J.R On Lawler Leaving RAW, 'Taker & HBK's Return, Edge
Jim Ross has posted a new blog on his official website. Below are highlights:
- Jerry Brisco called me today from a Tampa area "medical facility" aka a hospital having returned to his room a few minutes earlier from the recovery room after finally undergoing heart surgery early Thursday morning. Jerry said he was sore albeit relieved to finally get the surgery done after it was postponed a couple times over the past two weeks. The doctors traveled up an artery in Jerry's leg to perform the repair on a couple of birth defects in Brisco's heart. While there the cardiologists found another couple of small issues in the form of more tiny holes in the heart that had gone undetected but those matters were taken care of during the course of the surgery. Jerry came through his heart procedure with flying colors and is expected to go home perhaps as early as Friday. Jerry should be at 100% in 2-3 months but knowing him he will be chomping at the bit to get back to work earlier. I know Jerry was feeling better because he said he was hungry for some J.R.'s BBQ. We're going to try and accommodate him.
- Edge, who as many know recently tore his Achilles tendon, had surgery a couple of days ago in Birmingham, Alabama under the watchful eye of the best orthopedic surgeon in the world, Dr. Jim Andrews. Dr. Andrews has operated on literally a who's who in WWE and WCW over the years and even performed surgery last month on future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre's passing arm. I communicated with Edge from the hospital and from his home in Florida and, despite the extremely untimely setback, the "Rated R Superstar" was in as good a spirits as one could ask considering the situation. Edge knows what it's like to be sidelined for an extended length of time by a serious injury therefore he knows what it will take to get back into the game. While in Birmingham, I suggested to Edge that he have someone get him some Dreamland BBQ but he refrained because he "was Jonseing" for some of our Chipolte Ketchup of which will be taken care of next week. I think we have Edge "hooked" on the best ketchup in the world. Dr. Andrews felt that Edge's surgery was a success but stopped short of providing Edge with an exact return date. Mother Nature will have a say in determining that date but one can assume that it will be no less than 6 months and likely a little longer. I do think that Edge can be back for Wrestlemania if his rehab and physical therapy goes well and he doesn't suffer any unforeseen setbacks. If Edge can successfully and effectively return to WM26 in Arizona it should be a significant boost to the show.
- We get a ton of emails regarding when the Undertaker will be returning to WWE. I don't know anything official but my money would be on some time in September. I could theoretically see Shawn Michaels return in late August, perhaps even at Summerslam, and then HBK's WM25 opponent returning a month later. We'll see soon enough but these are simply assumptions and we all know what happens when on assumes.
- For Monday Night Raw fans, if Lawler wins the Memphis Mayoral race he will have to come off Monday Night Raw which would certainly end an amazing era that started 15 years ago. Jerry and I had approximately 12 great years together sitting at ringside every Monday night during the hottest period ever in WWE but as in all phases of our lives things change.