Title in 1937 and went on to win several more championships recognized by the old NWA through an unbelievable four decades. Lou was as “old school” as “old school” could be. He was fiercely proud of his career and how the business was presented in his era. Lou was not a fan of today’s product, however, I do know he admired Kurt Angle and felt Kurt could be special. Lou and I would cross paths every few years and we always talked about my early career with the late LeRoy McGuirk, an ex-amateur and NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion who Lou respected. Lou too was a great storyteller with a magnificent memory for a gentleman his age. One of my most vivid memories of Lou Thesz occurred at a Cauliflower Alley banquet I attended in New Jersey a few years ago. I was there to speak on behalf of two of my heroes, Danny Hodge and the late Gordon Solie. When I introduced Gordon I was informed he could not speak on that night due to his throat condition. Gordon would die a while later of throat cancer. So I spoke for Gordon. It was easy. I knew better than most how Gordon felt about his career in our crazy business. I was blessed to be able to share his pure passion for broadcasting wrestling. After the event concluded, I went to say my good-byes and had my last beverage with “The Dean”. We left the bar and ran into Lou in the hotel lobby. Lou provided us with his impression of today’s product which was not a surprise but what he said next certainly was. He told Gordon and me that if he were able to come back like he was in his prime and wrestle again, he would want Gordon Solie and yours truly to call the match. I was overwhelmed and did not feel worthy to be considered for such an honor. “The Dean” could certainly handle this one solo.

 

I thanked Lou and shook his hand and then I hugged a frail Gordon Solie goodbye. As I walked away my eyes filled with tears as I began to realize I may never see either of those two giants of our business every again. When I turned to look back toward the lobby, before leaving the hotel, there they stood, Lou still talking with his hand on Gordon’s shoulder. And they were smiling. That’s how I will always remember Lou Thesz: regally holding court, dapperly attired, tanned, with a smile on his face. Goodbye, Lou, and thanks again.

 

Take care………JR

 

wwf.com

 

 

Does anyone notice that Benoit's return keeps getting pushed back each week in the Ross Report? At first his return was at the end of April, then in May, then early June, now it is mid June. Oh well, atleast he will be at 100% when he comes back. I'm surprised to see him saying they need Kanyon and Mike Awesome's help. I wonder if they will get a push when they come back or get buried like before. It is nice to see him recognizing Angle's talent for once. This guy works the hardest of any wrestler in the WWF. He says he likes where RVD is headed. Where exactly is RVD headed? He is in the opening match of every Raw basically and gets no mic time at all. And if he is so impressed with RVD, why doesn't he push him to main event instead of saying he needs Bradshaw to move up as a main eventer? Bradshaw sucks in the ring and will NEVER be a main eventer.

[Guest El Satanico]

Well regardless of what JR says i'd say the Bradshaw experiment is on life support. I mean come on he still can't get a reaction when he helps Austin so i can't see Vince allowing it to continue much longer. Also i heard that Bradshaw has been getting terrible reactions during the over seas tour, that probably won't help.

[Guest Mik at Cornell]

Notice he was calling live events WWE events. That's just so stupid.

[Guest Anglesault]

Angle is a freak of nature and who knows how good he’s going to eventually become. Perhaps the best ever.

 

Tell that to the Demon Couple.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Of course JR likes where RVD is heading.

 

THe road to nowhere is paved with the souls of the people who put the asses in the seats...

 

...or something.

[Guest Ash Ketchum]

Praise for JR +1

 

JR has captured ALL of my feelings in that report. I couldn't have put it better.

[Guest chirs3]

Austin vs. Taker went 35 minutes and was reported to be excellent.

 

To quote Munich... Zuh?

[Guest]

UGH!

 

At least he didn't mention Goldberg...

[Guest Risk]

I'm glad that Lou doesn't like today's product, even glader Ross mentioned it.  If THE BEST WRESTLER doesn't like something related to wrestling, chances are it sucks.  He thinks Angle is special?  Wow.  That must be an honor to Kurt.

 

But can Angle defeat the demon couple?  Is Angle that (damn) good?

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

What the FUCK did Sharmell Sullivan do to tear her ACL? Trip over a goddamn cable or something?

[Guest]

JR also refers to everything as "WWE"

[Guest Anglesault]

She must have been out with Nash and ane who tore their icepts doing nothing at all. (Nash literally, And I don't consider what Kane does as anything of note)

[Guest Flyboy]

"I like where RVD is headed and my instincts tell me he is on the verge of greatness."

 

HA HA HA!  That was funny.  

 

Keep telling me that JR, and one day I might actually believe it.  

 

Is JR prejudice against non-hosses?

[Guest Flyboy]

She must have been out with Nash and ane who tore their icepts doing nothing at all. (Nash literally, And I don't consider what Kane does as anything of note)

No, no, no 'Sault..

 

I think she was laughing too hard at Nash's "I'm going, bye" comment that she wasn't paying attention and tripped something.  :-d

[Guest Anglesault]

Is JR prejudice against non-hosses?

Duh.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Eh, screw RVD, what JR said about both Wahoo and Lou almost brought tears to my eyes. Even if it was all fake as hell(which I seriously doubt), that was emotion and THAT is the JR that I wish would come back behind the commentator's table.

[Guest]

She must have been out with Nash and ane who tore their icepts doing nothing at all. (Nash literally, And I don't consider what Kane does as anything of note)

 

No, no, no 'Sault..

 

I think she was laughing too hard at Nash's "I'm going, bye" comment that she wasn't paying attention and tripped something.

 

Well, not to kill the Nash jokes, which is something I would never do under regular circumstances. But she's been training/wrestling down in OVW on the side, and she was injured in the ring.

[Guest MixxMaster]

He says he likes where RVD is headed. Where exactly is RVD headed? He is in the opening match of every Raw basically and gets no mic time at all.

MIC???!!!!

RVD don't need no stinking Mic!!!!

He's gotten over IN THE RING, both in ECW, and WWF...

If anyone can make it all the way to the top without ANY time on a mic, it's the Whole F'ing Show (yeah, I'm a RVD mark, deal with it)...

[Guest bcu1979]

What the FUCK did Sharmell Sullivan do to tear her ACL? Trip over a goddamn cable or something?

The WWF still had her training down in OVW while she was on Smackdown as a backstage announcer. She injured her leg while training in OVW. From the story on wwf.com, it sounded like she was about ready to make her wrestling debut on Smackdown.

 

I don't really care if she wrestles much. But I would like to see her become a valet for one of the Smackdown guys with charisma problems. Maybe Test.

[Guest]

JR: "I like where RVD is headed and my instincts tell me he is on the verge of greatness."

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, That's almost as funny as when he says, "Lance Storm is a credit to our sport, and I see great things in his future."

[Guest AM The Kid]

WWE? Ugh...

[Guest Anglesault]

But I would like to see her become a valet for one of the Smackdown guys with charisma problems. Maybe Test.

 

1. Charisma isn't Test's only problem

2. Test is NOT what Sharmell needs to get over.