Jim Ross Talks About JBL Buying OVW, Bill Watts & More
Jim Ross has a new blog entry up at JrsBarBBQ.com, here are the highlights:
On JBL Buying into OVW: I read on the internet where JBL has purchased an interest in Danny Davis' OVW operation. If one assumes that WWE can't efficiently train all the young prospects that they would ideally like in only one facility, then one could also assume that other training grounds might be able to take up the slack and eventually "graduate" their students one step closer to WWE fame and fortune.....for a nominal fee of course. No one can ever say that JBL isn't big picture thinking, multi-tasker. JBL's business deal with OVW intrigues me. Training wrestlers is tough and having too many "students" in the "class room" sometimes becomes a challenge that cannot be overcome. With that said, I think based on what I have personally seen that the WWE facility in Tampa is ideal but, again, they can only train so many athletes at a time and do it correctly.
On Bill Watts: Upon doing some research for my introduction of Bill Watts at this year's WWE HOF, it is absolutely amazing the number of individuals Cowboy either "discovered" of provided their major break in the business. At least 5 WWE HOF'ers can thank Watts for providing them with an opportunity to display their wares early in their respective careers. I still don't know how much time that I will have to intro Bill but I assume it will be 2-3 minutes. Watts track record for talent development may be non paralleled in the wrestling business with arguably Verne Gagne right there too.
On Jonathan Coachman: Former WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman seems to be on the cusp of leaving ESPN News full time and moving on to additional ESPN gigs such as NBA Tonight and hosting SportsCenter. Coach is really happy at ESPN and finds it less challenging than working at WWE. The last time that I spoke with him he sounded like a different man but having a new baby girl can attribute to that too.
On Tonight's Raw: WWE Monday Night Raw is in Jacksonville, Florida tonight for their weekly, live broadcast which should continue to build on the stories leading to WM25. I expect tonight's show to really get fans talking and I look forward to watching it like any other fan from the comfort of my easy chair. Because we will be following the primary Raw issues closely on Friday Night SmackDown, I will be be playing particular attention to the HHH-Orton saga not to mention any activity involving HBK and the Undertaker. Interesting development evolving here as it relates to the announcers as these are both multi-branded bouts and I will be curious to see what voices get the nod for these bouts at WM25. Nonetheless Monday Night Raw should be particularly interesting tonight from Jacksonville. When I think of Jacksonville, I always think of the late Don Curtis who was a great wrestling star in his time and ended up being the promoter of Jacksonville for Eddie Graham's Florida Championship Wrestling. Don and Mark Lewin were a superb tag team once upon a time and Don found success in singles competition in Florida later in is career. I just saw a live event bout with a one camera shoot from Jacksonville recently on WWE 24/7 between Ernie Ladd and Dusty Rhodes where "The Big Cat" won "The Dream's" Florida Heavyweight Title. Don was a native of Buffalo, New York which has quite the old school wrestling heritage plus that is where Beth Phoenix is from.
One last time for those who did not see it over the weekend, the full 12-page RAW script from last week's RAW leaked online. We have uploaded all 12 pages to our Facebook group in the 'Photos' section. Click here to join our group and see all 12 pages.