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WWE PULLING ROSS FROM ANNOUNCING AGAIN, THE NWA NOT WANTING THE NWA LEGENDS FANFEST TO WORK WITH THEM, WRESTLERS WHO WOULD HAVE DONE WELL IN UFC AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2012-11-15 10:00:01
After Jerry Lawler's heart attack, WWE brings back JR to handle announcing. They even do a JR Appreciation night, and give him a nice honor and call him "The Voice of the WWE". And now Jerry Lawler is back, and JR is again out of a job. Hell, it's not like they couldn't have put JR back on Smackdown. No offense to JBL and Josh Matthews, but how do you bring back JR, give him a seemingly nice honor for being the best announcer you've ever had, and then go out and replace him when he's still the best in the business? Am I missing something here? (And what happened to Booker on Smackdown?)

Jim Ross was never brought back to be a full-time announcer, only to help fill the void with Jerry Lawler being gone from his duties. I am sure they will use Ross from time to time, but the belief within the company (as dopey as it is) is that Ross is better used in his backstage role of handling payoffs and assisting in scouting. I'd much rather have the best announcer of all time calling the shows, but that's just me.

I saw that you wrote the NWA didn't want Greg Price using the initials of the company any more in conjunction with his legends gatherings. So, let me get this straight: Price, who has done more than anyone in the last decade to celebrate the nostalgia and legacy of the NWA when it was at its height of popularity has been repaid for all that work by being told he isn't allowed to use the NWA initials? What monkeys are in charge of this company now?

Yeah, that's pretty much the scenario. I believe part of the issue may have been with having to license the use of the letters going forward, which the promotion has been doing with a number of promoters. The makeup of the entire NWA has changed since Bruce Tharpe and his partners have taken control of the company and this is not one of the more positive changes. To me, if you have someone that props up those initials and makes them look stronger, that's an asset you want around - but apparently the NWA doesn't feel the same. With the departure of names like Price, Dave Marquez and Adam Pearce from the organization, the "new crew" has a hell of a job ahead of them in getting back to where the NWA was, especially now that they are without their most visible and vocal supporters.

Who were the Conquistadores?

Jose Estrada and Jose Luis Rivera.

What was the worst all time wrestling book ever written?

The Chyna autobiography was probably the least likeable autobiography I've ever read.

If you could go back in time and put a legitimate tough guy from pro wrestling into UFC, who would you put?

That's actually a hell of a question. I'd really like to see what Kurt Angle, Maxx Payne, Steve Williams and Danny Hodge could have done in MMA. Of guys today, I think Low Ki, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Davey Richards immediately come to mind.

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