I've done everything. I've been ring crew, I've been driver for a blind promoter, I've been a valet, I've been a referee, I've been a ring announcer, I've been a corporate officer, play-by-play man, blah, blah, blah. No one has been on my journey.
— Jim Ross
I don't have a bad thing to say about Vince McMahon.
I'm a big fan of Lance Archer, Jeff Cobb, Luke Harper.
I don't hate anyone, especially any college football team.
I like Twitter because I'm a creature of the short-attention span theater. I can get a lot of sports opinions and other things and Twitter tells me what time it is, but not how to make the watch.
My mother and father both died at 64.
I've always thought Wrestlemania is a special event that brings the best out of everybody, whether it's the wrestlers or the broadcasters or whomever, and I still believe that.
Sometimes our passion will motivate us to say things that can easily be misunderstood.
For anyone to say that The Rock made a bad decision in pursuing a film career, with the success that film career has garnered, is ill-advised.
I've been a wrestling fan my whole life, and for so many years a lot of us have been, for lack of a better word, bullied. We've been teased, kidded, eyes rolled from our peers and family members. 'You watch wrestling?!?' I see my shows as a safe zone, a safe haven.
I can make a valid argument that Bobby Heenan is pro wrestling's great performer.
When I first arrived in WWE after having a somewhat high profile on-air role in WCW, it was WrestleMania season. In a way, I was perceived to be the voice of WCW after the Ted Turner/TBS buyout of Jim Crockett Promotions. That 'claim to fame' did not endear me to many WWE personnel.
I was lucky to have been able to work so closely with Vince McMahon as he was able to see up-close what I could contribute to WWE, which lead to some amazing years not only at ringside, but also in the boardroom.
Working with one's boss is a totally different dynamic than working with a peer, especially when doing live or live-to-tape commentary of a genre as unique as sports-entertainment.
That's what friends do - support each other as best that they can no matter the circumstances.
On a very personal note, my dear friend, the late Steve 'Dr. Death' Williams was a four-time amateur wrestling All-American who also lettered and started four years on the football team at Oklahoma. I've met no man walking the face of the earth tougher than Doc. R.I.P., my friend.
The fans of the U.K. are tremendously supportive of the efforts of the WWE Superstars, which is why every wrestler I know loves to be a part of the tours to the U.K.
The thing that people should remember, is that back in the day, because wrestling does not have a season, every week is a week of first run TV. In the territories that I worked in, specifically, we never had a rerun. So those shows that aired, aired one time to their constituency.
Vince McMahon has overachieved his entire life in a big way. I got to know him really well and still have great respect for him.
WrestleMania is a major event and that's an understatement obviously, but it's a major event from the standpoint that many other companies use WrestleMania as a source of creating new revenue.
We've only got so much energy in our bodies, and if you want to use some of it for hate, if you choose to exert it negatively, I feel for you. I choose to not hate any team. I use whatever is in my tank for good.
I can always get better at what I'm doing because I'm not nearly as good as I think I can be. I'm going to try to improve every chance I get.
There's always another adventure if you keep your head above water and I don't have any desire to slow down because it keeps you young.
Jericho is generally considered a main event guy, as he should be. He's a future Hall of Famer, I believe. So any rub, for lack of a better term, that AJ Styles can get from Chris Jericho is positive.
I am an emotional guy. I try to be very honest.
I would never tie in creative with a talent's contract. To me, that is insanity. Creative needs change, talents evolve or not, and to be locked in to a talent having the ability to not run the plays that the team dictates is not smart business.
When you get the rush of live performing, it's hard to give that up.
Bobby Heenan did what every announcer should strive to do and that is to make talent bigger stars than they are and to embellish every talent's TV persona.
The black man's journey within the genre of grappling wasn't unlike the challenges their brethren faced in professional sports, entertainment and, most importantly, everyday life. To say it was challenging would be a massive understatement.
Unlike the on-air talents in the NFL where they have producers figuratively joined at their hip, providing them with info and tidbits of data, we WWE announcers are responsible for getting ourselves ready for every broadcast.
I've heard Jerry do mini concerts while driving, especially when the music of The Beatles or a handful of other 'British Invasion' bands aired. Hearing Jerry Lawler sing with a British accent is quite an experience.
Without question, Jerry 'The King' Lawler is my most recognizable partner and my favorite to work with over the years. We endured several things together that reach far beyond merely signing on and subsequently saying 'good night everybody' at the end of the show.
For my money, Dan Hodge is the greatest amateur wrestler ever produced in the U.S.A.
Sept. 11, 2001, still feels like a blur to me. I wish it were simply a bad, re-occurring dream, but unfortunately it isn't.
I'm still a wrestling fan: That's how I started out, that's how I will end the day.
Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson were not giants, they were giants in the ring, they drew money, people loved them and that's what you find in the Young Bucks.
That's how I look at it, if you're a wrestling fan, either support everybody and their families to make a living or just hold all of your overt criticism to yourself.
When I need quick info, Twitter tells me.
I'm not fixated on death but I know tomorrows are not guaranteed.
Wrestlemania is big, and I'm glad that I got to go on a real interesting 21-year ride on the road to and out of Wrestlemania.
We live in a very defiant society, especially among young men in the WWE's target demographic. So sometimes when you're really trying to promote somebody and build them, the audience can easily take it as you're trying to force somebody upon them.
You can't be a team player today and not a team player tomorrow.
I always say the wrestlers provide the music and the announcers write the lyrics. You have to feel what you're seeing and experiencing to write the best lyrics.
The adrenaline of performing live in front of an audience is a feeling that's hard to replicate.
Two men that did treat me well from day one were Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. Thanks to them being old pros and having the class of a pair of WWE Hall of Famers and true gentlemen, I was given a chance to prove myself to them as a human being.
Aug. 2, 1992, was one of the most memorable moments in sports-entertainment. It was on that night in Baltimore, that Ron Simmons became the first African American recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling.
Most fans don't realize how challenging it is to broadcast live TV, especially in a hybrid genre such as WWE.
In the early days, Jerry was an antagonist, which was arguably his best casting. 'The King's' quick wit is perfectly suited to be an antagonist, but at the same time, he's so funny that it is hard to hate Jerry Lawler as the villain - especially at this stage of his long career.
The Heisman Trophy equivalent in collegiate wrestling is named the Dan Hodge Award, which illustrates just how Dan is perceived within that culture.
Long before social media and even television, enterprising wrestling promoters wisely scouted and signed new stars that would not only help them sell tickets, but also garner publicity from mainstream sports media.
