Apparently the industry wide negative reaction to Jim Ross being moved to Smackdown has subsided. Initially, there were many within WWE that felt moving JR to the “B” show was a slap in the face, while others, like myself, felt that the switch was a good idea but the way it was handled on live TV was wrong. Ross posted a blog recently where he discusses his happiness with being moved to Friday nights. Speaking of Ross’ blogs, he has posted yet a new one discussing the need for new talent in the industry. He says “Producing new stars and adding to the established stars fans normally see in PPV main events is an all important function as fans want to see “new”…new wrestlers and new matches. New is good even if new turns out to not be so great bouts, if you know what I mean. At least it is “new” and no one really knows what is going to click with today’s fans until it is tried.” You can check out the entire blog at http://fans.wwe.com/jimross/blog/2008/07/05/happy_holidaysall_is_well_in_oklahomabaton_rogue_here_we_come_
JR also spoke about the “confrontation” he had with Michale Cole which is currently being shown on WWE.com. It took place right before Cole’s final Smackdown broadcast, and JR has this to say. “There is a piece of footage on WWE.com of J.R. confronting Michael Cole prior to Smackdown starting in Tulsa last week which was essentially done tongue in cheek (a practical joke) and for entertainment purposes only. I have said many times that I value my friendship with Cole which is a true statement. However, do I think that some Raw fans will still give Michael a hard time in his new role for a whileâ¦.unfortunately, yes.”
The feeling within WWE right now is that Matt Striker will be better off working on Raw considering he is known more for his mic work than his in ring wrestling work. Raw’s 2 hour time slot allows for more interview time, so WWE hopes to use Striker as a Santino Marella type, where he will put over mid-card babyfaces and spend most of his time cutting promos. The idea of him managing new talent has also been discussed recently.
TNA World Champion Samoa Joe and AJ Styles will be signing copies of DVDs and posing for pictures at the Old Colonial Best Buy in Orlando, FL on July 15 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon.
