Jim Ross Calls Tiger King's Joe Exotic "An Old Indie Wrestler Who's Looking For His Next Booking"
On the heels of the controversial documentary Tiger King being released recently, many people have become familiar with Joe Exotic. He owned an animal park in Oklahoma and fellow Oklahoman Jim Ross knows Exotic's backstory.
Ross was asked if he's seen the Tiger King film when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast this past Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, I have. I cringed because they'll be some idiots who think all of us Okies are like Joe Exotic. I don't even know if he's a native Oklahoman; I don't think he is. I've been telling people he's from Texas and he snuck across the Red River and infiltrated our state," said Ross.
"He reminds him of a very unskilled, independent wrestler who believes that a mullet, bleached hair and tattoos is really all you need to be a great in-ring talent. He's like an old, indie wrestling who is still looking for his next booking."
Ross released his autobiography Slobberknocker in 2017 and has followed that up with a new book titled Under the Black Hat. JR talked about why he felt it was time for another book.
"The story was untold as I had not finished my journey. I wanted to talk about all of the things that hadn't happened yet when we ended on Slobberknocker which was WrestleMania 14," said Ross. "We had much more to talk about. We had the Attitude Era, WWE going public, the launch of the XFL and I had a couple of health scares that were some times perceived as more serious than most people realized. Then of course leaving WWE and the more paramount thing was my wife getting killed in March 2017 and just before Slobberknocker came out. So, this had more to talk about."
Ross added that his book talks about his life in WWE and beyond. He also has plenty of behind-the-scenes stories about Superstars such as The Rock, Stone Cold, The Radicalz and Chris Jericho.
"It's a completely true story and sometimes it was a little uncomfortable to read. I did the audio book as well which is out now too. But it was a very unique journey for me. There's a lot of life lessons in this book and it's a unique story that most fans can relate to. I am still a wrestling fan so consequently, the fans that read it will identify with it very readily," stated Ross.
This book had more of an in-depth look at Ross' personal life including the death of his longtime wife Jan. Ross was asked how hard it was to open up about his personal life and recall those tough times.
"My book is totally honest; I had no problem being honest. If we're criticizing for honesty, then we need to reevaluate who we're hanging with," stated Ross. "A lot of wrestlers are insecure and I understand the nature of their work and the pressures they put on themselves. I tried to alleviate all of that. I already had all of the pressures and hardships that I could handle.
"It was important for me ? just like Jan told me in Slobberknocker ? to just be honest. That's what I was; I was very honest. Some people might be offended by what I said, but if we can't express our opinion and back it up with facts, then where are we? I had no problem being honest. I'm not looking to bury somebody or throw them under the bus. You can have a compelling book with amazing information and stories and be honest. That's exactly what we've done."
Jim Ross' new book "Under The Black Hat" is available now and can be purchased HERE. Jim's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.