J.R. Blogs: Jim Cornette, Dr. Death In WCW, Wrestlers Over 60, More
Jim Ross has a new blog entry up at JrsBarBQ.com; here are the highlights?
On Dr. Death And The "Oklahoma" Angle: For the record and contrary to what some have speculatively written about the subject, I was never angry or any thing else of a negative vent at Dr. Death for his role with "Oklahoma" on WCW TV many years ago. Obviously, that particular creative won't rank high on my list of all time favorites but it's certainly water under the bridge and I'm far from "bitter" about it. That includes not being angry at Vince Russo or Ed Ferrera for the record. Nonetheless, no wrestling storyline could ever adversely affect my friendship with Doc who I met for the first time in 1979. The wrestling business, as Stan Hansen said at Doc's funeral services, is long on acquaintances and short on true friends and Doc was a true friend and actually more like a little brother to me than any thing else. I still really miss Steve and have a hard time accepting that he is gone. As Stan also said, "No More Suffering!" when he spoke at the services about Doc's battle with throat cancer.
On Jim Cornette's Rants: Jim Cornette is in the news a great deal here lately with his "stinging" comments about the wrestling biz in general. I've known JC for over 25 years and over that length of time I've discovered that most folks either really like Corney or they really dislike him. He is outspoken and controversial which are two of the traits that made him one of the greatest, wrestling managers to ever live. Plus he likes to create controversy as it creates traffic for his website, www.jimcornette.com. I have not always agreed 100% with some of Jim's assessments but I have never doubted for one second his passion and love of the business. Ring of Honor is fortunate to have Cornette on their team.
On Wrestlers Over 60 That Can Still Go: Wrestlers over 60 who I can recall still being good at that age obviously include Jerry Lawler and Ric Flair but let's not forget that Lou Thesz was still a solid hand when he was north of 60. I don't recommend every wrestler performing when they reach the age of 60, obviously, but a few guys have been able to pull it off on occasion especially "Naitch" and the King. Several men have returned to the ring in their 60's for "one off" appearances, more often than not in tag bouts, and many times these "returns" drew good money. It was the 2nd and 3rd "return from retirement" that usually didn't work so well.
On Announcing Teams: Got some interesting emails about announce teams and what teams I liked and what teams I didn't like. I'm not big on listing things that I don't like as that usually comes off as too bitter and too negative. I loved Monsoon and Heenan, however. I could watch and listen to them for hours. Mean Gene Okerlund and "The Brain" were also great together on All American Wrestling back in the day. Funny, funny stuff that was largely ad libbed. I thought Tony Schiavone was really good before Atlanta's WCW sucked the passion out of Tony who had a distinctive voice and a tireless work ethic when we were together in Charlotte and Atlanta. I also felt that Mark Madden could have been a superb analyst if he had been provided a the right opportunity as he was intelligent, very witty and caustic all in a good way. Lance Russell and Dave Brown had the best chemistry of any duo I think ever saw. The Memphis based duo were excellent in their tenure for many, many years. I don't know Dave Brown personally but Lance Russell is one of the classiest and most talented men that I have ever met in the wrestling biz. I choose to refrain from discussing today's wrestling broadcasters because no matter what I say I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.
You can check out the full blog at JrsBarBQ.com.