Jim Ross Discusses XFL Relaunch, Roman Winning Again In Philly, Stephanie McMahon and More

On Thursday’s episode of Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was a guest and discussed the news of Vince McMahon’s plan to relaunch the XFL, how he would run the new league, Stephanie McMahon’s announced participation on the announce team for the Women’s Royal Rumble Match, whether Vince would book Roman to win AGAIN in Philly, and more.

Here are some highlights sent in by the show’s producer:

If he ran the XFL, what would he change about the product vs the 2001 product:

“You’ve got to be very selective of your cities and how those cities and franchises are going to be managed and promoted. You need to sell tickets, and generally local promoters have a better handle on getting tickets sold vs outsiders, so local promotion is important.

Another issue is where do you get good officials from? The NFL sure as hell doesn’t have a monopoly on them, because you see what they’re using.”

How important is talent for the new XFL:

“It would be a good move (referencing signing RG3, Tim Tebow, Tony Romo) if you’re creating a football league from scratch. We had Tommy Maddox. He was a UCLA QB, got drafted and cut from the NFL, got picked up for the XFL and was resigned to the Steelers. I think those are the kind of stories he would be looking for.

For me, any player that plays in the XFL would want to eventually end up in the NFL. To me, that’s a great selling point. The NFL won’t admit it because they will say ‘we get our players from college football’. The XFL doesn’t have to follow those rules.”

What went wrong with the XFL the first go-round:

“The teams didn’t have enough time to practice, gel and develop chemistry. They had very little time to practice. There was very little quality football. This will be interesting to see, to see who Vince brings together. This, I’ll bet, will be a who’s who in Vince’s inner circle.”

Why he believes Vince bringing back the XFL:

“He loves taking calculated risks. I had the first meeting with him after the first XFL went down, and I think we lost 50 million or something like that. We had a regular meeting and we talked about the XFL for a minute or two. He said ‘JR I took a calculated risk and it didn’t go down. I still believe in the concept.’

I don’t have an issue with the concept. I don’t know if he’s bored or he just loves the challenge. I know that was a challenge that went unfulfilled, didn’t succeed at it, and maybe there’s something to be said about his competitive nature. I can tell you that he sees something that is different than the last go-round. It should be exciting as it progresses.”

Stephanie McMahon announcing the women’s Royal Rumble match:

“To me, it’s a booking. It’s a casting. I see it as a special guest appearance. Simple as that. In my days I’ve worked with many people, some good and some bad, but we’ve always seemed to have worked through it. She will be produced just like anyone else out there, having someone in her ear. Let’s see how it plays out.”

If Vince would book Roman Reigns to win the Royal Rumble in Philly again:

“Hell yeah he would. If he thought it was the right thing for business. I don’t have an issue with marking a talent and going all the way with them. Promoters these days love 50/50 booking. He has a star appeal. I’ve always loved this kid. I worked with him in Florida Championship Wrestling when he was a large nose tackle and needed to work on his body to get to where he is today. If it’s the right thing for business, Vince will book him.

We can’t deny the fact that Reigns gets reactions. There’s a lot of guys in wrestling that don’t get the reactions we’d like them to get. They’re not over. Reigns is over. Maybe as a heel or a controversial figure, but they damn sure like to boo him, and as long as there’s an ass every 18 inches in the seats, I don’t care.”

Busted Open airs live every Monday–Friday 9am-12pm EST on SiriusXM Rush 93