Jim Ross Discusses the Brand Split, Wrestling Schools, Backlash, More
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.26.2009
Weekend Blogging from JR!
- Jim Ross has a new blog entry up, here are the highlights:
On Wrestling Schools: We get lots of questions about wrestling schools. I suggest that one look at the successful students the schools of interest have produced before making a final decision. I know that men like Harley Race, Danny Davis, and Lance Storm are all credits to the biz and can help anyone w/ the ability & aptitude increase their chances of finding regular work. But always bear in mind that the road to fame & fortune is challenging and many more will fail than will succeed. With that said, never give up on your dreams.
On Backlash: Backlash feels like a "sleeper" PPV & will likely bring with it some surprises. The match that may pleasantly surprise us is the Steamboat-Jericho bout. I'm approaching this (unofficially) as Ricky's last 1 on 1 bout. I have loved his work for years and admire him as an honorable man & one of the best fan favorites ever. Chris Jericho is the perfect opponent for "The Dragon" which makes this match even more intriguing to me as a fan. I'm anxious to see what our announcer assignments will be for Backlash. Several bouts intrigue me on what I perceive to be a largely "wrestling heavy" event. Backlash is sold out as is Monday's Raw in Bridgeport and Smackdown Tuesday in MSG.
On the Brand Split: After this coming week, specifically Tuesday night at MSG when MVP faces Dolph Ziggler for the U.S. Title, it looks as if WWE is going to be really serious about the brand separation. I hope that assumption is accurate. I like giving more talents the opportunity to become stars.
Posted By: Guest#5221 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 12:37 AM
Yes I really do hope the WWE Takes the Brands seriously, we've been getting RAW Matches as the Main Event on Smackdown for the past few weeks now...
Posted By: sega (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 12:45 AM
If you know u can only see a certain wrestling on a certain brand, you have to watch that brand.
So if you split the favorites across the brands, you force people to watch more shows and you don't burn them out by having Cena everywhere.
Posted By: Banana Splits (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 12:57 AM
But always bear in mind that the road to fame & fortune is challenging and many more will fail than will succeed. With that said, never give up on your dreams.
Well, at least until your 45 and still working Highschools. Then again, why stop at that point?
Posted By: FHF (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 01:01 AM
"it sounds like JR hates Tard Grisham"
Based on the 0% comments made about Grisham? JR meant he was wondering which commentators were calling what matches. Learn to read before you call people "tard"s.
You'd think WWE should be "wrestling heavy" every show.
Posted By: Steve307 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 01:05 AM
"After this coming week, specifically Tuesday night at MSG when MVP faces Dolph Ziggler for the U.S. Title, it looks as if WWE is going to be really serious about the brand separation."
hahahahaha. Larry must've laughed at that when he posted this.
Posted By: Milhouse Van Houten (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 01:19 AM
JR Also said EDGE Will defeat john
cena .
Tried to cover up , saying i'm only guessing ,.,,,
Edge = new WHC @ Backlash .
punk is not cashing in .
Posted By: HBK (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 02:18 AM
werd. i've been so pissed as of late about the brand splits.. i started to notice wat is the point if you have raw wrestlers all over smackdown
Posted By: wylung (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 02:31 AM
This is the best WWE draft since the days of Flair/McMahon and Heyman/Helmsley.
Before I used to just watch Raw, but now I am legitimately interested in all 3 shows.
Look for Armageddon to bring the return of the 6 man HiaC for the Raw brand. Also look for CM Punk to become the face champion he deserved to be and John Morrison to reach the main event. And finally look for Tommy Dreamer to one last time become ECW champion! It will be the first time since CM Punk had the ECW chamionship that fans will care about the ECW title again.
Posted By: Guest#0314 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 03:15 AM
i know i'm probably not among the first million people to say this, but it should have been Steamboat that had Flair's last match.
if i'd known Steamboat could still go like he go'ed at WM25, i'd never have gotten behind HBK as the man to receive that tremendous honor. besides, it would have been a nice 20-year reunion for Flair/Steamboat '89.
Posted By: 6d6 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 03:22 AM
i want a battle for supremacy at survivour series. ECW vs RAW vs SMACKDOWN and give ECW the win so their taken seriously as a brand
Posted By: Guest#6645 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 04:56 AM
I know it's easy to be cynical about this, but with Superstars being there it makes sense for the main shows to stick to their brand. Then they can use Superstars to showcase all three and do cross brand things when it comes up.
Has to be said though, with this allegedly actual split looming, it does pretty much suggest that one of three things will happen to make sure that SD has a world champ. 1) Edge will win. 2) CM Punk will cash in on the night. 3) CM Punk will cash in for the next PPV, which will unfortunately result in more cross brand stuff. Of those I am actually hoping Edge will win. Cena does loose now and then (though usually only if he has a film to do), so you never know.
Posted By: Fenris (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 05:52 AM
Brand slipt was a horrible idea, time to let go of it.
Posted By: Alex (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 07:34 AM
I agree. I prefer the brand separation if they stay serious about it and only allow the brands to intermingle come the Royal Rumble and the inter-promotional matches at Wrestlemania. Otherwise, it kills the special feeling of those matches and the occasional wrestler crossover.
Posted By: leandar (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 09:03 AM
Anyone else think Jericho vs. Steamboat will kick the shit out of HHH/Shane/Roidtista vs. Orton/Jobbers?
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 09:39 AM
Who here likes JR? I'm interested.
Posted By: DVR (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 10:01 AM
THE BRAND SPLIT SUCKS!
Posted By: Rob (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 10:02 AM
steve307, someday...I will break you. You need to stop talking. Actually, just get off your computer, get in your car, and drive it off a cliff. "tard Grisham" give todd all the credit he deserves.
Posted By: Guest#4428 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 10:46 AM
werd. i've been so pissed as of late about the brand splits.. i started to notice wat is the point if you have raw wrestlers all over smackdown
Posted By: wylung (Guest
With your shitawful spelling you could be a writer for 411.However, dont apply with csonka as he can actually spell.
Posted By: Guest#5737 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Well, at least until your 45 and still working Highschools. Then again, why stop at that point?
Posted By: FHF (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 01:01 AM
Hey, at least they're WORKING and doing something they LOVE instead of sitting at home on a Saturday night and bashing people on the internet like you!
Nice life bro!
Posted By: Get out of the house! (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 01:39 PM
I think the brand extension works if/when it's done right. Keep the superstars on their own brand and like someone said before, only have them mingle at the big 4 PPV's.
Also, I think there is one main point that never gets brought up by most when people say the brand extension should be done away with.
We all know that WWE has a huge "glass ceiling" with talent as it stands right now. If they combine the roster back into one they won't have a glass ceiling anymore, they'll have a titanium ceiling.
NOBODY in the mid to upper-mid card is going to have a shot in HELL of cracking the main event scene. Not with EVERY SINGLE current main eventer in the 'E on one roster.
Cena, HHH, Orton, Batista, Edge, Taker, Big Show, HBK, Jericho.
Anyone really think with that main event scene that anyone else has a shot in hell of being a legit main event player and even get a World/WWE title reign?
Ask yourself this:
If the brand extension never happened, or was terminated at some point in the past, would guys like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, RVD, or Edge have gotten a chance to break through the 'E's glass ceiling and become main eventers and even have the chance to run with one of the big belts?
I'm betting on no. At least with most of them.
There is a good chance that most, if not all of them would have been kept in the mid to upper mid-card and been held down on a roster overcrowded with main eventers.
Not to mention all the younger guys on the roster right now that would be non-existent on an overcrowded roster on get limited TV time and pushed of off PPV cards.
Posted By: Milhouse Van Houten (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 02:15 PM
"If the brand extension never happened, or was terminated at some point in the past, would guys like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, RVD, or Edge have gotten a chance to break through the 'E's glass ceiling and become main eventers and even have the chance to run with one of the big belts?
I'm betting on no. At least with most of them.
There is a good chance that most, if not all of them would have been kept in the mid to upper mid-card and been held down on a roster overcrowded with main eventers."
While i understand your point, the fact is half those guys already were getting pushed before any brand split and all over them were over. The brand extension never made any sense to me. Your top draws need to be on damn near every show. There were the previous 15 years and it worked just fine, the difference now is you apparently dont have good enough writers to draw out storylines. Im all for young talent getting there shot, but in the end the split really doesnt work because the talent pool isnt as deep as people think. Half of these wrestlers wouldnt see the time of day 5 years ago. when i think of brand split i think of JBL as a world champion, no tag team division,death of the IC title, paying the WWE full price to watch only half of thier product while the other is on another show. The only reason they starting this thing is because they bought their competition and ruined the WCW invasion angle.
Posted By: annoyed (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 03:54 PM
"While i understand your point, the fact is half those guys already were getting pushed before any brand split and all over them were over."
Which Half? Benoit was a Jobber to the stars, Eddie and RVD were feuding over the IC Title during the last time it actually meant anything, Jeff was losing tag matches to f'n Billy and Chuck, and Punk and Mysterio weren't even in the WWE yet.
I get frustrated by the brand extension when the WWE just ignores it and hopes we won't notice. I give them leeway during the Road to Wrestlemania because they usually use the brand extension to keep guys apart until Mania. I had no problem with the "working agreement" ECW had with SD! and then RAW either, because at least they were giving a kayfabe reason for those matches to happen.
Its times like now, when Mania is over, the draft has happened, and they still are just putting guys on whatever show they feel like. I thought that was what Superstars was for.
Posted By: Guest#7916 (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 04:27 PM
@ annoyed:
Yeah the Brand Extension has certainly had it's flaws. I wasn't trying to say it's been perfect. I definitely think that it has watered down the product to an extent with having two, sometimes seemingly interchangeable, world titles as opposed to one definitive World Championship. I agree that the tag and IC/US divisions have definitely suffered because of the talent being spread thin across 3 brands. In that regard I would much rather see a unified Tag Team and IC/US title division respectively. Not just unified champs, but one solid division instead of 2 or 3. Having one solid mid-card would be awesome with all the talent around and could provide some amazing matches.
I still think the brand extension has done A LOT of good though in helping elevate talent to places they would've found very hard to reach as a part of a unified roster.
Yes, some of the guys I mentioned earlier were already getting pushed, but not to the levels of being serious main event, world title contending threats. Benoit got close in 2001 before he broke his neck. None of the others I mentioned that were in WWE at that time were even close to reaching that status or having that kind of push.
You're right that the brand extension happened initially because after Vince bought WCW, WWE had WAY too much talent and had to do something. Since then though, I think it has worked fine for the most part and has made a bunch of guys stars over the years.
Which is something that HAD to happen in WWE after Rock and Austin left. Vince needed to find new stars and elevate others to fill the void left by Rock and Austin.
You could argue that none of that matters now in 2009, but I think the brand extension can still be a valuable tool for WWE when used right.
To me with one unified roster, right now at this moment in WWE, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone other than the "usual suspects" main eventing shows and holding the world titles.
Granted, a lot of that is happening anyway, but at least other guys have been given a shot. Albeit, with varying degrees of success
Posted By: Milhouse Van Houten (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 05:36 PM
You could argue that none of that matters now in 2009, but I think the brand extension can still be a valuable tool for WWE when used right.
To me with one unified roster, right now at this moment in WWE, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone other than the "usual suspects" main eventing shows and holding the world titles.
Cant really argue with you on that Millhouse. Bottom line is im a long time WWE fan and i wish/hope they would get it right. Theres obviously both some negatives and positives to the split. I just hope they can make it look more "organized" in the future and bring back the prestige these titles used to have to them.
Posted By: annoyed (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 06:35 PM
Totally agree with you on that. I think that is the one main area where the brand extension has faultered over the last couple of years. Too many cases of superstars just popping up on random shows they don't belong to and the devaluing of the titles by making them pretty much interchangeable with one another.
The WWE and World titles are one-in-the-same nowadays with a few guys holding BOTH of them at various times over the last few years.
There's no real distinction between the two. Which one is the 'A' title, the one on Raw? Problem is they've BOTH served time as Raw AND Smackdown's major title over the last couple of years.
So which one is the bigger title? Beats the hell out of me.
Posted By: Milhouse Van Houten (Guest) on April 26, 2009 at 09:29 PM
Hate on Todd all you want... but seriously, before the break-up, Matt and Todd were pretty freakin' awesome!
Posted By: Grisham Rules! (Guest) on April 27, 2009 at 02:47 AM
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