Jim Ross Blogs: The Rock's Return, A Great Promo, Ahmed Johnson
Jim Ross has another blog up at JrsBarBQ.com. Some highlights:
On wrestling in Louisiana: Years ago the Governor of Louisiana appointed a wrestling promoter for each town that Mid South promoted weekly. No other wrestling organization could legally promote in Louisiana for years which was an anti trade violation but the state politicos didn't care. It was all about the corruption within the state government at that time as the promoters were usually friends of the governor, relatives, etc and did essentially no promoting but were aggressive when seeking their percentage of the live gate. I once heard the promoter in Baton Rouge say that the reason that the "house" looked bigger than normal was because several "more fat, overweight fans were in attendance than usual." These were the days of hard tickets IE no Ticketmaster or computerized ticketing and the temptation of cheating on the "first count" was alive and well using those old, roll tickets. Not all the promoters were bad apples but there were a few.
On the March 1 event in Oklahoma City: It has been reported on line that I am making some sort of unadvertised appearance at the March 1 OKC event as we have been getting emails regarding such. This is all news to me and I know of absolutely nothing that is planned. We are spending considerable time and some in kind donations to help promote the WWE event but that's the extend of it. I do hope to drop by and say hello to friends prior to the event starting but will likely watch the show from home or possibly "in the back."
On Ahmed Johnson: Someone emailed us and asked the whereabouts of the former Ahmed Johnson. I have no idea but I do remember that Bill Watts was working in Connecticut at the time Ahmed came in and Cowboy wanted to call him "Big Buck Johnson." Whew. If any one wants to update us on the whereabouts of the the artist formerly known as Ahmed Johnson, please feel free to do so. He was a unique cat to say the least.
On Dwayne Johnson: Dwayne Johnson reiterated what we have said here for the longest time and that is that he isn't interested in stepping back in the ring as a wrestler but doing a speaking role and having fun on a wrestling show would be more to his liking. Bottom line, one takes Dwayne any way one can get him as he is a huge star who will pop a TV rating which is the holy grail for wrestling promoters.
On a great promo: Great, wrestling promos of an organic and spontaneous nature still stand out when delivered with conviction and motivation. Can't say the same for campy humor but I'm also the guy who likes old, campy comedies like Stripes, Blazing Saddles, National Lampoon's Vacation, Porky's, and Hollywood Nights, etc so take that assessment for what it's worth.
Be sure to read the full blog at https://www.JrsBarBQ.com/ They are always a great read.