We are having a wonderful experience here in Detroit and I have come to realize that I will have a difficult time making it through my Hall of Fame induction speech Saturday night without getting emotional. The reason is I have met so many wonderful fans here in the Motor City and their heartfelt remarks have really made an impact on me. It is hard to believe that fans from all 50 States, 9 Canadian Provinces and 23 Foreign Countries have descended on Detroit for the simple reason of enjoying Wrestlemania weekend. If I was not in the business I am sure I would be here doing the same thing. There has already been a few tears of joy shed here this week and I hope I don’t come off as a blubbering, old fool Saturday night, which will air on the USA Network at midnight eastern/11 p.m. central. Seeing so many old timers here in Detroit this week has been wonderful. I keep saying I am going to attend a Cauliflower Alley Club Convention some day – and these conversations with the greats make me realize why. I love the traditions and the heritage of our business more than I can articulate.
Here’s some quick feedback on some of your comments: (more…)
What a busy week, but never too busy to answer a few of your comments. Let’s get started Pilgrim ‘cause we’re burning daylight…….
The Detroit Lions draft is crucial for them considering their recent past history in the draft. I feel the Lions need a QB and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn might be your guy. The Lions, who my friend Oklahoma Teddy Lehman plays LB for, have many needs but as we have all seen it is tough to win the big game in the NFL with a strong QB. Lehman is attending Wrestlemania this year as a matter of fact. (more…)
I just want to say how much your heartfelt messages of congratulations have meant to me this week on being inducting in the 2007 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. I also would be remiss in not thanking the great WWE fans of Chicago for their overwhelming response to the announcement Monday night on Raw. Your standing ovation definitely created a special moment in my career that I will never forget. When one thinks of all the amazing events and matches I have been privileged to be a part of in the past 30+ years, Monday night in Chicago is a moment that will forever be etched in my mind. I had been given prior word that I was going to be inducted, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see a video package, which was produced by the WWE’s brilliantly talented Adam Pennucci, that moved me to the level of tears. Then the Chicago faithful went well above the call of duty on my behalf. It was a wonderful moment and I would have given anything, even Sooner season tickets, for my Mom and Dad to have been alive to enjoy the moment. My wife Jan was still emotional when I called her 30 minutes or so after the conclusion of Raw. (more…)
Let’s get to some of the things that are on your mind based on your comments to the site.
Johnny Nitro is one of several young , WWE superstars who appear to have a bright future. As I have said in the past, Nitro reminds me of a young Ravishing Rick Rude at times and is an athletic young man. Kenny Dykstra and Lance Cade are two other youngsters who seem to have untapped potential. Kennedy and MVP fit into that catagory too. The talent cupboards are not bare in the WWE but the key will be how well the young competitors refine the mental aspect of their game and mature into the role of a consistent main event level talent and locker room leaders going forward. (more…)
It was announced tonight on WWE RAW that our own J.R. Jim Ross will be inducted into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame alongside “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Nick Bockwinkle, the Wild Samoans Afa and Sika, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, Mr. Fuji and The Sheik at the Fox Theater in Detroit, MI this coming Saturday night, March 31. J.R. will be inducted by his long-time friend, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
J.R. has been at the announcer’s table on WWE Monday Night RAW for a decade and has been a broadcaster for 25 years.
We have learned that the first two hours of the Hall of Fame ceremony will be broadcast live on WWE.com starting at 7/6 CT. Later Saturday night, you can catch the conclusion of the ceremony at Midnight/11 CT on the USA Network.
CONGRATULATIONS J.R.
Boomer Sooner!
Webmaster
It is great to be back in Norman, Oklahoma after spending 3 days in Cambridge, Mass speaking at prestigious MIT University. I had a great time and met some brilliant young people from a wide variety of backgrounds who are studying an extensive array of subjects, but who all took the pro wrestling course taught by a brilliant young man by the name of Sam Ford. This was a really neat experience and I was honored to represent the WWE for this function. (more…)
For those of you able to attend:
J.R. will be speaking at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., as part of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Colloquium from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. in Building 4 Room 370. The event is open to the public. For more information and directions, e-mail cms@mit.edu.
Go to the MIT website.
Thanks,
Webmaster
I am happy for the Wild Samoans and for The Original Sheik going into the WWE Hall of Fame. All three are legends and made significant and unique contributions to the wrestling business. The Samoans were an awesome duo I assure you. I was around them a great deal in Mid South Wrestling. No fans wanted to cross Afa or Sika. Eddie Farhat, The Original Sheik was as much a part of the Detroit landscape as the Tigers’ Al Kaline and Chuck Dailey’s Detroit Piston Bad Boys. These pioneers deserve their accolades without question. I am a big believer than we cannot navigate the future without understanding the past. These men were a huge part of the businesses past. Perhaps I have been remiss not discussing the death of Bad News Allan of a week or so ago. I never knew this man, to be able to accurately depict him as seen through my eyes. I may have met him once or twice and don’t remember much about him other than he seemed quiet and everyone knew that he was a bad ass. I know the Harts always seem to speak highly of “Bad News”, which was good enough for me. My condolences certainly go out to his family and friends. I don’t like B.S.’ing my way through your questions and Bad News was not a gentleman that I personally had many interactions with.
For the record, the campus of MIT and Cambridge, Mass is really cool. I will have more on my stay here soon. Now, may I suggest you now call me “Professor J.R.”
As John Wayne would say, we are burning daylight so let’s get right to your comments… (more…)
What a week it’s going to be for Ol’ J.R.! With only two Monday Night Raw shows left until Wrestlemania, one has to think that Monday’s Raw in Indianapolis should be hot. Then I fly into Boston on Tuesday to prepare for my appearances at MIT on Wednesday and Thursday followed by an EARLY morning flight back from Boston to OKC via DFW on Friday – only to leave again on Sunday for Chicago and the final Raw going into Wrestlemania. Whew! Plus, there is always Bar-B-Q projects to address including our new line of Beef Jerky which has continued to sell awesomely. I knew I was a big fan of Jerky but I never dreamed so many others were Jerky fans as well! I like to watch my carb intake, believe it or not and Jerky is a great snack. It’s my favorite airplane food I assure you. I hope you will sample all four flavors until you decide which one is just right for you.
Let’s address some of your comments: (more…)
These are some odds and ends from some of the comments we have received over the past week or so.
Firstly, I appreciate being corrected on the Final Four prediction as I did my Final Four guess cold turkey and picked two teams in the same bracket. My bad. I guess I am more interested in the Women’s Tournament where the Oklahoma woman have a chance to do pretty well if they can survive the Dayton bracket which is loaded. The OU women are strong. For the men, I have seen Kansas and Texas play in person and they are really good at both ends of the floor and Kevin Durant of UT is a freak and is NBA bound one has to think and I mean this year. Durant reminds me of LeBron James as a teenager. Texas A&M is a good team and well coached, too. UCLA and North Carolina will be around until the end too. Or maybe not. (more…)
