Ross Report for August 2nd

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

http://www.wwe.com/news/rossreport/

[Guest Nevermortal]

I am very impressed with Al Snow, who simply does a superb job of teaching, as well as Ivory, and particularly Bill DeMott, formerly known as Hugh Morrus. It's hard to believe that Bill was once a 340-pound fullback who ran a 4.7 forty at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

 

Who fucking cares who ran a 4.7 forty? Heck, I don't even know what the fuck that means.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

sprinted 40 yards in that time

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

the lack of a cut and paste job makes me incapable of reading the Ross report.

 

I am too lazy for these games.

[Guest Nevermortal]

I am certainly looking forward to working in Baltimore on Monday night as that city holds many fond memories for yours truly. It was there that I had the privilege of calling a Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk match, two men I respect very much, many years ago at the Great American Bash. It was also in Baltimore that I witnessed one of the most ill-fated Scaffold Matches in history on a night when I passed a fragmented kidney stone during the show.

 

MAH KIDNEY, BAH GOD!

 

Anyway, thanks, SB. Not that it'll do me any good, but I like to stay on the up and up, if you know what I mean.

[Guest AndrewTS]

"We also hope to be able to recruit more amateur wrestlers from the college ranks as several contacts have been developed in that world that should help us going forward. The success of Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar will help us attract more world-class athletes who, until a few years ago, might not have given the WWE a second thought."

 

"The rivalry aspect between the RAW and SmackDown! broadcasts is interesting, as it is another natural step in a competitive marketplace environment."

 

*Insert boisterious laughter here*

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

the lack of a cut and paste job makes me incapable of reading the Ross report.

 

I am too lazy for these games.

Sorry, I'm too tired to Cut & Paste.

[Guest saturnmark4life]

if JR had actually called his kidney stone as it passed how the hell would the color guy react?

'and ladies and gentlemen something is..occuring in the announce position right now and...OH MAH GAWD! IT'S THAT DAMN KIDNEY STONE, YA SON OF A BITCH!'

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Don't Kidney Stones pass when you take a crap? JR Crapped his pants at the table?

 

FILTH!

[Guest Downhome]

Here you go...

 

Ross Report -- Aug. 2, 2002

Greetings from under the black 200X Resistol hat while counting down the days until SummerSlam on Aug. 25 and to when the Oklahoma Sooners open the college football season on Friday night Aug. 30 at Tulsa.

Developmental territory update: Our goal in reducing the number of talents we have under contract in the developmental area and eliminating our affiliation with Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati was, obviously, largely a cost-cutting maneuver, but also a step in improving our overall system of developing young talent. We were forced to eliminate several promising talents who we hope some day to be able to work with again. These are not easy decisions nor were all the talent cuts unanimously voted on by all that were asked to participate in the process. There were some talents who were cut that some liked. Some talents were retained that many thought should have been released. There is just no way to get 100 percent of the people involved in evaluating talent to agree, which should come as no surprise to any educated fan. The cuts came as a result of the feedback from several people, including those from the talent relations department, creative and our agents. Jim Cornette and Danny Davis of Ohio Valley Wrestling were also in the loop. Collectively, we attempted to make the best overall decisions possible. Did we get it 100 percent right? Probably not. However, we did do the best job we could and time will tell, certainly, if we made the best long-term decisions.

 

By having one group to focus on, we will be better able to teach, communicate and evaluate the young talents we have in OVW, our only remaining developmental territory. We will have experienced hands on site to teach and supervise, plus one of our primary road agents will be in OVW each week for their Wednesday television taping beginning in early September when the new Davis Arena opens. These instructors and agents will also watch the OVW weekly TV show and file reports on them.

 

We also hope to be able to recruit more amateur wrestlers from the college ranks as several contacts have been developed in that world that should help us going forward. The success of Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar will help us attract more world-class athletes who, until a few years ago, might not have given the WWE a second thought. Hopefully, as conditions warrant, we will be able to affiliate with other territories to develop even more talent.

 

The developmental process is the future of our business and we will do all we can to make sure that we have a steady pipeline of young talents preparing to debut on RAW or SmackDown! But make no mistake about it, as a lifelong fan of our business having to make these career-changing decisions for the released talents is a gut-wrenching responsibility that is hard to get off one's mind. I have been there and know just exactly how it feels to be eliminated from a company's plans, even though some have erroneously reported otherwise.

Our TV shows continue to improve, and the switching of talent between RAW and SmackDown! will provide all of us with some new rivalries, which will be a positive thing. I am not sure as to how many more talents may change their addresses, but my instincts tell me that we have not seen all the movement we are going to see. The rivalry aspect between the RAW and SmackDown! broadcasts is interesting, as it is another natural step in a competitive marketplace environment. If this phase of our television presentation grows naturally, the competition between our two World Wrestling Entertainment primetime broadcasts should be very entertaining to our fans as time goes on. I am not too sure where the announcers fit in to all this; however, we seem to be included in this process as well. This will naturally lead to the speculation that there is unrest between Jerry "The King" Lawler and yours truly, and the SmackDown! duo of Michael Cole and Tazz. Rumors will be rumors and some people make a living off reporting them but I can assure you that I, personally, have no negative feelings toward our SmackDown! brethren and believe they do an excellent job on their show. There is also no logical reason why they would NOT be a part of any Pay-Per-View on which the SmackDown! talent appear. Those who report otherwise are, unfortunately, ill informed or simply ignorant.

 

The roster of talent traveling to Australia will be made up of both SmackDown! and RAW talent because of the lead time required to acquire working visas for the Melbourne event. Many on the roster that was originally submitted many weeks ago have changed TV homes but we are forced to stay with that lineup due to these government regulations. The end result will still be a spectacular live event for the more than 50,000 fans that will attend on Saturday, Aug. 10. The SmackDown! talent traveling Down Under will leave Sunday night after the Richmond, Va., SmackDown!

 

taping, which will be headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Brock Lesnar, and the RAW talents going over will leave immediately following our RAW event live from the Baltimore Arena on Monday night. The talent will return to the U.S. on Sunday, Aug. 11 in Los Angeles and then fly to Washington State for two days of TV from Seattle.

Several WWE Superstars will be making guest appearances on Tough Enough 3 in the next two months, including The Rock, Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bradshaw, Trish Stratus, Tommy Dreamer, Sgt. Slaughter and Rey Mysterio. After observing the TE3 instructors in person last week, I am very impressed with Al Snow, who simply does a superb job of teaching, as well as Ivory, and particularly Bill DeMott, formerly known as Hugh Morrus. It's hard to believe that Bill was once a 340-pound fullback who ran a 4.7 forty at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His demeanor on TE3 is that of a tough defensive line coach and his message rings true to all these kids. I hope TE3 really helps launch Bill's career in WWE as I do not know of anyone who is more deserving of an opportunity to excel.

 

Channel 9 in New York City, our UPN affiliate, is still milking the Stone Cold Steve Austin story for all it's worth. Thursday night UPN 9 did a feature largely based on the cover story about Austin's departure in the current RAW Magazine. Stone Cold has had no official talks with WWE since June 10, but I am sure the speculation about him returning to the WWE will pop up soon based on more "sources say."

 

Heavy duty incident on RAW involving Shawn Michaels which will naturally lead to speculation about HBK stepping back in the ring sooner than later. No one, including Michaels, knows for sure what the San Antonio great has left in his tank or how his surgically repaired back would hold up in a physical match. Perhaps we will find out Monday night who did the number on Shawn and where it takes us.

 

Great outing for Chris Benoit, who is still working hard at regaining his timing since returning from major neck surgery, and Eddie Guerrero, who has never looked better, in their upset victory over The Rock and Edge on SmackDown! I thought this was a super main event.

 

It took me all of two weeks to get comfortable with the new RAW announce position which sets on the floor between the stage and the last row of ringside.

 

We are closer to the pyro, which can get a little warm, and it is definitely louder than being at ringside, but that's certainly not a deal breaker. Other than a few "senior moments" that we "veteran announcers" often have, I think the King and I will adjust just fine. (That is if we continue to add plenty of fiber to our diets and don't try to be too hip.)

Rey Mysterio has impressed all who have come in contact with the young star from San Diego. Rey is supremely unique and will no doubt lead the way for the cruiserweights to gain more respect and to compete against larger opponents. Rey is only one of many outstanding cruiserweights on our roster, and I am just sorry we don't have some of them on RAW.

 

Nothing new on the Goldberg front other than Bill and his people knowing we are very interested in speaking with him when he is ready to talk.

 

I am happy to say that Chris Kanyon is feeling much better and is resting at home. Chris lost about 25 pounds while he was ill and in intensive care and is still very weak from the infection that started in his shoulder. He still has an open wound in his shoulder, which will remain that way for a couple more weeks. Chris is one of our most dedicated talents and we look forward to his return when he is 100 percent. Kanyon definitely has something to offer when he gets healthy.

 

Kane has been released from doctor's care after his torn biceps and will be returning soon, much to the delight of all of us.

 

All other injured talents are progressing on target without additional complications.

 

It was good seeing Jackie Crockett, ace ringside cameraman of the famous Crockett wrestling family, and Rene Goulet backstage at our Charlotte event Tuesday night. I had not seen Jackie since I left Turner's WCW in 1993 and it was good to see him healthy and tan and living the good life in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Rene, who still works out virtually every day, was celebrating the one-year anniversary of a hip replacement and looked to be in awesome shape, especially for a 70-year-old man. Former referee Tommy Young, one of the all-time greats, also dropped by to say hello to friends.

 

My personal condolences go out to Jim Cornette and his family for the loss of his mother, Thelma, who passed away last week after a battle with cancer. Mrs. Cornette drove son Jim to all his bookings the first three years of his career as Corney started in the business as a photographer at age 13.

 

She also took her only child to see wrestling in Louisville every Tuesday night and to matches in Memphis and Indianapolis on a regular basis. I know she was very proud of her son who became, arguably, the best manager ever in the business, along with Bobby Heenan and Paul E. Dangerously Heyman. Miss Thelma's funeral was Wednesday in Louisville. She was loved by many and will be missed by all of us who had the privilege of knowing her.

The October international tour looks as if it will stop in Helsinki, Finland, on Oct. 24; Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Oct. 25; Manchester, England, for the Rebellion Pay-Per-View on Oct. 26; and finally in Sheffield, England, on Sunday, Oct. 27. Tickets go on sale at the end of August and more information on that can be found here at WWE.com.

 

The Fabulous Moolah's book will be especially interesting to longtime fans as she traces her steps in the early days of our business. When you stop and think about it, Moolah has had a very interesting life. Her performance on RAW this week, along with that of 80-plus-year-old Mae Young, was amazing all things considered. It might not have been to everyone's liking (what is?) but no one can deny the courage and dedication of these two ladies to our business. They have certainly earned my respect many times over.

 

Yours truly will be spending some much-needed time next week in Florida writing stories for our next cookbook and getting a little R 'n' R. By not having an "off season" and attempting to function on virtually a seven-days-a-week pace, we all need to recharge our batteries from time to time. I know that I am probably past due and that it should help me improve on my announcing work, which is still my true professional passion and what I enjoy doing the most of my numerous responsibilities. My lovely wife Jan will naturally be joining me and will have me on the treadmill and eating healthy which is a good thing. Perhaps she will allow me to slip away with Gene Okerlund for a beverage or two if I am lucky.

 

I am certainly looking forward to working in Baltimore on Monday night as that city holds many fond memories for yours truly. It was there that I had the privilege of calling a Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk match, two men I respect very much, many years ago at the Great American Bash. It was also in Baltimore that I witnessed one of the most ill-fated Scaffold Matches in history on a night when I passed a fragmented kidney stone during the show.

 

Baltimore is also known for the beautiful inner harbor, Sabatino's Italian Restaurant, Johnny Unitas, and John "Big" Gaburick.

Thanks for sharing some of your time to read our report and I hope to see you back here next week. Take care.

 

J.R. (BOOMER SOONER!!)

 

...I don't know how this will end up looking, but whatever!

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

the lack of a cut and paste job makes me incapable of reading the Ross report.

 

I am too lazy for these games.

Sorry, I'm too tired to Cut & Paste.

Ah touche

 

 

Thanks Downhome

[Guest Nevermortal]

I think Kidney stones pass through the urethra.

[Guest Downhome]

Thanks Downhome

Anytime I can help spread the word of Mr. BlackHat, I'm willing to lend a helping hand.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I think this marks the like...5th straight week RVD got snubbed in the Ross Report.

 

The last time I remember seeing his name in the thing was after the ladder match with Eddy.

[Guest Chuck Woolery]

KANE RAN DOWN SHAWN MICHAELS!!!

 

Actually, I don't know that, but know that I think of it that sounds way too likely for my tastes.

 

- Mike Van Siclen.

Bang bang chilly chilly

[Guest thebigjig]

What ill fated scaffold match was he referring to?

[Guest Dangerous A]

Kidney stones pass through a small tube connecting the kidney to the bladder. It is that path that causes the pain. The tube is really really small. But the jagged edges of the stone hitting the tube wall is the pain, not the actual pissing out of the stone. Once the stone gets inside the bladder, the pain is gone. You might feel the stone tumble a little on the way out of your urethra, but the pain is from the back where the kidneys are and on your side.

[Guest Spicy McHaggis]

I'm sure RVD's really upset about it...

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Here's the show he was talking about...

 

1989 Great American Bash: July 23, 1989 at The Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland:

* King of the Ring Battle Royal I: Sid Vicious eliminated Brian Pillman to win.

* King of the Ring Battle Royal II: Dan Spivey eliminated Steve Williams to win.

* Brian Pillman over Bill Irwin.

* The Skyscrapers over The Dynamic Dudes.

* Tuxedo Match: Jim Cornette over Paul E. Dangerously.

* Tornado Match: The Steiner Brothers over Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotundo.

* NWA TV champ Sting battled The Great Muta to a no contest.

* US champ Lex Luger over Ricky Steamboat by DQ.

* War Games: Steve Williams, The Road Warriors, & The Midnight Express over The Samoan Swat Team & The Freebirds.

* NWA champ Ric Flair over Terry Funk.

 

Where's the scaffold match?

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

Look at JR pimpin' Hugh Morrus. Sweet.

[Guest Dangerous A]

I think he was talking about 2 years later, which was from the same location. At GAB 91 (arguably the worse ppv ever) there was a scaffold match to open the show with Steve Austin and I think Bobby Eaton vs PN news and I forget. Anywhoo, it's a really,really bad match. Avoid at all cost

[Guest mach7]

Ross Report -- Aug. 2, 2002

By having one group to focus on, we will be better able to teach, communicate and evaluate the young talents we have in OVW, our only remaining developmental territory. --- SNIP ---  Hopefully, as conditions warrant, we will be able to affiliate with other territories to develop even more talent.

 

JR loves covering all the bases, doesn't he?

 

Channel 9 in New York City, our UPN affiliate, is still milking the Stone Cold Steve Austin story for all it's worth.

 

Sounds a little hypocritical to me. Isn't WWE doing the exact same thing.. STILL.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

I hope TE3 really helps launch Bill's career in WWE as I do not know of anyone who is more deserving of an opportunity to excel.

coughcoughMIKESANDERScoughcough

[Guest saturnmark4life]

*cough*EZMONEYMIKESANDERSFUNAKIEVENJUSTINCREDIBLE*cough* Hugh isn't THAT bad...but he could never be called THAT good.

[Guest Tony149]

What ill fated scaffold match was he referring to?

It was at the Great Anerican Bash '91 a.ka. The Flair Protest show.

 

P.N. News & Bobby Eaton vs. "Stunning" Steve Austin & Terry Taylor.

[Guest RepoMan]

I am very impressed with Al Snow, who simply does a superb job of teaching, as well as Ivory, and particularly Bill DeMott, formerly known as Hugh Morrus. It's hard to believe that Bill was once a 340-pound fullback who ran a 4.7 forty at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Does this offecailly make Hugh Morrus a hoss?

[Guest TheDames7]

I love the way Ross tries to sugarcoat getting rid of Sanders in the report. Talk about bullshit posturing.

 

Dames

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

Hell..they kept Bull Buchanan. Ross should be put in front of a firing squad for that genetic mistake still being on the roster.

[Guest jester]

"also a step in improving our overall system of developing young talent." "

 

"We were forced to eliminate several promising talents who we hope some day to be able to work with again."

 

How can you be improving a system if you let promising talent go?

 

"Several WWE Superstars will be making guest appearances on Tough Enough 3 in the next two months, including The Rock, Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bradshaw, Trish Stratus, Tommy Dreamer, Sgt. Slaughter and Rey Mysterio. "

 

What? No HHH anti-motivational speech?

[Guest TheDames7]

"Several WWE Superstars will be making guest appearances on Tough Enough 3 in the next two months, including The Rock, Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bradshaw, Trish Stratus, Tommy Dreamer, Sgt. Slaughter and Rey Mysterio. "

Wow, seriously, if I was on Tough Enough, I'd cream my pants if Ric Flair tutored me on ANYTHING. I bet HBK & Dreamer stress the importance of maintaining your bodies. Trish will probably stress her work ethic. Rey would make me feel tall. I'd love to be on TE this season.

 

Dames