Jim Ross SPEAKS on Talent Firings

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Jim Ross, Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, spoke with WWE.com Friday morning. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

 

* On Zach Gowen: “There’s not a living human being alive who shouldn’t admire his passion and dedication. Zach’s so young. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Zach back with us some day. We wish him nothing but the best. I’m sure that he’s going to stay very busy.”

 

* On Kanyon: “I’ve always thought that Chris Kanyon is a very talented in-ring tactician. I’ve always appreciated his being a lifelong fan because I can relate to that. The fact that the guy does have considerable skills in the ring and the fact that he still, at this age, has many years of in-ring activity ahead of him, it only seemed fair, if we weren’t going to do anything with him, to not string him along and to be honest with him and say, ‘We don’t have anything.’ And give him the opportunity to go wrestle because that’s what he loves doing. So that’s what we did. Chris was a model locker room talent – always punctual, always professional, great attitude. He’ll be a great addition to anyone’s locker room or anyone’s event. It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

 

* On Ernest “The Cat” Miller: “Ernest was in a situation that I’m not sure he was totally comfortable in, but we all have to adapt. Ernest has great charisma and verbal skills. We made the decision that there’s no sense in retaining Ernest when we see that we’re not going to use him as much as we envisioned, and utilize his skills as much as we had hoped.”

 

* On reports that there’s a “mass firing of talent” forthcoming in WWE: “There’s no truth to the rumors that we’re getting ready to have a mass firing of talent. We also evaluate our roster 52 weeks a year and just as in any other business there will be comings and goings from time to time for a variety of reasons. There are always going to be times when people are going to no longer remain with the company, which creates opportunities for new people to be added to the roster, and we have several new faces in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) who are ready to contribute. Talent rosters always evolved, since I worked in the territory days, in which guys would work in one territory and go to another. It has always been that way. But because there’s only one national territory, anytime someone comes and goes, it becomes ‘news.

 

’ There are probably guys on the roster who have read some of these Internet reports. That’s not fair to them. That’s not how we are going to handle business, nor have we handled business that way. And I find it journalistically offensive.”

 

* Ross added: “We have a lot of good things going on, and it’s just sad that because of some irresponsible ‘journalism’ that these rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours they’re ‘reality.’ We just came back from a live event tour in Japan that grossed over $3 million. It was a great, positive moment for our company. We sold out the February South African tour in advance. We’re preparing for a landmark 20th anniversary WrestleMania. We have the most professional group of talent, as a whole, that I’ve been around in 30 years. No exaggerations. They’ve represented the company extremely well. It’s the little things: not being tardy, being participatory, trying to improve their game. We have so much to be thankful for. There are a lot of great things going on, but unfortunately some try to damper it with irresponsible reporting that’s total horse manure.”

 

* Other examples of positive things going on in the company, according to Ross: “John Laurinaitis (of the Talent Relations Department) was in OVW three days this week. Dr. Tom Prichard is there on a regular basis. From the reports I get from both guys, and from watching the weekly OVW show, we are going to have, in time, some really good additions to our roster. We’ve got a lot of talent there with a great deal of potential, but many of them are at least a year away. The good news is, they’re very young, so when they finally make it, they’re still going to be young. We also plan on continuing to recruit some of the nation’s best amateur wrestlers as the summer approaches and hope to sign some blue-chip athletes to report to OVW as 2004 progresses. We have several top amateurs who have expressed significant interest in a career in WWE many of who are now training for the NCAA Tournament and the Olympic trials. Jerry Brisco has done a super job in this area communicating with the country’s top coaches and wrestling officials and recruiting these young men. We’re very excited about the future of that. Matt Morgan’s going to be working out with Dr. Tom up in Stamford; Matt has a huge upside if all the pieces fall into place. I’m really happy with how a lot of our younger talents are starting to adapt their styles and improve their in-ring performances.”

 

* J.R. also said that the injury situation on the WWE roster is “in better shape now that it’s ever been,” and several Superstars have recovered from injuries or are well on their way to doing so: “Maven’s got his elbow and his knee all taken care of. There are no complications. Neither were major surgeries—they were just cleanups. He’s going to be feeling so much better now, and he’s going to get his athleticism back and be able to train pain free. We think he has a great upside. We’re excited about his future. Mark Henry is an extraordinary physical specimen that was beginning to step up when he injured his shoulder. But our injury list is shorter, and that’s great.”

 

http://www.wwe.com/news/headlines/1253912?page=1

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

"“We have a lot of good things going on, and it’s just sad that because of some irresponsible ‘journalism’ that these rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours they’re ‘reality.’"

 

"We have the most professional group of talent, as a whole, that I’ve been around in 30 years. No exaggerations. They’ve represented the company extremely well. It’s the little things: not being tardy, being participatory, trying to improve their game."

 

"Chris was a model locker room talent – always punctual, always professional, great attitude."

[Austin3164life 0]

It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

 

Jim Ross- "We need to make room for some of the developing talent. They are a rarity in the business. Of course, I'm talking about guys like Matt Morgan and John Heidenreich. We simply couldn't make room for Chris Kanyon, seeing as we are all about the evolution of the business..."

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

"And I find it journalistically offensive.”

 

Quote

 

Of

 

The

 

Year

 

 

God I miss the Ross report; where every week we'd be fed all this bullshit.

 

"I swear to God Dave, I wasn't talking about you. But, I gotta do what I gotta do, it's business, it's politics, you know that. I'm just protecting whats mine. BTW, we're firing Stevie Richards and Tommy Dreamer as well, but that's just between you and me"

[King Cucaracha 0]

It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

 

Jim Ross- "We need to make room for some of the developing talent. They are a rarity in the business. Of course, I'm talking about guys like Matt Morgan and John Heidenreich. We simply couldn't make room for Chris Kanyon, seeing as we are all about the evolution of the business..."

I know you're joking, but still...Heidenreich is being jobbed out on Heat, and in another thread there was a quote that WWE management realises Morgan has "a lot to learn".

 

Saying that, the bullshit-o-meter is on breaking point from most of that article.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Work Hard, Act Professional, Show up on Time.... If they have nothing for you, made your name outside the WWE, you get fired.

 

Now why would any wrestler be worried???

 

DAMN those irresponsible journalists!! The WWE just does what's right for it's talent!

[Guest wrestlingbs]

Remember during 2000 when the WWF was at a high point. J.R. and the WWf didn't seem to mind the IWC back then. But when we started saying that the company was making mistakes...

 

"And I find it journalistically offensive."

 

You know what I find offensive? Hyping the return of Hall and Nash to WWF tv for weeks on a hotline, and then delivering two guys in wigs.

[Youth N Asia 0]

There are always going to be times when people are going to no longer remain with the company, which creates opportunities for new people to be added to the roster, and we have several new faces in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) who are ready to contribute.

Shouldn't they do the same with the announcers...you know, when they do a crap job, don't help the show any, and aren't good anymore. I can think of at least one.

[Silence 0]

Shouldn't they do the same with the announcers...you know, when they do a crap job, don't help the show any, and aren't good anymore. I can think of at least one.

...And one of them is the man who just spoke on the recent releases and the spots that would be filled by the "new faces in OVW".

[Youth N Asia 0]

Shouldn't they do the same with the announcers...you know, when they do a crap job, don't help the show any, and aren't good anymore. I can think of at least one.

...And one of them is the man who just spoke on the recent releases and the spots that would be filled by the "new faces in OVW".

You know what...subconciously I think that's who I meant

[Vyce 0]

We have a lot of good things going on, and it’s just sad that because of some irresponsible ‘journalism’ that these rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours they’re ‘reality.’ We just came back from a live event tour in Japan that grossed over $3 million. It was a great, positive moment for our company.

 

It has been reported quite extensively, by Japanese media and various puro websites, that the vast majority of that gross was from merchandise, as ticket sales for their recent RAW tour of Japan were, in a word, embarrassing, with many, many comps being given just to fill the arenas.

 

Just thought I'd give you the whole story, because, well, that's what a responsible journalist does.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Rudo.

 

Dude.

 

That is one fucking boss sig,

[Guest Trivia247]

Jim Ross, Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, spoke with WWE.com Friday morning. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

 

* On Zach Gowen: “There’s not a living human being alive who shouldn’t admire his passion and dedication. Zach’s so young. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Zach back with us some day. We wish him nothing but the best. I’m sure that he’s going to stay very busy.”

 

* On Kanyon: “I’ve always thought that Chris Kanyon is a very talented in-ring tactician. I’ve always appreciated his being a lifelong fan because I can relate to that. The fact that the guy does have considerable skills in the ring and the fact that he still, at this age, has many years of in-ring activity ahead of him, it only seemed fair, if we weren’t going to do anything with him, to not string him along and to be honest with him and say, ‘We don’t have anything.’ And give him the opportunity to go wrestle because that’s what he loves doing. So that’s what we did. Chris was a model locker room talent – always punctual, always professional, great attitude. He’ll be a great addition to anyone’s locker room or anyone’s event. It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

 

* On Ernest “The Cat” Miller: “Ernest was in a situation that I’m not sure he was totally comfortable in, but we all have to adapt. Ernest has great charisma and verbal skills. We made the decision that there’s no sense in retaining Ernest when we see that we’re not going to use him as much as we envisioned, and utilize his skills as much as we had hoped.”

 

* On reports that there’s a “mass firing of talent” forthcoming in WWE: “There’s no truth to the rumors that we’re getting ready to have a mass firing of talent. We also evaluate our roster 52 weeks a year and just as in any other business there will be comings and goings from time to time for a variety of reasons. There are always going to be times when people are going to no longer remain with the company, which creates opportunities for new people to be added to the roster, and we have several new faces in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) who are ready to contribute. Talent rosters always evolved, since I worked in the territory days, in which guys would work in one territory and go to another. It has always been that way. But because there’s only one national territory, anytime someone comes and goes, it becomes ‘news.

 

’ There are probably guys on the roster who have read some of these Internet reports. That’s not fair to them. That’s not how we are going to handle business, nor have we handled business that way. And I find it journalistically offensive.”

 

* Ross added: “We have a lot of good things going on, and it’s just sad that because of some irresponsible ‘journalism’ that these rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours they’re ‘reality.’ We just came back from a live event tour in Japan that grossed over $3 million. It was a great, positive moment for our company. We sold out the February South African tour in advance. We’re preparing for a landmark 20th anniversary WrestleMania. We have the most professional group of talent, as a whole, that I’ve been around in 30 years. No exaggerations. They’ve represented the company extremely well. It’s the little things: not being tardy, being participatory, trying to improve their game. We have so much to be thankful for. There are a lot of great things going on, but unfortunately some try to damper it with irresponsible reporting that’s total horse manure.”

 

* Other examples of positive things going on in the company, according to Ross: “John Laurinaitis (of the Talent Relations Department) was in OVW three days this week. Dr. Tom Prichard is there on a regular basis. From the reports I get from both guys, and from watching the weekly OVW show, we are going to have, in time, some really good additions to our roster. We’ve got a lot of talent there with a great deal of potential, but many of them are at least a year away. The good news is, they’re very young, so when they finally make it, they’re still going to be young. We also plan on continuing to recruit some of the nation’s best amateur wrestlers as the summer approaches and hope to sign some blue-chip athletes to report to OVW as 2004 progresses. We have several top amateurs who have expressed significant interest in a career in WWE many of who are now training for the NCAA Tournament and the Olympic trials. Jerry Brisco has done a super job in this area communicating with the country’s top coaches and wrestling officials and recruiting these young men. We’re very excited about the future of that. Matt Morgan’s going to be working out with Dr. Tom up in Stamford; Matt has a huge upside if all the pieces fall into place. I’m really happy with how a lot of our younger talents are starting to adapt their styles and improve their in-ring performances.”

 

* J.R. also said that the injury situation on the WWE roster is “in better shape now that it’s ever been,” and several Superstars have recovered from injuries or are well on their way to doing so: “Maven’s got his elbow and his knee all taken care of. There are no complications. Neither were major surgeries—they were just cleanups. He’s going to be feeling so much better now, and he’s going to get his athleticism back and be able to train pain free. We think he has a great upside. We’re excited about his future. Mark Henry is an extraordinary physical specimen that was beginning to step up when he injured his shoulder. But our injury list is shorter, and that’s great.”

 

http://www.wwe.com/news/headlines/1253912?page=1

What was edited out....

 

On Zack Gowen

 

JR: Between you and me, that circus freak had his run, and wasn't even a moneymaker. I think he should have ate a bottle of my BBQ sauce that would have grown a new leg for him.

 

On Kanyon

 

JR: HHH was afraid quite frankly that even if Kanyon remained on Velocity on a different show that he still would have showed him up. So he got behind Stephanie and made her beg Daddy too fire him. If ya ask me honestly, he is a great wrestler, but he just Isn't a HOSS.

 

 

On The Cat

 

JR: I have no idea what the hell we were doing there letting that useless piece of crap on our shows. This isn't WCW anymore Eric, you can't have your karate coach wander around with you. If we bent to every request on having Wrestling talent and personalities buddies show up, Hogan would have forced us to work with Jimmy Hart, one of the Nasty boys and Beefcake. And what a image that would be having a Coked up Anthrax spoof on the payroll. We would be having to call in about White Powder all the time Bah Gawd!

 

 

About the Mass Firings

 

JR: Like I said there is no truth to it........Yet

But there are some great and expendable wrestlers out there in the Locker rooms. Wrestlers who think their opinion matters instead of this Sooner fan and the Chairman Vince McMahon. If they wish to remain in this company they need to do three things. 1) Have no opinion and do what you are TOLD 2) However you wrestle do not show up HHH, remember he is God and you cannot be beyond GOD in this company 3) Buy Lots and lots of BBQ sauce.... But better hurry Lance storm got 25 orders of it shipped to his house. Who knew that crazy Canuck liked to BBQ.

 

 

On wrestlers reading internet reports or on the internet in general.

 

JR: the Internet is EVIL! We like to keep our wrestlers locked away from any outside stimuli so they can forget there are feds out there that could actually respect their talent instead of using them to their own advantage like we do. In order to protect them from discovering this is to keep those Evil Smark fans as FAR away as possible. However Now the Smarks have infested the Internet bah gawd and the wrestlers are too soft headed to resist. Some wrestlers (I won't name names, cough Storm Cough Jericho) Even SPEAK too these fans, and having their heads filled with such Independant nonsense other than the Propaganda we are rightfully brainwashing into their minds! We are currently talking to Home land security in naming Smark fans Internet Terrorists so they can find and arrest these bastards! cough ummm don't forget to tune into Raw though...from jail.

 

 

Finally on the injury list.

 

JR: In reality, does it matter? We got STONE COLD! STONE COLD! we got the Cerebal Assassin! We got GOLDBERG! We even got...A-TRAIN! BAH GAWD we got so many hosses that no one will care who broke a neck or a Femur.

 

JR gets up and waddles away muttering STONE COLD STONE COLD STONE COLD!

[dubq 0]

* On Kanyon: “I’ve always thought that Chris Kanyon is a very talented in-ring tactician. I’ve always appreciated his being a lifelong fan because I can relate to that. The fact that the guy does have considerable skills in the ring and the fact that he still, at this age, has many years of in-ring activity ahead of him, it only seemed fair, if we weren’t going to do anything with him, to not string him along and to be honest with him and say, ‘We don’t have anything.’ And give him the opportunity to go wrestle because that’s what he loves doing. So that’s what we did. Chris was a model locker room talent – always punctual, always professional, great attitude. He’ll be a great addition to anyone’s locker room or anyone’s event. It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

As someone said once before, "and yet A-Train is still employed?"

 

This company needs some mass restructuring when it comes to priority.. fucking idiots.

[Guest Deviant]

Ernest has great charisma and verbal skills.

For the last time: NO. HE. DOESN'T.

 

I could also agree with everyone pointing out the stupidity in this, such as that Kanyon contradiction in bold, but for those reading, I'm sure it's getting repetitive.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Please don't quote like that. It makes it seem like *I* said it, rather than JR

[Guest Mosaicv2]

Jim Ross, Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, spoke with WWE.com Friday morning. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

 

* On Zach Gowen: “There’s not a living human being alive who shouldn’t admire his passion and dedication. Zach’s so young. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Zach back with us some day. We wish him nothing but the best. I’m sure that he’s going to stay very busy.”

 

* On Kanyon: “I’ve always thought that Chris Kanyon is a very talented in-ring tactician. I’ve always appreciated his being a lifelong fan because I can relate to that. The fact that the guy does have considerable skills in the ring and the fact that he still, at this age, has many years of in-ring activity ahead of him, it only seemed fair, if we weren’t going to do anything with him, to not string him along and to be honest with him and say, ‘We don’t have anything.’ And give him the opportunity to go wrestle because that’s what he loves doing. So that’s what we did. Chris was a model locker room talent – always punctual, always professional, great attitude. He’ll be a great addition to anyone’s locker room or anyone’s event. It’s just that at this point, there weren’t any opportunities with him.”

 

* On Ernest “The Cat” Miller: “Ernest was in a situation that I’m not sure he was totally comfortable in, but we all have to adapt. Ernest has great charisma and verbal skills. We made the decision that there’s no sense in retaining Ernest when we see that we’re not going to use him as much as we envisioned, and utilize his skills as much as we had hoped.”

 

* On reports that there’s a “mass firing of talent” forthcoming in WWE: “There’s no truth to the rumors that we’re getting ready to have a mass firing of talent. We also evaluate our roster 52 weeks a year and just as in any other business there will be comings and goings from time to time for a variety of reasons. There are always going to be times when people are going to no longer remain with the company, which creates opportunities for new people to be added to the roster, and we have several new faces in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) who are ready to contribute. Talent rosters always evolved, since I worked in the territory days, in which guys would work in one territory and go to another. It has always been that way. But because there’s only one national territory, anytime someone comes and goes, it becomes ‘news.

 

’ There are probably guys on the roster who have read some of these Internet reports. That’s not fair to them. That’s not how we are going to handle business, nor have we handled business that way. And I find it journalistically offensive.”

 

* Ross added: “We have a lot of good things going on, and it’s just sad that because of some irresponsible ‘journalism’ that these rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours they’re ‘reality.’ We just came back from a live event tour in Japan that grossed over $3 million. It was a great, positive moment for our company. We sold out the February South African tour in advance. We’re preparing for a landmark 20th anniversary WrestleMania. We have the most professional group of talent, as a whole, that I’ve been around in 30 years. No exaggerations. They’ve represented the company extremely well. It’s the little things: not being tardy, being participatory, trying to improve their game. We have so much to be thankful for. There are a lot of great things going on, but unfortunately some try to damper it with irresponsible reporting that’s total horse manure.”

 

* Other examples of positive things going on in the company, according to Ross: “John Laurinaitis (of the Talent Relations Department) was in OVW three days this week. Dr. Tom Prichard is there on a regular basis. From the reports I get from both guys, and from watching the weekly OVW show, we are going to have, in time, some really good additions to our roster. We’ve got a lot of talent there with a great deal of potential, but many of them are at least a year away. The good news is, they’re very young, so when they finally make it, they’re still going to be young. We also plan on continuing to recruit some of the nation’s best amateur wrestlers as the summer approaches and hope to sign some blue-chip athletes to report to OVW as 2004 progresses. We have several top amateurs who have expressed significant interest in a career in WWE many of who are now training for the NCAA Tournament and the Olympic trials. Jerry Brisco has done a super job in this area communicating with the country’s top coaches and wrestling officials and recruiting these young men. We’re very excited about the future of that. Matt Morgan’s going to be working out with Dr. Tom up in Stamford; Matt has a huge upside if all the pieces fall into place. I’m really happy with how a lot of our younger talents are starting to adapt their styles and improve their in-ring performances.”

 

* J.R. also said that the injury situation on the WWE roster is “in better shape now that it’s ever been,” and several Superstars have recovered from injuries or are well on their way to doing so: “Maven’s got his elbow and his knee all taken care of. There are no complications. Neither were major surgeries—they were just cleanups. He’s going to be feeling so much better now, and he’s going to get his athleticism back and be able to train pain free. We think he has a great upside. We’re excited about his future. Mark Henry is an extraordinary physical specimen that was beginning to step up when he injured his shoulder. But our injury list is shorter, and that’s great.”

 

http://www.wwe.com/news/headlines/1253912?page=1

What was edited out....

 

On Zack Gowen

 

JR: Between you and me, that circus freak had his run, and wasn't even a moneymaker. I think he should have ate a bottle of my BBQ sauce that would have grown a new leg for him.

 

On Kanyon

 

JR: HHH was afraid quite frankly that even if Kanyon remained on Velocity on a different show that he still would have showed him up. So he got behind Stephanie and made her beg Daddy too fire him. If ya ask me honestly, he is a great wrestler, but he just Isn't a HOSS.

 

 

On The Cat

 

JR: I have no idea what the hell we were doing there letting that useless piece of crap on our shows. This isn't WCW anymore Eric, you can't have your karate coach wander around with you. If we bent to every request on having Wrestling talent and personalities buddies show up, Hogan would have forced us to work with Jimmy Hart, one of the Nasty boys and Beefcake. And what a image that would be having a Coked up Anthrax spoof on the payroll. We would be having to call in about White Powder all the time Bah Gawd!

 

 

About the Mass Firings

 

JR: Like I said there is no truth to it........Yet

But there are some great and expendable wrestlers out there in the Locker rooms. Wrestlers who think their opinion matters instead of this Sooner fan and the Chairman Vince McMahon. If they wish to remain in this company they need to do three things. 1) Have no opinion and do what you are TOLD 2) However you wrestle do not show up HHH, remember he is God and you cannot be beyond GOD in this company 3) Buy Lots and lots of BBQ sauce.... But better hurry Lance storm got 25 orders of it shipped to his house. Who knew that crazy Canuck liked to BBQ.

 

 

On wrestlers reading internet reports or on the internet in general.

 

JR: the Internet is EVIL! We like to keep our wrestlers locked away from any outside stimuli so they can forget there are feds out there that could actually respect their talent instead of using them to their own advantage like we do. In order to protect them from discovering this is to keep those Evil Smark fans as FAR away as possible. However Now the Smarks have infested the Internet bah gawd and the wrestlers are too soft headed to resist. Some wrestlers (I won't name names, cough Storm Cough Jericho) Even SPEAK too these fans, and having their heads filled with such Independant nonsense other than the Propaganda we are rightfully brainwashing into their minds! We are currently talking to Home land security in naming Smark fans Internet Terrorists so they can find and arrest these bastards! cough ummm don't forget to tune into Raw though...from jail.

 

 

Finally on the injury list.

 

JR: In reality, does it matter? We got STONE COLD! STONE COLD! we got the Cerebal Assassin! We got GOLDBERG! We even got...A-TRAIN! BAH GAWD we got so many hosses that no one will care who broke a neck or a Femur.

 

JR gets up and waddles away muttering STONE COLD STONE COLD STONE COLD!

that was probably the funniest post ever on any thread in this forum... thats my opinion & im stickin to it

[Steviekick 0]

Agreed. That was great.