Jim Ross takes on New Japan Pro Wrestling

The most iconic voice of the wrestling world, Jim Ross refuses to acknowledge the word retire. After his departure from the WWE, Jim did reduce his schedule but always let the door open for projects that interested him.

Jim took time out of his schedule to talk with FanSided about New Japan Pro Wrestling, his book, working with Paul Heyman and a whole lot more.

New Japan Pro Wrestling in November lost Mauro Ranallo to the WWE. Obviously they were in search of a new play-by-play announcer and your name was in the mix. What was the selling point for you to do pro wrestling announcing again?

Well my business manager called me and said AXS TV was looking for a replacement for Mauro for the NJPW.  I said of course let me know the travel schedule and all the details. So in January we all had a deal that we all liked and agreed upon. I like the schedule as I go out to LA eight times a year. So the travel schedule is light which I’m always in favor of. Plus, I have the perfect partner in Josh Barnett.

I also really enjoy working with the AXS TV people because they are young, energetic, very smart and the biggest thing is they are life long wrestling fans. It was a nice complete package that motivated me to get back into the game.

As you mentioned Josh Barnett is your partner in the booth. How do you think your relationship inside the booth is going to grow with Josh who has been your friend for a very long time?

Well I have been an avid watcher of the show Friday Night for a very long time. I knew of Josh and I knew he was the youngest UFC Heavyweight Champion ever and really enjoyed his work. He was a Billy Robinson student and I think he’s a perfect person for these shows. He understands why holds work when they are applied correctly and understands the overall roster. We try to come up with a sports like presentation for the New Japan product. Even though you have the pyro and lights, to me it’s still about the bell to bell. You aren’t going to hear us deviate much from the action in the ring which I think makes a much better presentation.

Josh is a perfect partner to have. We have done six shows already and I think we are going to be a fun team to listen to. We want to be the best broadcast team in the business and why wouldn’t you? It’s going to take some time but we will get there. People will see the way we work compared to other talents on other North America wrestling shows.

There has been quite the debate on the commentary booth involving the amount of people that should be involved. You being part of both the three men and two-man crew has its positives and negatives. But do you think professional wrestling should stick with the two-man pairing?

Well I’m not a big fan of the 3-man booth and I’ve been on plenty of them. My first debut was with Vince and King on Monday Night Raw. That actually was probably my favorite team that I was on. I just think it gets crowded and guys are competitive by nature and we sometimes forget we are on television instead of radio. We also forget that it’s not always necessary to always to have a rhetoric for everything that is said. I sometimes think the products is over discussed. If you see something in the ring happening and hear something totally different, it really makes it confusing commentary.

I love the 2-man because it allows the show to breathe and helps the exchanges feel more natural and don’t have to talk wall to wall. Sometimes adding that third guy makes it feel really awkward. You have the play-by-play guy established and then the color commentary but then you have to figure out what the hell the role of the third guy is.

You aren’t doing a talk show. You are doing allegedly a sporting event and you would focus on the wrestling and not the witty announcing remarks. How many voices do you need over there? What productive thing is going to happen with three voices that can’t happen with two? I don’t know the answer to that question.

You announced last year that you were working on a self autobiography of your life. Is there an update that you can share of when it will be released?

We still don’t have a release date. Officially the book is halfway done and sample copies have been sent to the literary agent. Then hopefully he can go out and start shopping the book this month. Then we will find out who’s interested in our project and who isn’t. I would have to guess it would be a photo finish to be finished by the holidays. But I think it’s closer to WrestleMania season of next year.

But I’m not rushing to make a pay-day. Do we want to make money on it? Well yeah, but is it all about making money? Absolutely not.  The book has to be accurate, honest and has to be real. We want the book to be good and if it is all the other things will fall into place.

Your PODCAST continues to do great numbers with the unique guests you have each and every week. The rumor has been that the WWE doesn’t allow any of their talent on your Podcast. Does complicate things when trying to book guests for future shows?

I’m not even sure that is a rule. I never asked the WWE for any guests. To be honest I’m not sure if they would or wouldn’t book me anyone if I asked. I’ve been happy with the guests I have had on. They aren’t booked randomly but they are asked to come on with a certain train of thought and questions to be asked. This week I had Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett who were great to have on and are a very unique couple in the business.

I get some really cool people on my podcast and I like to get people who Podcast people don’t use. I enjoy the conversations and I think I can get it rolling with someone who can put a sentence together.

Paul Heyman is another iconic name in professional wrestling. You have worked with Paul for many years not only in commentary but behind the scenes as well. What was it like seeing Paul star in WCW and developing into one of the greatest minds in sports entertainment?

Heyman in WCW was high-strung and hard to deal with it was the older guys and the booking committee. Not everyone but some. He was a little defiant. But he was very intelligent and I said I would work with him and the booking committee was ecstatic. They were probably happy I got him out of their hair. While in WCW, I let him be that villain character that he was so good at it and it came so natural to him.

When Lawler left the WWE for a while and WrestleMania 17 came around Paul was my choice and became my partner again. We had a great another run there. A lot of people have said 17 was the best WrestleMania from start to finish. Whether it was or it wasn’t, is subjective. He was smart and enjoyed being his natural personality which is a heel. I always told him that he was so easy to be disliked and that is one of the greatest traits a villain could have. I don’t know if he’s a villain anymore but he’s entertaining.

Paul is a compelling character and he is the best at cutting promos in all of wrestling. If there is someone out there that I’m missing please bring it to my attention.