WWE Jim Ross aka J.R.

The big man himself, Jim Ross (better known as WWE announcer J.R.) updated on his blog, speaking on the subject of Ric Flair coming out of retirement and returning to the ring. Here are some of the highlights:

- Ric called me last Sunday morning and we had a nice talk and I could tell that “Naitch” was getting “the itch” to get back in the ring. He might be feeling somewhat burned out regarding all the autograph shows and meet ‘n greets that he’s done over the past several months. One can only imagine how much flesh Ric has pressed since retiring. Ric’s driver’s license may say that he is 60 years old but he still has the spirit and constitution of a 30- something year old, for better or for worse, depending on one’s perspective.

- Can Ric still perform in the ring at a competitive level. Hell, yeah. Should he? Well, that’s another question that’s a little tougher to answer.

- I think every one should chase their dreams and do what it is in life that makes them happy and that is legal and ethical because there are no guarantees how long our time here on Earth will be. I chase my dreams every week as I still love “calling” wrestling matches. My wife says broadcasting wrestling is my “calling” and she may well be correct, as usual.

- But this isn’t my call. I do have an opinion. It almost changes from day to day as a matter of fact. In a perfect world, for me, I would love for Ric to not risk life and limb at 60 and not wrestle again. I don’t want to read of Ric Flair wrestling in a high school gym some place.

- However, if Ric can return to a major stage and perform occasionally then I have less a problem with the matter. But here is the bottom line….my thanks to Stone Cold….it’s Ric’s life and he should do whatever he wants to do at this stage of the game that makes him happy.

- If Ric’s act is going to live again, it needs to play “Broadway”….. for a limited time only. WHOOO! What’s your thoughts on the subject? Just because Ric Flair might be able to, should he? There are certainly enough people in the world who think his time is over, but does it matter what other people think? Would you go to see him in the ring again?

Ric Flair has been interviewed by ScrippsNews.com and Flair was saying he’s just itching to get back in the ring. “I want to wrestle again,” said Flair. “I watch WWE and I can still do better than 90 percent of the guys there. I weigh one less pound than the day I retired. I still work out really hard and I wrestle my kid (Reid) all the time. It’s not like I haven’t been in the ring.”

And then of course there’s the financial aspect to getting back into wrestling. Flair dishes out $22,000 a month in alimony payments to 2 ex-wives, but is getting big money offers to return to the ring. “People in Europe are offering me a fortune. I’m tired of signing autographs. I can make more money wrestling. I love the business. I was thinking the other day about the reason why God gave me this health. I don’t hurt anywhere. I haven’t lost any strength. I’m just like I was 10 years ago. I keep thinking, ‘Why am I signing autographs when I can still take backdrops?”

Flair has even gone as far as sending Vince McMahon a text message recently asking him why he wasn’t a part of the 2009 WWE Draft. Vince reportedly responded by reminding Flair that he’s retired. At this point, the only thing holding him back is the blessing from WWE and Shawn Michaels. “I respect Shawn and WWE so much that I wouldn’t do anything to disrespect them. They would have to give me full approval (to wrestle again). They put me in a special place. I think it’s going to be a long time before we see something come across again like what they did for me (with the retirement ceremony). I didn’t think it would be that big a deal. We’ll see how this turns out.”

Flair’s son Reid was arrested yet another time last month (this time for DWI and felony heroin possession) and the Nature Boy spoke candidly about Reid’s drug problem. Ric and Reid had been working on a reality TV show project, but that is now on hold. “It all depends on how he gets himself put back together. The biggest thing about that is that it’s a disease. It’s not so hard for me to say that after being at an outpatient clinic with him where they talk about a chromosome deficiency causing stuff like that. It’s curable, but he’s going to have to work real hard at it. He’s doing that.”

WWE's JBL (John Bradshaw Layfield)

For the fans of John Bradshaw Layfield, better known as JBL, there’ some sad news. JBL posted on his blog over at the WWE Universe site saying he is moving on from his wrestling career to focus on the next chapter of his life.

“I had wanted to make it to WM 25 for years, and when injuries cut my career short the one regret I had was that I wouldn’t make the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania,” JBL wrote. “Well, I made it. I never dreamed after I retired the first time that my back would get better and I would be allowed to return to wrestling…

What’s in Bradshaw’s future? He says, “I don’t know what the future holds, never say never in life. But I have wrestled my last match. Months ago, I picked out this match. If Eddie Guerrero couldn’t be here for it then my dear friend Rey [Mysterio] was the obvious choice, and I’m proud he was. I want to thank the WWE for a great career, for taking a chance on me and allowing me the keys to the car for a while. I will always represent the WWE wherever I go, I am proud of my 13 ½ years with the WWE. And, I am proud of the WWE for cleaning up a great sport to make it more healthy to everyone that is a part.”

Unfortunately for JBL fans, his days in the ring are likely over. “However, I have no current plans on doing anything in the future on a professional level with WWE. I don’t plan on doing commentary. In fact, it hasn’t even been brought up to me. I don’t plan on being an on air character. I plan on starting the next chapter in my life, and closing the door on this one.”

The former Intercontinental champ is working with Charlie Haas to help him grow his energy drink store located in Texas. He says working on Layfield Energy, working with Haas, and working on some other projects will keep him rather busy after his WWE career.

“I plan on hunkering down and building my companies. I plan on building a world class distribution service in Nashville and a top notch global beverage company,” JBL said. “I have a deal in the banking world that I hope to get done that will allow the disabled the first fully access bank online.”

Could Ric Flair really be lacing up his boots once again?

After an amazing sendoff at WrestleMania earlier this year, Ric Flair is rumored to be considering stepping back into the ring.

During a question and answer session with fans at a 1PW event in Great Britain last weekend, Ric Flair admitted that he is considering a return to the ring. Flair claimed that his retirement from wrestling only applies to the United States and Europe, and he has stated that he is in talks with promoters in Japan regarding some potentially big money matches with wrestlers such as Great Muta and Masa Chono.

Flair stated that while part of him would like to do the matches, he’s conflicted because of his promise to Shawn Michaels that Wrestlemania XXIV would be his final wrestling match.

For what its worth, Hulk Hogan did a radio interview up in Rochester, New York: and spoke about Ric Flair’s retirement. Hogan said that it was a great storyline but he doesn’t think we have seen the last of Ric Flair in the ring.

There is a well done interview with Chris Jericho, in The Sun, titled: Jericho: It ends at No Mercy. The article tells us that Jericho strongly insists that his feud with Shawn Michaels will end at No Mercy next Sunday. He also warned fans not to expect a “classic bout.”

“I think it’s going to be a great ending to one of the best feuds, one of the best angles, of all time — that I can guarantee,” says Jericho. “Whether it will be match of the year, match of the decade, match of the century or even match of the night, that’s not as important to me as putting a real nice exclamation point on the end of this story that we’ve created.”

Jericho said the WWE creative team doesn’t give him a script telling him what to say (unlike most of the WWE stars’ promos are scripted word-for-word). “Nobody ever gives me a piece of paper and tells me to say what’s on it. That is not how it works. The best characters are extensions of your own personality — and nobody knows what I would say in the ring better than I do,” Jericho said. “Sometimes they’ll give ideas of what they want me to say and I have to make it mine.”

Quite like his memorable angle with Trish Stratus a few years ago, his angle with Michaels has been generally brainstormed by the actual participants instead of the WWE creative team. The article notes that a major part of the success of the program is due Jericho & Michaels coming up with the material themselves instead of relying on the WWE writers to feed them lines. Jericho also added that the angle wasn’t concocted “in an office.”

“We weren’t just throwing ideas against the wall, we had a plan. And that’s one of the reasons why the angle has been so memorable. It wasn’t just manufactured in an office. It came from our experiences and our lives,” Jericho said.

So how’s it going to end? Will the Walls of Jericho Fall, or Will the Heartbreak Kid have more than a broken heart?