JR's "Ross Report" Backstage News & Notes For 7/13

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM WWE.COM:

J.R.'s Superstar of the Week – Mick Foley
By Jim Ross
July 13, 2006

This week s RAW Superstar of the Week wasn t involved in a match in Sioux City Monday night, but his performance on the show was the most emotionally charged effort of the broadcast. This week s prestigious RAW Superstar of the Week award goes to Mick Foley for his spirited and heartfelt remarks in rebutting Ric Flair. More on that later.

Random RAW thoughts:

Shelton Benjamin once again showed flashes of brilliance in his losing effort against John Cena. The day that the ultra athletic Benjamin puts his complete game together on a consistent basis is going to be the day that the South Carolina native begins to dominate the RAW scene. It has been years since I have seen anyone with Benjamin s natural athletic ability. Like any other athlete, once it clicks for Shelton, the former Golden Gopher will head to the top of the card and will stay there for a long time.

I love it when we have guests at ringside as we did with WWE Champion Edge and Lita unveiling their own announce table and lending a hand on commentary. It seems like more often than not, all Hell breaks loose when Superstars make the occasional visit to the announce table or hang out in the ringside area. Plus, being live adds another element of unpredictability to those situations. Some of Monday Night RAW s most classic and memorable moments have occurred at ringside.

The Trish vs. Melina match was surprisingly good from where I was sitting. We know what we have in Trish – a talented, former 6 times Women s Champion – but Melina s in ring efforts exceeded my expectations. I would like to see more of both of these Divas, literally and figuratively. But the coat that Nitro wears needs to stay in the closet, or we are going to have PETA demonstrators all over us.

What did Highlander Robbie discover he could do with corn while in Iowa? Never mind. Probably a Future Farmer of America matter.

Matt Striker is eerily similar to Paul Heyman in that Striker is easy to dislike in a very natural sense. Except, when Striker leaves the ring, one doesn t have the urge to shower immediately unlike the World s Most Dangerous Kool-Aid maker and ECW guru.

I read on the net where someone was wondering why Flair was sweating so much Monday night while doing his in-ring oratory. I have the scoop – it was HOT in the arena. Trust me, I was sweating Crisco myself, and Naitch sweats a lot when he is worked up. Sweat happens in July in Iowa.

It will be interesting to hear some sort of explanation from Charlie Haas and Viscera regarding their actions Monday night which saw Lilian Garcia get Samoan Dropped after saying she just wanted to be friends. I remember a scenario happening like that on Seinfeld once, but George Costanza didn t Samoan Drop anyone unless it has slipped my mind. If Haas and Vis ever form a team, I suggest that Haas should wear matching P.J. s like Big Vis.

Just think of the names for tag team finishing maneuvers for these two such as Sweet Dreams , The Sleep Over , Nighty Night , and Sleep Tight .

One of the MANY things that made the 2006 $250,000 Diva Search memorable this week was when one of the lovely young women said she actually wanted to be a WRESTLER!

The Saturday Night s Main Event, live from Dallas this Saturday at 8/7 CT on NBC, looks like it will sell out the American Airlines Center. I know the announce teams from RAW, SmackDown and ECW will all be on hand. Let s just hope and pray that all six broadcasters will not be trying to talk at the same time, which creates an agonizing malfunction at the junction . I think it would be great for WWE to broadcast a roast someday but just not while there are matches taking place.

Not that I am advocating this scenario whatsoever, but can you image what a wrestler Randy Orton could father with Brooke Hogan? That would be a fourth generation Superstar that would headline WrestleManias for years, brother!

A first Saturday at SNME, the long awaited Bikini Bull Riding Contest featuring 10 scantily clad Divas who must ride for, I assume, eight seconds to qualify.

There are plenty of eight second jokes I could insert here, but I will leave that up to my broadcast partner. This might be a great attraction for SmackDown s JBL, who once was a Texas ranch hand, and the King, who watched the Roy Rogers Show as a kid, to broadcast. Talk about the possibility of a wardrobe malfunction&and that doesn t even include the Divas! Plus, if the Divas then get physical, Joey Styles can do a run in and yell his patented and classic, CAT FIGHT!

Can you tell the Mixed Martial Arts influence Shane McMahon utilizes in the ring on occasion? That s not by accident.

I was beginning to worry about the whereabouts of DX Monday night as they apparently did not get to work, shall we say, on time. This Saturday night there will be no such worries as DX is scheduled to wrestle The Spirit Squad, President George W. Bush s favorite WWE superstars, so I am relatively sure that Triple H and HBK will be at work early. Uh oh, do you think I just jinxed someone? One of these days, the McMahons are going to cause terminal misery on DX, but the question is when?

Now, let s get back to Mick Foley. What great verbalization Monday night by the Hardcore Legend. Flair didn t do so bad himself by the way. I like these raw feeling, edgy, emotional promos these talented talkers oftentimes get the chance on which to cut loose. This sort of content helped get me hooked on wrestling when I was a young lad. (Don t be cute, I actually was young, once upon a time.)

It is so important for a wrestler to be able to verbally express themselves now, perhaps more than ever before. An average wrestler with sound fundamental skills who has exceptional verbal skills can get farther down the road than a silky smooth grappler that can t put two sentences together and has little or no personality.

July 15th is circled on my calendar, as is Oct. 7, and both events are being held in Dallas. Of course you know where I am headed here. July 15, or THIS SATURDAY NIGHT in TV talk is NBC s Saturday Night s Main Event, which I am sincerely proud to be a part of and Oct. 7 is the Red River Rivalry featuring my Oklahoma Sooners versus the Steers of the University of Texas.

Life is good.

Don t forget our new website, which is under construction, but I will keep you posted on its progress. I hope you will check it out in the near future.

BOOMER SOONER!

J.R.