A Backstage Update On Jim Ross & WWE Inside, & More

Jim Ross has a blog up addressing some reports that have come out since the 2008 WWE Draft regarding his move to SmackDown and the backstage story behind it.

Ross had this first to say:

"Lots of erroneous info being floated out there about what "J.R. earns" as if it is anyone's business what another person earns. Some of the numbers that I saw was old data based on when I was a corporate officer in the WWE, an Executive Vice President, of which that ceased in about 2004 as best as I recall. With no longer being a EVP, it also means that one doesn't receive stock options or stock grants being in the role of an Advisor, as I currently am. Someone dug out old info and used it as if it was current but why let the facts get in the way of a good tale?"

I can only assume this was Ross' response to a report that I posted last week. The report gave some rough figures on what Ross was earning along with Mike Adamle. While I'm not a huge fan of disclosing information like that, it was interesting nonetheless and felt it was newsworthy to our readers considering the situation.

Ross also commented on reports that his comments on his blog earlier in the year may have lead to the decision to ultimately move him from Raw to Smackdown adding:

"Also another interesting theory floating around out there in 'rasslin gossip world is this one, "those close to the decision making process" have said that these blogs helped perpetuate me moving from Raw to Smackdown via the WWE Draft. That's another one that is a little hard to digest but it sure does make for some interesting reading I suppose. If those "close to the decision making process" are talking freely to outside sources then how trustworthy are these people? Secondly, at the end of the day, I think I went to Smackdown for the right reasons although I obviously did not like it initially."

While I've received a few negative e-mails regarding our initial report last Monday, this is why myself and others have a huge amount of respect for Ross. The fact that he is able to address these reports/rumors is beneficial to both parties and helps debunk anything being reported that quite frankly isn't true. I've always appreciated Ross' honesty when it comes to internet reports and addressing them immediately.

While "internet wrestling reporters" will always get a bad rap since others don't do us much of a favor for not fact checking our quite frankly posting things that aren't true, I've always appreciated Ross at least addressing reports and being as honest as he can about them. This is why his weekly "Ross Report" column is so dearly missed by many of us that looked forward to it every week where he would confirm, deny or at least comment on certain stories making the rounds at the time.

JR's blogs are always a great read and I encourage everyone to check them out when you get the chance!