I Listen So You Don't Have To: The Ross Report, Ep. 121

Jim Ross talks at Chris DeJoseph in between blurbs about LU on tihs week's Ross Report Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 121
Run Time: 1:28:30
Guest: Chris DeJoseph

Summary: Jim Ross begins with his usual rundown of recent events, from the death of Muhammad Ali to the announcement of Brock Lesnar fighting at UFC 200. He then brings on Lucha Underground co-producer Chris DeJoseph, who always was a former employee and co-worker of Ross at WWE. Ross asks many questions about the production and planning of Lucha Underground, such as the comic book aspects of the show to its many female characters. DeJoseph says there is talk of doing a Lucha Underground movie, but nothing has come of it yet. They also talk about DeJoseph's time at WWE as a writer, where he got roped into playing the fat Chippendales-style dancer known as Big Dick Johnson.

Quote of the Week: "That was our charge from the first day of the show, to create interesting female characters that were a major part of our show and our storylines. Sexy Star, from the very beginning, was one of our superheroes. That's kind of part of why we do the intergender wrestling. In some of these superhero universes and movies, there are strong female lead characters. And all of the females in our cast are all different from one another. They each are powerful in their own way."

Why you should listen: Is there really any way one could get tired of hearing people talk about Lucha Underground? If you watch the show, then you already know that it is overflowing with excellent wrestling and groundbreaking storytelling, and it will always be fascinating to hear about how its sausage gets made (or should I say "chorizo." No? I shouldn't?). DeJoseph gives some backstage information I hadn't previously heard, like who their match agents are (Vampiro, Chavo Guerrero and Paul London).

Why you should skip it: Several people involved with Lucha Underground have already been on other wrestling podcasts, so the finer details of the show have already been dissected and discussed at great length. Perhaps you really are tired of hearing about it. Also, perhaps you're tired of hearing Jim Ross do the exact same five wrestler impressions out of context and with no sense of humor.

Final Thoughts: My esteemed colleague at The Wrestling Blog, Star of Savage, used to review The Ross Report weekly until he got so frustrated with it that he gave up. (A similar thing is going on right now with him and Cheap Heat, and I expect him to soon have a psychotic break with reality where he is committed to a padded room and can only say the words "maj" and "adjace.") Aside from Ross's godawful impressions and inability to sense a comedic moment and let it ride, my colleague's main gripe with the show was that Ross never really listens to his guests. He merely waits until they stop talking, and then he says whatever he wants to say. This usually involves him giving advice to someone who doesn't need it. In this episode, he tells DeJoseph that they should start putting little graphics on screen that tell you details about the wrestlers. DeJoseph politely tells him they'll consider it, but in his head he's probably thinking, "We are absolutely never going to do that, you ridiculous hillbilly." Ross is still up to his old tricks, and he won't be changing anytime soon.