During the latest edition of The Ross Report podcast, which you can listen to in full at this link, host Jim Ross opened with thoughts on Ring of Honor, working with Monster Factory, and Nikki Bella’s improvement. Below are some highlights from Ross:
On Ring of Honor Improving Their Product:
I think Ring of Honor is doing a better job. Their TV show is looking better. It’s looking cleaner. It’s sounding better, so that means their audio and their video are being improved and that’s a great sign, and I’m glad Sinclair [broadcasting] is investing back in the production of their show. One of the few glitches I had with ROH was that their lighting was not ideal, but they’re doing better and improving the look of their show because they always, from bell to bell, had a hell of a product for a long time. This success and the fandom they have now is nothing new. It’s not based on anything new. ROH has had some amazing television with some great matches and outstanding in ring talent, and allowing those talents to be themselves, possibly more than any other promotion in the world, so a lot of talents in ROH are allowed, seemingly to me, to express themselves creatively, and have become a natural extension of one’s own personality, so I really applaud the management. The booking is good, it’s crisp, and the management team with Joe Koff and his team, They just do a terrific job and I’m all for them being successful.
On WWE TLC, Wyatt – Orton Combo and Wyatt’s potential:
WWE has really done a really good job with their technology. I haven’t had any issues with the Network; it’s worked great. The TLC crowd felt kind of light. I’m not really sure where they were, maybe the product was not creatively stimulating to the audience, they seemed somewhat docile. They picked their spots, granted, but the audience was flat, so yes, you can say, damn JR the crowd wasn’t very good; it’s a reason, not all of the reason, but a reason. I like the combination of Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. I hope that the work that has been put in with Heath Slater and Rhyno doesn’t go to knot. A lot of TV time, fans kind of like them, they’re a solid team, they’re reliable, good on the road. I think you want to maintain them somehow. Orton and Wyatt, as I have said before, Bray Wyatt is potentially the biggest character babyface in years. He’s what Mankind was as a babyface. He was what Dusty Rhodes was in Florida, that’s what a character babyface is. Junkyard Dog was a character babyface. He was unorthodox. He wasn’t the run of the mill. Wasn’t the type of cat you saw running in the neighborhood all the time. He was unique; and Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton together, along with Luke Harper, who is underutilized. All three have the ability, with just a little tweaking, to be massive character babyfaces, along the lines with kind of rough, rugged, kind of an Attitude-Era like; so I believe Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt have a lot going for them, and if they do the Freebird Rule (3 man team) will give him life; and somewhere down the road, everybody is already booking it, that’s what is funny about this business. I saw the show Sunday night, and then I was reading some stuff online on Twitter and so-forth, about feedback on the show, and someone is already predicting; well, it’s good to see Orton and Luke Harper and Bray, but I can’t wait for the angle when it implodes. Geez, how about letting it breath a little bit? Letting it evolve some. Can we give it a little bit of patience for God’s sake? In any event, I like the finish, the match was okay. I like the potential of Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Luke Harper and to see where they go. I hope they get some legs in creative, and some input, and step up and give input. They should all step up and contribute to creative, and make it better, so I am optimistic where creative can go with all three of those guys.
On the Improvement of Nikki Bella:
Something has helped motivate those ladies to acquire the product knowledge to help the ladies become good. Brie [Bella] became better when she started dating Daniel Bryan and now Nikki Bella has become better since dating John Cena. Nikki is really good. I thought she had a nice match. Kind of surprised it ended as quickly as it did, but I had no problem with it, because I love conclusive endings. It gives you somewhere to go. Good job with Nikki Bella. She’s getting a lot better and is becoming a female star and I have a lot of respect for that.
To listen to this entire podcast that features an interview with Chael Sonnen, you can subscribe to the Ross Report on Podcast One.
