Jim Ross Says Roman Reigns Doesn’t Need to Be Force Fed Down Fans’ Throats

In a recent blog post on his official website, JRsBarBQ.com, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross says Roman Reigns doesn’t need to be force fed down fans’ throats like they feel has been WWE’s nature with the superstar. He also discusses his thoughts on WWE “Extreme Rules,” The New Day and Sheamus’ new roles as heels, and more.

In discussing the progress of Reigns, Ross believes that he has all of the tools to be the superstar the company wants him to be. He also states that the fans may even get behind him like the company desires, as long as they do not force Reigns down their throats.

Ross writes,

“Roman Reigns is on track to become what WWE wants him to be.

I believe in this athlete and feel that he simply needs time and not to be force fed the audience and he will end up being the star that WWE wants/needs.

Reigns match with Big Show was a pleasant surprise and arguably the best match on the show.”

The Oklahoma native goes on to talk about “Extreme Rules” as whole, saying,

“All in all it’s getting more challenging by the year for WWE to have an “Extreme” card in a PG world based on what the audience is conditioned to understand what “Extreme”means within the genre.”

In regards to The New Day and Sheamus’ new roles as heels, Ross writes,

“Loved the tag team title match and have no issues with New Day becoming tag champions as long as they work diligently in learning how be a great villain trio ala the Freebirds but that might be asking too much.

Now the best team in WWE in years, Kidd and Cesaro, can chase which is a good thing and can add more relevancy to the tag titles which have been somewhat cold in recent months.

Sheamus is on track to become a hit as a villain if he continues to perfect the nuances necessary to do so. He’s a big, bully of a man who seems to enjoy his bad guy positioning. His match with Ziggler provided me with a surprising outcome.

Thought the ass kissing phase went a little long but in the end, no pun intended, Ziggler got a win and has an issue while Sheamus left with heat. Good for both.”

Ross also took to his site on April 28 to share his thoughts on the passing of WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne, saying,

“Sad hearing of the passing of the great Verne Gagne at the age of 89 Monday from the affects of dementia in an assisted living home where Verne required 24 hour care. The founder of the AWA and one of the first, national TV stars on the DuMont Network in the early 1950’s, Gagne was a member of virtually every Hall of Fame imaginable including being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.  Gagne was essentially the original Brock Lesnar, in many aspects, before there was a Brock Lesnar. He was the University of Minnesota National Wrestling Champion twice and then came a meteoric rise to stardom only a short time after breaking in the business.

Verne was my mentor, Cowboy Bill Watts, mentor and therefore Verne always considering himself my “Grandfather” in the wrestling biz. At an Independent TV convention in Vegas one year, Verne who had just attended cocktail hour when told me that he taught Cowboy all that Bill knew about the business which made Bill my “father in wrestling” which in turn made Verne my ‘Grandfather” in the biz.

Then Verne quickly snatched me in a very snug headlock just to prove he was still the alpha male that he had always been and to leave me something to remember him by. After relinquishing the headlock to the shock of many TV executive bystanders, Verne gave me a big hug and with a healthy laugh told me he loved my work and to “not let Watts ruin me” again a joke directed to Bill who Verne was very proud of with Cowboy’s promotion doing so well based in Oklahoma. 

Verne Gagne was a man’s man who was a legit, two sport star at the University of Minnesota, football and wrestling, and will always be considered one of the most significant and influential men in the history of pro wrestling. He also trained many amazing stars and loved to utilize legit athletes with which to mold into pro mat stars much like Bill Watts, Eddie Graham and even myself did back in the day in WWE.

So many within the world of wrestling will forever be indebted to Verne Gagne for what he did for their careers and even though I never worked for Verne he helped me indirectly have the career that I’ve had the past 40 years. Men like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, the Iron Sheik, Ken Patera, Sgt. Slaughter and countless others would say essentially the same thing.  

My condolences to the Gagne family and Verne’s many friends, associates, and all the people that he influenced over the years. Verne Gagne was  true pioneer in the annals of the genre so many of us love and his contributions will never be forgotten.”

You can read both blog posts and more over at JRsBarBQ.com.

You can also watch WrestlingRumors.net‘s own Samantha and Adam Daley’s thoughts about “Extreme Rules” here.

Editor’s Note:

I have to agree with Ross, as usual. Been saying it for months. It’s not Reigns that everyone has the issue with. It’s the way he’s been pushed on the fans as the next handpicked poster child. They took a bad ass somewhat silent Samoan, and made him cheesy on the mic. It’s just not what the fans wanted to see with the guy.