Jim Ross Comments On New WWE Deal; Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame 2007 Inductees
Jim Ross posted the following on his website regarding the new contract he signed with WWE:
Firstly, I want to wish all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving here in the States a wonderful day that will hopefully create lasting memories of quality time with family, friends, and loved ones. This just may be my favorite holiday of them all as my wife is a wonderful cook, she uses my late Mama’s corn bread dressing recipe, and you know I enjoy watching football!
I received some interesting emails regarding my recent contract signing with the WWE which we finalized on Monday.
To set the record straight, I signed a one year contract with the WWE which was a win-win for both sides as I look at it. I am at the stage of my career where I still love what I do and being on the air live on Monday nights is still an adrenaline rush and, bottom line, a helluva lot of fun even after all these years. On the other hand, going to the airport approximately 51 weeks a year and dealing with the hassles of traveling in today’s world is a pain in the backside. Plus, as remiss as I am to admit it I am not getting any younger. I will be 55 on January 3 and with that said I think it makes the most sense for me and the company to take my status with the WWE one year at a time. I do not want to outlive my welcome nor do I want to stay past my time to where my work suffers. The business deserves better than that.
Last year at this time, I was recovering from a colon cancer scare which is why I have a renewed value of my health and am thankful to the Good Lord of the many blessings He has bestowed upon me and my family. With that said, good health is not guaranteed which is another viable reason to take my contractual status one year at a time.
I sincerely intend to end my career in the WWE and I hope it won’t be any time soon.
I have said on many occasions that coming to the WWE in 1993 was the best career move I have ever made. I remain steadfast in that opinion to this very day. I have seen the WWE grow into a publicly traded, global brand and have had the privilege of signing some of the biggest stars in WWE history as EVP of Talent Relations not to mention broadcasting hundreds of matches and some of the biggest events in the history of the business. I have been truly blessed with my career that simply started out as being a fan who watched one hour of wrestling a week religiously even while enduring ridicule from some family members and many of my pals.
The business has changed a great deal since I first started doing commentary and play by play. The emphasis from a creative and production stand point on doing actual play by play has changed to being more of a storyteller. That’s simply what we are produced to do. Just like my Dad taught me, if one takes a man’s money for working for him then by all means do the best job one can and follow the boss’ marching orders whether one agrees with the orders or not. I am not paid to agree but paid to describe what I see within the guidelines for the current philosophy of TV production.
Another point to clear up is that my contract expired on October 29 but I signed a contract extension of the old document while the WWE and I were negotiating my new deal. I was never NOT under contract but simply had my old contract extended while the company and I were talking.
God willing I will be around for many more years to come with the WWE. If not, I have had a wonderful “run”. It was a “run” I could never have predicted in the early days of my career. Again, I have truly been blessed and the quality of life I have been able to establish via the WWE has been life changing.
So from here on out, unless I change my game plan for some undetermined reason, we will take it one year at a time and hope for the best. I want to work as long as it remains fun and my work doesn’t suck pond water. Nonetheless I will always be a fan of the business that has been such an important part of my life personally and professionally for well over 40 years.
I hope all of you will come along for the ride and continue to be in my corner as you have for many years. Just as we all don’t like the same food, the same sports, worship the same, watch the same TV shows, or listen to the same music, the current sports entertainment product may not be every old schooler’s cup of tea but the business is ever changing and just like the Oklahoma weather, if you don’t like it today just wait until tomorrow. I am excited about the future of the business because I feel there are many exciting changes on their way and I am curious to see what young talents step up and hunt with the big dogs and become main event stars in the future. This business is about building and developing “stars” and the stars of tomorrow are out there somewhere. Many of them probably don’t even know it. Interesting times lie a head.
Thanks and have a great Thanksgiving and a safe weekend.
J.R.
The Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame has posted the following announcement regarding the Class of 2007 inductees:
AMSTERDAM, NY- The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum (PWHF) is pleased to announce the 2007 PWHF Induction Class and Senator Farley Awardee. The PWHF, a New York State chartered not-for-profit corporation, will be celebrating its Sixth Annual Induction Weekend in May of 2007.
In the Pioneer Era Category former World Champions Earl Caddock and Gus Sonnenberg will be honored. Earl Caddock was born in 1888 to German Jewish parents and he battled tuberculosis as a child. After a very successful amateur career, Earl was trained for professional wrestling by the legendary Frank Gotch and Farmer Burns before making his debut in 1915. On April 19, 1917, he won the World Wrestling Title by defeating Joe Stecher in Omaha, Nebraska. His outstanding career continued until it was interrupted by his service in World War 1. Caddock retired following his final bid to regain the Championship from Ed Lewis in 1922. He died of heart problems in 1950.
Gustave “Gus” Sonnenberg was born in Michigan in 1898. He was a relatively small man by wrestling standards. Gus was only 5’7” tall and weighed approximately 200 pounds. He was highly educated and attended both Dartmouth and the University of Detroit, where he graduated with a law degree. He was well versed in many sports and he had a successful college and professional football career. However, it was wrestling for which he will always be remembered. Possessing unusual strength and speed, Sonnenberg used his football skills in the ring to develop his “flying tackle” move. In January of 1929, Gus defeated Strangler Lewis at Boston Gardens to gain the World’s Championship. Sonnenberg died of leukemia in 1944 at the young age of 46.
In the Television Era Category, the 2007 inductees are Danny Hodge and Pat O’Connor. Born in 1932, Danny Hodge was a three-time NCAA wrestling champion at the University of Oklahoma. He wrestled in the Olympics and won a Silver Medal in 1956. He was the first wrestler to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Trained by “Strangler” Lewis, Danny also had a stellar professional career holding the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship a record eight times. He also achieved great success as a tag team wrestler. Danny continues to live in his hometown of Perry, Oklahoma with Dolores, his bride of over fifty years.
The other honoree in the Television Category is Pat O’Connor. Born in 1925 in New Zealand, Patrick “Pat” O’Connor was known for his athletic and wrestling ability. He was truly a wrestler’s wrestler and one of the best “workers” of his era. Pat first won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Dick Hutton and at one time held both the AWA and NWA belts simultaneously. In 1961 O’Connor dropped the belt to Buddy Rogers in front of a record of over 38,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Pat was later a booker in St. Louis. He succumbed to cancer in 1990.
The Modern Era Inductees for this coming year are Ted DiBiase and Roddy Piper. Born in 1954, Ted DiBiase is the stepson of former professional wrestler Iron Mike DiBiase. Ted started his wrestling career while a student at West Texas State University after being trained by Dory Funk Jr. Ted met his first wrestling successes in the late 1970’s in the National Wrestling Alliance. However, his destiny was to become one of the all time great heels as the “Million Dollar Man” in the World Wrestling Federation. His finishing move was the “Million Dollar Dream”. DiBiase was also a master with the microphone. One of his most memorable events was negotiating the championship belt from Andre the Giant following Andre’s defeat of Hulk Hogan for the title in 1988. Since his retirement from the ring, Ted has stayed active in the sport as a manager and creative consultant. He also travels regularly as a Christian minister. Roderick Toombs, better known as Rowdy Roddy Piper, was also born in 1954. Though of Scottish descent, he was actually raised in Winnipeg, Canada. Roddy became a professional wrestler at age 15, making him one of the youngest performers of all time. As a Golden Gloves boxer and a black belt judo expert, Roddy achieved success in combat sports other than wrestling. Roddy enjoyed great successes on the West Coast during the mid to late 1970’s in the NWA but Piper etched his permanent mark while in the WWF in the 1980’s. Not only did Roddy have memorable matches in Wrestlemanias but he also created a hugely popular interview segment known as “Piper’s Pit”. In the late 1990’s, Roddy joined WCW before later returning to the WWE. It has been reported that Piper has held thirty-eight professional wrestling titles and been victorious in over 7,000 professional matches. Roddy is also an accomplished actor and has appeared in over thirty movies.
The 2007 International Category Inductee is Karl Gotch. Karl Istaz, aka Karl Gotch, was born in 1924 in Antwerp, Belgium of German and Hungarian ancestry. With a strong amateur career, Karl competed for Belgium in the 1948 Olympics. Karl was trained professionally by Billy Riley in Britain at the famous “Snake Pit”.
Subsequently he developed a reputation as a top “shooter”, often under the name of Karl Krauser. In the late 1950’s, Karl began his tours in the United States. Karl found relative success in Australia and America but his ultimate appreciation came in Japan, where his technical skills were greatly respected. In Japan, he was labeled as the “God of Professional Wrestling” due to his influence on the Japanese wrestling style. Considered by many to be the greatest living technical professional wrestler in the world, Karl is retired and lives in Florida.
The Senator Hugh Farley Award, which is given to a wrestler who has brought honor and dignity to professional wrestling, will be presented to Dr. Billy Darnell. The Farley award is determined by committee decision and is based upon the ring career as well as the non-wrestling societal contributions made by the honoree. Chairpersons this year were Bob Bryla and John Pantozzi. Billy Darnell twice held the NWA World Tag Team title with partner Bill Melby. His matches with Buddy Rogers are considered legendary. Darnell secured his retirement from wrestling by obtaining a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and has continued to serve his fellow man in that field to this very day. Interestingly, Dr. Darnell once wrestled Dr. John Bonica, a past recipient of the PWHF New York State Award, which was the forerunner of the Farley Award.
The 2007 Women’s Category Inductee will be Cora Combs of Nashville, Tennessee. Combs made her professional ring debut in 1950. She battled all of the top female performers including World Champion Mildred Burke. During her career, Cora held the NWA Southern Women’s Championship belt. She wrestled as “Lady Satan” frequently and trained her daughter, Debbie Combs, on the fine points of the mat wars. Cora and Debbie had entertaining matches against each other as well as forming a tag team combination at other points in time.
The inductees for the TagTeam Category are Chris and John Tolos. Real life brothers, Chris and John were born in Hamilton, Canada and nicknamed the “Hamilton Wrecking Crew”. In the 1960’s, they held multiple versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship as well as the WWWF Tag Team Title, which they won from Killer Kowalski and Gorilla Monsoon in 1963. Known as great workers, the brothers relied on their natural loyalty to one another to get themselves over with the fans. In the 1970’s, John developed a strong reputation as a singles wrestle due to a classic feud with Freddie Blassie in Los Angeles. Chris remained in Canada to wrestle single matches as well. In 2005, cancer claimed the life of Chris in Hamilton, Ontario.
Jack Pfefer is the recipient in the 2007 Non-Participant Category. Born near Warsaw, Poland in 1894, the colorful Jacob “Jack” Pfefer came to the United States as a theatre agent. Several years later, Jack became involved in the professional wrestling business. He first started in Chicago and then moved to New York to work with the legendary promoter Jack Curley. Following a bitter dispute within the New York promoting circle, Pfefer exposed the internal workings of the “wrestling business” to the press. The public perception of the sport was impacted and later led to the popularizing of the entertainment aspect of professional wrestling. Exaggerated ring personas became his trademark. Jack Pfefer died in Massachusetts in 1974. His vast collection of mementos from his 45 years in the wrestling may be viewed at the University of Notre Dame.
The PWHF officials wish to thank California Attorney Robert Oates for his outstanding leadership as Chairperson of the Screening Committee this year. Also serving on the Screening Committee were wrestling historian J Michael Kenyon and wrestling memorabilia expert John Pantozzi. The PWHF also wishes to acknowledge the support from Karl Lauer, Executive Vice-President of the Cauliflower Alley Club. The rotating thirty member Board of Selectors, which is equally divided between professional wrestlers and wrestling experts, voted upon this year’s ballot.
As further information regarding the planned May18 & 19, 2007 Induction Weekend develops, it may be obtained on the PWHF website address http://www.pwhf.org/.
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