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 It's a beautiful day in Tampa and here are some random thoughts. Remember, unless you're near a Norman, Oklahoma Homeland store that the only way to get JR'S products is online at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss. 

Loved everything about WM28. The stadium, the look of it, perfect weather, amazing fans, and the total effort of everyone involved with the show.

It was an amazing experience and one that I will cherish forever.

Broadcasting with Michael Cole and The King was great. I thought both guys really had a stellar night.

I sincerely appreciated Michael Cole's handshake welcoming me to the announce table. Very classy.

Calling the epic, memorable HIAC match was one of my career highlights. 

Its hard to name a more physical, compelling bout than HIAC as HHH and Undertaker brought amazing physicality and immense passion. They beat the heck out of each other and took us all on an unforgettable ride. A truly awesome performance.

Shawm Micahels contributions to the bout were huge. HBK is so gifted in any role he's in and Sunday was no exception. It was the best, guest ref work I can ever recall.

Live been blessed to be a part of many WrestleMania events but WM28 will always hold a special place in my heart.

WWE AXXESS was a blast. Every fan should experience AXXESS at least once and it gets better every year. The fans who attended Raw on Monday were amazing. One of the best, live audiences ever. Help make an outstanding RAW even better. Brock Lesnar's return to WWE is significant to say the least. I'm excited to see where the future takes the former WWE & UFC Champion. In mere minutes, Lesnar became a force to be dealt with in WWE. Interesting days certainly lie a head for the F5 machine. I covet my time in WWE's developmental program. Been here all week. Working with the enthusiastic, talented young athletes is so rewarding. Great things are on going on Dale Mabry in Tampa. Tonight is the FCW TV taping and I can't wait. Several FCW talents are either being introduced or on the cusp of such on a WWE roster. Expect to see several new personas in the coming weeks on RAW & Smackdown. Congrats to all who've earned an opportunity. Look for my contributions on WWE.com in the coming weeks where I'll be writing about a variety ig topics. Getting home to Oklahoma won't be easy this week as American Airlines had about 65 planes damaged this week at DFW due to softball size hail which resulted in a ton of cancelled flights. Travel is never easy but this week is more problematic than normal. Nonetheless I wouldn't trade the past several days in Florida for anything. Anxious to attend the OU Spring Game on April 14. A little touch of football before the pads are put away for the summer. Our products at AXXESS essentially sold out and I thank all that supported WWE and our efforts. Enjoyed dinner Wednesday night at Charley's Steakhouse in Tampa w/ friend Sean Grande and ESPN's Barry Melrose who are here to broadcast the Frozen Four on ESPN and on Westwood One Radio. I'll be doing my weekly hit on http://www.yahoosportsradio.com Saturday morning at 10:30 central time. Listen live online. Remember to say hello at the upcoming Cauliflower Alley Club function in Las Vegas on April 16-18. Go to http://www.caulifloeralleyclub.org for more info. CAC is truly a great organization. It's grilling season and time to stock up on JR'S products at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss. We're close to 400,000 Twitter followers @JRsBBQ. Will soon be penning an article for WWE.com on my many broadcasting partners over the years. Can't forget Magnum TA who I worked with on the 1989 Flair-Steamboat, Chicago NWA TITLE bout. My pal Brad Nessler, who grew up w/ AWA Wrestling, had a blast at WM28. Ness is one of the great play by play voices on ESPN, ABC, and the NFL Network. Thanks for stopping by and I'll have another blog this weekend plus I'll try and address some of your Q&A's as well. Boomer Sooner! J.R.


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Post date: 
Thu, Apr 5 - 9:35am CDT
Posted in: 
Wrestling

Comments

Submitted by allhailbc on Thu, Apr 5 - 10:49am CDT

it was my privelige to finally meet you & the king at axxess on Friday night & I appreciate the autographs. Travel back to Nashville was an adventure on Tuesday as well.  The crowds sunday night &  monday night were phenonmenal. This was my 7th straight Wrestlemania & this one ranks pretty close to the top as most enjoyable.

Submitted by bubbamunky on Thu, Apr 5 - 11:22am CDT

I wish I knew the feeling to experience a great match like that.  What memories I do have of great matches were when I was litlle going to see the Von Erichs in action in Corpus Christi, Tx.  Back then wrestling was wrestling, Y is it Brands like WWE wont bring back the Texas Death match?

Submitted by FerretJohn on Thu, Apr 5 - 2:18pm CDT

Hello JR, time I guess to give my view on Wrestlemania.

It had it's good moments, it had some great moments.  While I was seriously rooting for Cena to win over Rock I can't complain about the match or it's ending, their battle was first rate in every way.  And the Hell in a Cell, that was brought as only two seasoned main-event veterans can bring it.  Twenty is a good round number to end things on, at his age I really don't see 21 happening, but this was a good cap to his in-ring career.  Jericho vs Punk, magnificent match, easily the best title defence of the whole night.  Big Show vs Cody, also a good power vs speed contest, and I was glad that Show actually got a win at WM.

Those were the Highs, these are the Lows:  Tag and womens division as usual weren't given the respect they deserve.  The tag titles defended in a dark match, and a women's match with non-wrestler Maria Menounos getting the victory did not help Phoenix' and Eve's image as serious competitors.  Then there was the World Title match, all the hype given, a rising power-player vs one of the best pure mat wrestlers on the roster and the title changed with a fast cheapshot at the very beginning of the show.  What was the thinking there?  And I was not happy with the 12-man tag match.  I don't like Laurinitis, I'm tired of the villain bosses, it's been done to death by people with far greater personality than 'Ace'.  Long would've brought the party into the arenas and made the matches fun.  Punk was right, last year Cole was the Tool, this year Laurinitis is the entire Toolbox

It was a great show overall, the highs definitely outweighed the lows, when the DVD comes out I will happy to add it to my collection.  And I'm also looking forward to Lesnar being back in the ring (I'd heard a rumor that Batista was also at the show, but I'm assuming that was just to visit friends).  As for Rock and his statement to one day regain the WWE Title, I wouldn't mind that though I'd be hoping that he'll get in some regular Raw/Smackdown matches first, title shots shouldn't be given to guys who only wrestle once every six months.  Thanks for listening to my rants, seeya later.

Submitted by Clifton on Thu, Apr 5 - 3:20pm CDT

I am not going to sit here and lie and say I didn't totally "mark out" for Brock and his F5 on Cena. I do question the timing of all this. Clearly the last few weeks have had the emergance of some mid-level talent (Santino) and the crowd showing it's LOVE for the American Dragon on RAW. And from what I understand a couple FCW talents are can't miss as long as their introduction is after a win with a mic in their hand. I know a quick ratings boost is great for business and will rake in some PPV buys , but Brock is still Brock WITHOUT HEYMAN. Just my opinion. I hope there is a bigger picture in  mind for THE SQUASH Bryan endured at Mania and I commend his team first attitude. The man is one of the 2 best all around on the roster. Me thinks the fans will fix this. The Miz still doesn't entertain me personally and should be passing his dim torch to Hennig or Steamboat. Having Matt Bloom back is FANTASTIC and a great move by the WWE. And last but not least............Chris Jericho and Punk have gone back in time and a storyline involving a top 5 Great....JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS.  Thanks J.R. and a great call on HIAC.

Submitted by razor 2012 on Sat, Apr 7 - 6:44am CDT

Yer right that the crowd was great on Raw and i think the reason why is cause it was mostly the same crowd that were at Mania which was a mix of fans from all over the world. The most hardcore fans and they showed it.

Personally i'd put the Taker-HHH match right up there as one of the best ever. A great story from start to finish and a great show of respect at the end. And JR calling it made it that much more special.

And i had heard the rumor's of Lesnar signing with WWE and was expecting him at Mania but i think they made the right decision to save him for Raw. And what better way to have Lesnar re-debut than to have him go after the big fish in Cena. As someone would say "Business is about to pick up".

Submitted by cycloneous on Sun, Apr 8 - 10:36pm CDT

Dear Mr. Ross,

It was a privilege and honor to hear you call the Undertaker/Hunter HIAC match with King and Cole. You are certainly missed. As for  Undertaker and Hunter, they definitely took us all for a good ride and gave us a good show. I'll be honest, I was very skeptical about this match but I was extremely wrong. With Shawn in the mix, I like how he played his role, I didn't expect Michaels to do what he did. Michaels had me guessing as to what he was going to do; which I liked a lot.

One comment that I hope reaches management is this, Punk/Jericho was the match that stole the show for me with the exception of Undertaker/Hunter. All other match were either at par or way below subpar. Will Punk/Jericho go the distance into a no-holds barred match or a cage match?

The Sheamus/Bryan match caught me off guard; it reminded me of the Warrior/Honky Tonk match way back when. I am very curious how the story will be told in the ring with Sheamus/Bryan. Definiitely Bryan took one for the team.

This might come as a loaded question, my apologies in advance. Do you think the development talent will be able to handle the rigors and demands of the WWE and fans once they get their push? Granted some of the talent have been in the business for quite some time but so I guess this is more geared towards from the younger talent that you see. Are there any members of the roster will be like their mentors? TTFN!

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