Jim Ross On What's Next For CM Punk, Ric Flair Incident, Why WWE Let Him Go

NewsDay has an interview with Jim Ross at this link, who was promoting his upcoming "Ringside: An Evening With Jim Ross," a one-man spoken-word tour that kicks off with a pair of performances at Manhattan's Gramercy Theatre on March 1 before hitting other parts of the country.

The incident with Ric Flair at the WWE 2K14 symposium before last year's SummerSlam:

"I knew that when it was over, a lot of the top WWE officials were very anxious to get Ric Flair out of the facility. So I knew there was some concern there, but I didn't know that the concern involved me. A story started out of misinformation that I had been drinking with Flair all day. And the issue was that if they [WWE officials] had checked their schedule, I had been booked all day with WWE activities and SummerSlam that had nothing to do with Ric Flair."

His WWE departure:

"My job was to keep the rudder in the water [at the symposium]. I didn't do that. And so, the decision was made that we part ways. And to be honest with you, and this is not looking back, or trying to cover somebody's tracks, or cover my own [behind], I was really looking for an opportunity to move on. I wanted to get into the podcast business, I wanted to get into one-man show stuff . . . I wanted to look at other opportunities, like this Fox Sports thing that I'm doing now. And I knew I couldn't do those things while I was under contract to the WWE. But to be honest, to be totally frank with you, I had such a loyalty to that company, and I still do, that after 20 years I didn't know how I was going to say goodbye."

CM Punk quitting WWE:

"At some point, he is going to want to get back into a game. Where that game is, I don't know. Who's gonna be playing in that game, good question. But I would be surprised to see him wrestle anywhere other than WWE on any ongoing basis. But I can certainly see him, if somebody had a new promotion, and they wanted someone with a bright mind and a fresh mind, who understood the product and who could communicate well, which he can do, he might be a great fit in a new promotion: upper management, creative, working with talent. He may be perfect for that.

"Let me tell you what I think he would be perfect at. I think if he doesn't come back to WWE, which I do hope happens, I think he would be an amazing MMA broadcaster."

JR also talked more about the Flair incident, if Punk would have been successful in the Attitude Era and much more. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.

Source: NewsDay