Jim Ross Blogs: Steve Austin, The XFL, DDP-WWE
Jim Ross has a new blog up at https://www.JRSBARBQ.com/ Here are the highlights?
On Steve Austin: Shed Media scored a coup when they obtained the services of Steve Austin to host their new version of WWE's Tough Enough. This show will allow Austin to re-engage his loyal, passionate WWE fan base and stay close to home in Southern California to tape this new series. Tough Enough has a big time production company handling it with a stellar track record in producing reality TV plus the program is a high priority to NBC Universal. I hope that the new Tough Enough is a hit for all involved and am anxious to see who Shed Media and WWE select for the balance of the cast. Whoever is selected will be provided a great opportunity to add to their body of work and to be on prime time TV for several weeks notwithstanding building a relationship with TV producers and a powerhouse entertainment entity in NBC/Universal.
On The XFL: If you are a fan of AOL Fanhouse check out the article on the XFL's 10th Anniversary Kickoff Weekend where yours truly was interviewed. I enjoyed my experiences in the XFL especially teaming with NFL HOF'er Dick Butkus for a few games. I can tell you that season was one of the busiest times of my life as we had live Raw on Monday, XFL on Saturday/Sunday, some PPV events on Sunday, and prep time for all those live events. That's notwithstanding my obligations as a WWE corporate officer in charge of talent relations. I was on a 7 day a week roll and look back upon those days positively. When one loves what they do for a living, one can push oneself to amazing limits.
On DDP: Speaking of opportunity, DDP will apparently be hosting a WWE produced DVD on the History of WCW Nitro. Wednesday night when Hitman Bret Hart heard that there would be a Best of Nitro DVD, the Hitman jokingly said that the DVD would "last about 10 minutes." Obviously, Nitro had many,significant moments while defeating MNR in the ratings 83 weeks in a row but one can also make a valid argument that Bret Hart was sadly and unfortunately miscast while working for Turner's organization. Apparently DDP took some time to decide if he wanted to host this new DVD project. It could have been because Diamond Dallas Page might have thought that WWE was going to 'rewrite history' when producing this new DVD title. Why anyone might think that WWE would want to devalue one of their own intellectual properties is hard for me to comprehend. I do think that this Nitro themed DVD could potentially be entertaining and DDP is a viable choice to handle the hosting duties.
Source: JR's BBQ