Jim Ross On Kurt Angle Facing Baron Corbin At WrestleMania, How WWE Booked Sting, Seth Rollins
Recently on The Jim Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross shared his thoughts on the commonplace musical interruptions that occur on WWE TV and said WWE Superstar Seth Rollins being distracted by Universal Champion Brock Lesnar made Rollins look 'dumb'. Also, Ross explained his recent tweet about being "underwhelmed" by the selection of former acting RAW GM Baron Corbin facing WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle in his retirement match at WrestleMania. Finally, Ross shared how he would have booked WWE Hall Of Famer Sting's WWE run.
According to Ross, Rollins losing to Drew McIntyre on RAW two weeks ago off of a distraction from Lesnar made Rollins look 'dumb' and far less than a franchise player.
"I didn't think that the way RAW went off the air, where again a music interruption causes the decision of a match to be determined," Ross professed. "It happens over and over and over again. Interrupt, distraction, screwjob. I have a big problem with trying to protect everybody. It's not a game of protection. It's a game of execution. If you can execute well, and you're given the tools to execute well, there is absolutely no reason that a loss over a talent that is already 'over' is going to significantly damage the persona of that individual. Seth Rollins is made to look silly. His best side was not on display there. Seth is a magnificent athlete. We all can see that. And his match with [Brock] Lesnar at WrestleMania no doubt can be a classic. But you can't make your babyfaces, your fan favorites, your heroes, your protagonist look dumb and get them to the top of the mountain! Can you imagine [Steve] Austin or The Rock falling for that music interrupt piece of business? No, because it wouldn't happen."
On the subject of Corbin versus Angle at WrestleMania, Ross claimed that WWE should have done more for Angle on his way out. In Ross's view, while Corbin has upside, but his is not over enough with the fans to give Angle a proper sendoff. 'Good Ol' JR' divulged that he hopes WWE does what it can to make the match special, but he does not know that the powerhouse promotion can accomplish that with Corbin as the opponent.
"Hey, I want to tell you I have no issues with Baron Corbin," Ross explained. "I think he has got a lot of potential. I think he has a significant and visible upside. He's just not there yet. That's not a knock, but the issue that I said on Twitter, @JRsBBQ, that I was underwhelmed with the choice of opponents for Kurt Angle's retirement match had nothing to do with ability, the work ethic, the passion of performing of Baron Corbin. Nothing! Not even the same time zone. It has everything to do with how you honor Kurt Angle going out. Everything that can be done from positioning on the card, who's following who, who's following what, how you look at a match, the outcome of a match, and the opponent of the match. It's all a part of the presentation and I thought WWE might have done a better job of selecting somebody else and they still might! Who knows? Hell, I don't know. That's not an unfathomable idea. But let's say it's going to be Corbin and Kurt. Do everything you can to make it special, but it could have been made more special if it was somebody that was more tenured and was perceived by the audience as more 'over'. I just think Angle deserves everything that he can be provided to make his retirement match meaningful and memorable. He deserves that. I don't know if you can get there with Kurt Angle versus Baron Corbin."
Additionally, during the podcast, Ross suggested that it is unbelievable that Sting lost his WrestleMania match versus Triple H and that the WCW standout never picked up a singles victory in a WWE ring.
"Well, he would not have lost at WrestleMania. I didn't understand [it]. It helped nobody. It wasn't a feel good moment. Handshake or no handshake, it was poor strategy, poor booking, in my opinion. And if it got over like a million bucks, I would've said, 'well, they've got it! They were right and I was wrong'. I just don't believe that is the case this time. He needed to get some wins." Ross continued, "people wanted to see Sting win in a WWE and why Sting was not allowed to win in a WWE ring is unfathomable."
Scurll like squirrel. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Jim Ross Report with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Jim Ross Report