Jim Ross Praises NXT Takeover: Rival, Discusses the Perception of Fast Lane as a Throwaway Show, and More

– Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBq.com and shared his thoughts on NXT Takeover: Rival, WWE Fast Lane, and more. Below are some highlights:

His thoughts on NXT Takeover: Rival: “Enjoyed the NXT show this week on @WWENetwork from start to finish. The announcing was strong, kept me on point and paying attention. The broadcasters did their best to embellish the talents, both winners and losers, and they all seemed to be on the same page and well prepared. The in ring talents stayed true to the fundamentals of the genre inasmuch as the villains cheated to gain unfair advantages, were vicious when the opportunity presented itself and showed timely cowardice. The fan favorites did not cheat first and they never gave up on their fans and kept fighting until the end no matter the outcome.

“The genre of sports entertainment or pro wrestling or whatever you choose to call it, it essentially a simple business when executed properly and when the fundamentals are stressed and adhered to by all involved including the referees. I was proud of all involved and love the talent’s aggression and physicality. Being aggressive and physical cures many deficiencies.”

His thoughts on Kevin Owens’ performance and becoming NXT champion: “I think that Kevin Owens is going to be an excellent champion for NXT and he, along with a handful of others are going to be WWE ready much sooner than later. WWE signing some talents with experience from the Indies, etc and then refining their game in Orlando has been a strategic move.”

Ross on why Fast Lane should not be a throwaway show: “Some one emailed me at our Q&A’s here that they thought that the WWE Fast Lane PPV was merely going to be a throwaway show & and I couldn’t disagree more or least it shouldn’t be. I’d shoot some major league angles that would lead into WM31 not unlike any major city who had big wrestling cards every month. Always build to the next show, pose more questions than answers and get down and dirty with your key revenue drivers. The competition to see who is going to be in the WWE Title match at WM31 must be keen because nothing in WWE should be more important to any of the talents than being the champion. Sometimes I don’t get that feeling as unless talents are in the immediate mix for the title they rarely mention it.”