Daily Update: Jim Ross, Finn Balor, Jelly Roll

Jim Ross
Jim Ross waves to fans at AEW event. (Image credit: AEW)

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the topics covered:

  • Ted Turner’s legacy in sports
  • The history of pro wrestling on the Turner Networks
  • The skyrocketing success and rapid decline of WCW
  • The television heyday of Georgia Championship Wrestling
  • How Ted Turner first got involved in pro wrestling
  • Why Vince McMahon hated Ted Turner and how irrational it was at times
  • The local TV business in the early 70s
  • The 1972-74 Atlanta wrestling war, how it started and ended
  • The start of Gordon Solie and Tony Schiavone on TBS
  • The growth of TBS
  • The launching of CNN
  • How Vince McMahon got on TBS
  • Why McMahon and Turner had issues during their year working together
  • The role Jim Barnett played
  • The death of Mid South Wrestling
  • The death of Jim Crockett Promotions
  • The death of WCW
  • How Barnett manipulated the Crocketts getting on TBS
  • Vince McMahon’s cable power plays and Turner’s reactions
  • The signing of Hulk Hogan and rise of Eric Bischoff
  • Hall, Nash and Bret Hart come to WCW
  • How Bischoff nearly purchased WCW and how it fell through
  • A reprint of a 2001 article on the closing of WCW that Ted Turner himself read and praised
  • Reaction to the death of WCW
  • Numerous people react to the death
  • The tribute on AEW television
  • His exploits in other sports
  • Rupert Murdoch, Ric Flair, Jane Fonda, Tony Khan and others in sports comment on Turner’s death
  • Turner’s life after he lost control of the networks
  • His charitable work
  • Update on Tanea “Rebel” Brooks
  • A first look at how UFC is performing and its revenue driven vs. expense for Paramount
  • WWE cuts continue and are looked at
  • A crazy note about the income of just four of TKO’s top executives and how it compares to the pay for UFC and WWE athletes. This is absolutely shocking
  • Nick Khan’s new contract with TKO
  • Why so many cuts were made this year and more notes on the pay cuts
  • New Day bid farewell
  • WWE & UFC first quarter financials looked at
  • More talk regarding Middle East shows, Zuffa Boxing, and complaints regarding WWE and UFC
  • Backlash preview, business notes and odds
  • Notes on AEW Double or Nothing
  • New Japan Dontaku coverage
  • Nico Ali Walsh on Nick Khan’s testimony before Congress
  • NOAH big show notes
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the pro wrestling and MMA shows this past week
  • Fantastica Mania Mexico
  • CMLL vs. MLW at Arena Mexico notes
  • Grande Americano vs. Grande Americano
  • Lots of injury updates
  • Who in AEW was set for a major push that is now on hold
  • Champion Carnival down to final four
  • Cuatrero convicted in domestic violence case involving Stephanie Vaquer
  • Raja Jackson case coming to a close
  • Former WWE wrestler murder case makes pub again
  • Worldwide YouTuber numbers
  • Dana White talks McGregor’s return
  • Notes on Roman Reigns and his schedule
  • When did Nick Khan learn Vince McMahon was being investigate for sex trafficking
  • Janel Grant gets more public
  • Notes from WWE’s television contracts

This Week’s Back Issue

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Thursday Update

Finn Balor WWE Demon
Finn Balor competes at WWE WrestleMania 42. (Image credit: WWE)

WWE

  • Finn Balor told Stephanie McMahon that, while he loves Japan, he doesn’t think he wants to wrestle there full-time again before the end of his career:
    • I always kind of imagined myself going back to Japan to finish my career in Japan. I didn’t want to leave Japan, but I kind of wanted to roll the dice with WWE and give it a try. And like, if I had a year at NXT and then it didn’t work out, I would have happily went back to Japan.
    • I like how everything [in Japan] is just exactly as you see it. There’s no bullsh*t. Like, people are straight with you. It’s ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. Everything’s clean, organized. Maybe I was immune to the politics because I didn’t speak the language so good. So I was kind of ignorant to that stuff, you know? And obviously, when you look back on any time, romantically, you always kind of hold that up.
    • I fell in love with Japan, but I don’t want to go back to wrestling in Japan, I don’t think. I’d love to go back to Japan and spend time there. When we go back with WWE, it’s absolutely incredible. To perform for WWE in Japan, that’s the dream.
    • Maybe we can set up an NXT Japan. [Triple H] might need a right-hand man to run it. Me and Shinsuke [Nakamura] I think would do a good job over there, right? God, that would be incredible. Go back to my dojo training days.
  • DJ Bootleg Kev shared that his friend Jelly Roll was “very self aware” that fans would not like him getting involved in the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton WrestleMania 42 story:
    • I’m pretty comfortable in saying this. I’m really close to Jelly Roll — he was very self aware that he was being pushed into a storyline that he probably didn’t need to be pushed into. And he was pushing, he was being very vocal about wanting to be involved in a storyline that is still playing out currently that was more comedic.
    • And he was like, ‘Guys, if you put me into this thing, I promise you it’s going to cook. It’s going to f**k.’ I was there at SmackDown in Phoenix and I heard him having these convos with certain people at WWE. And they still decided to – and, look, if you’re him, you’re like, ‘Hey man, if you’re going to push me into the main event of WrestleMania, I’m not going to say no. But I don’t think people are going to [like it].’ And then to me it wasn’t even him so much, the McAfee thing was like – it was just weird. It just made no sense.
  • US Weekly asked Cody Rhodes how he would feel about his daughters Liberty and Leilani becoming wrestlers:
    • I would say the same thing my dad said, which was cool. ‘You can go into it, but you have to be the best.’ And that’s easier said than done, but I think they could certainly do it, those two.
  • Jimmy Hart, Diamond Dallas Page, and Fallon Henley have recorded interviews for future episodes of Rhodes’ “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast.
  • DDP posted some photos from WWE Headquarters after spending the day there yesterday for the podcast.
  • Jake Paul claimed that TKO has “major beef” with him over the back and forth he’s gotten into with UFC boss Dana White:
    • From my side, I’m just having fun. And the fact that one of the biggest organizations in the world, the TKO Group, has this major beef with me – they won’t even let me be in my brother’s WWE matches because they hate me so much. And so it’s pretty wild how much under their skin we are. And to me, yeah, it’s just been a fun journey. I enjoy sh*t talk. I like when people make fun of me. I’m easy to make fun of. You know, I’m able to make fun of myself, so the beef to me is just fun and entertaining for everybody.
  • Gunther shared a video working out in the gym with Ilja Dragunov.
  • Italian YouTuber Enry Lazza has an interview with Gunther.
  • Sami Zayn appeared on Huge Pop! with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas.
  • Ethan Page was the guest on Complex’s Graps podcast this week.

Other Wrestling

  • On his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said he plans on being in New York for AEW Double or Nothing on May 24:
    • I tell ya, AEW’s TV shows, and I know people expect us to ballyhoo it, to put it over – it’s easy to put it over when it’s good. And their TVs lately have been very good. And what they’re doing with Darby, they’re not doing anything more important on their television than featuring Darby Allin and letting us support him and get behind him and all that stuff. So he’s very resilient, and I like his approach a lot. So we’ll see how that materializes over the next few weeks. I plan on being in New York in a couple of weeks. And I’m excited about this card. It’s loaded, man. It’s got some good sh*t on it.
  • During an interview with Bootleg Kev, Swerve Strickland recalled seeing WWE star Oba Femi at the gym and telling Femi that, if it were up to him, Femi’s debut would have been winning the WWE Championship:
    • I met Oba at the gym and I said, ‘If I had the pen, your debut would be winning that belt.’ I was close because his debut was against Cody. And [Femi] was like, ‘How did you do this, man?’ I was like, ‘I just call it how I see it, it’s you, bro.’
  • Strickland gave his thoughts on influencers/celebrities crossing over into pro wrestling:
    • There’s a time and a place for it, for sure. Once again, it always comes back to the connection to the fan base. Like, how much have you connected with the fan base to warrant your level of involvement in said space in wrestling? You always got to listen to the fan base. They’re going to tell you what they’re receiving well. 
    • They’re like children, they cry when they’re getting something they don’t want. Or they’re going to cry when they want something. And then you feed it to them and they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, that satisfied me. You answered what I was [looking for].’ It’s the same way. They’re going to tell you when they don’t like it or they’re not digesting it well.
  • While looking ahead to his Best of the Super Juniors matchups, Jun Kasai gave his thoughts on Nick Wayne:
    • Yeah, we’ve been in GCW together and we’ve talked a bit. He’s younger than my son! If I lose to him, how can I look my own boy in the eye? [laughs]. But he really is a prodigy. You have this young protege and an average old vet. But even though I’m average, what I have in spades is passion. That’s what I’ve had for 28 years. That’s hard to beat.
  • Kasai, who is known for being a death match wrestler, described his BOSJ inclusion as a win-win:
    • I mean, if you eat your favorite food every day of the week and eventually you get sick of it. So for a misfit toy like myself to be in a top flight tournament for BOSJ it’s different for the tournament, and it’s different for me. So it’s win win.
  • After suffering a knee injury last September, CMLL wrestler Zandokan Jr. is set to return in La Copa Junior 2026. 
  • The Battleground Podcast interviewed AJ Francis.
  • ESPN published a feature story on Ronda Rousey ahead of her MMA return.
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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.