Jim Ross on Pro Wrestling Being Mainstream, Plans for His Line of Condiments, Autobiography

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently did a really good interview with Downtown Magazine NYC. The full interview can be read at this link. Below are highlights:

Within the past year or two, wrestling has become more respected with ESPN covering WWE events, Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone having beat writers on their websites, and Buzzfeed being among the websites to post content about it. Why do you think it’s become so mainstream even though there isn’t necessarily a universally-known superstar like a Hulk Hogan these days?

J: The genre of pro wrestling – a.k.a. sports entertainment — is amazingly tenured and has been a TV staple for decades. So why wouldn’t mainstream media cover it as they do a litany of other entities? It’s a global product with millions of fans, so covering the business seems logical to me for the ESPN’s, FOX Sports’, etc. of the world. Plus, the decision-makers at many of the companies covering WWE grew up as fans, perhaps.

When you were employed by the WWE, did you have any investments beyond your BBQ sauces? Were you bit by the real estate bug or the stock market at any point?

J: We did not venture out too far with our portfolio, but have been doing organized financial planning for over twenty years with the same representative. I accumulated a great deal of WWE stock over my years there which has served us well. We had a failed restaurant concept that was derailed by the state highway department closing the exit to our location for an excruciatingly long period of time. That was the only set back that we’ve encountered financially, but it also made us some money while it was open. So we look at it as a unique experience, take the good we learned from it, and continue to move forward. Our next major move will be to continue to get our line of condiments into major grocery store chains including Ingles Markets in the Southeast, over 200 stores, that should be in place soon.

What’s the status of your autobiography?

J: The writing of my autobiography is certainly a process and we hope to have it finished by the holidays of 2016, but we aren’t going to compromise quality and accuracy to meet a commercial, self-imposed deadline.

HUGE NXT 2016-2017 Exclusive Details, Big News on The New Day, Top WWE Diva About to Get MAJOR Heat?, Very Scary New TNA Situation, Possible Huge WWE Return, Rock – Rousey WWE Scoops, Backstage Story on Vince and Reigns Flopping, Orton’s WWE Future, Must Lana and AJ and Bellas, Lots of New GIFs & Exclusives, More