JR Critiques Stone Cold Conundrum As UK Tour Beckons

Often linked throughout their careers, for many years both Jim Ross and Steve Austin also shared a close friendship away from the bright lights of the wrestling industry. It's fair to say that few know "The Rattlesnake" better than the legendary announcer.

Known affectionately as "Good Ol' JR" to millions of grappling fans, the one-time WWE Vice President of Talent Relations will hit UK shores for a much-anticipated spoken word tour in late-August, entitled, "An Evening With Jim Ross - The Voice Of Wrestling". Taking in Cardiff (August 24), London (August 25), Manchester (August 26) and Glasgow (August 27), the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007 inductee promises to regale fans with stories from a career spanning across five different decades.

Speaking recently to FSM, Ross expressed excitement regarding the opportunity to embrace the people he feels matter - the wrestling fans.

"This (tour) is going to take place in a much more intimate setting than I'm in front of during a television show," Ross stated. "All these venues are very manageable in size and I perceive it to be like being set in someone's giant-sized living room and having a conversation.

"I think that my stories will be unique, and hopefully not only entertaining, but informative and motivational to some degree. I hope that people come to the shows and that they leave feeling better about themselves, and also willing to set lofty goals, willing to work hard to achieve them. I hope it will have some humour, some poignancy, some motivation but all-in-all I hope that after the show people come away entertained.

"I want to take people on a journey, starting off with how I got into this business and then, what I think is going to be the most fun part, will be the Q&A section. The interaction with the fans, the ability to communicate with the audience and get them really engaged. Whether those questions are about a match, or an individual or a point in time, I'm going to do my best to answer them as honestly and forthright as I possibly can."

Ross also added his own two cents to the recent comments made by Steve Austin, during which the former six-time World champion stated he would be willing to consider a return to the ring under the correct circumstances, Ross is quick to note that Austin has many irons in the proverbial fire.

"Steve has made a lot of comments on that situation, and I don't know if I can give you a definitive yes or no," JR proclaimed. "Steve would have to commit several months of his life to get back involved, and his belief is that he needs three or four months back to full fitness. You can assume if 'Stone Cold' came back to WWE, it would be for a WrestleMania match, which it should be.

"A lot of it is dependent on his other interests. Steve has another career now - he has other jobs. He's doing the Redneck Island reality television show, and he's got another reality show that looks like it's going to make it to television. I think he starts shooting another movie in August or September. When a guy leaves the wrestling side and gets into other aspects of showbusiness, you have new people depending on you, you've got projects that you're hired to do, you've got obligations, and that will play a major role in Steve coming back. Fans think he can come back if he just doesn't do any movies for a few months; well, sometimes if you don't accept a role or a job, it goes to somebody else, and that opportunity is completely gone.

"I don't how smart a businessman he would be to turn his back on his new career to come back for one last run. Most wrestling fans probably wouldn't agree with that, but Steve's the kind of guy who wouldn't come back if he couldn't do it correctly. He's very competitive, he's very detail-orientated. But the good news is that from a physical standpoint, as far as his knees and neck are concerned, from his own words, he's good to go. He trains regularly, he does running, road work, cardio, but there's nothing that replicates stepping in the ring."

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