Landsberg welcomes WWE Senior VP of Talent Relations Jim Ross to the show and says that he's one of the best PBP guys ever. He asks Ross if the last time he was here, was he a bit guarded? JR says yeah, maybe a little because in his job he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
Landsberg asks him about Bill Goldberg. JR says he's a big Jewish guy. He says that the expectations of WWE and the fans of Goldberg were high, too high. JR says they tried to replicate his streak in WCW but that was too hard to do so they tried to expand his character by adding some humor but that didn't work either. JR feels as if they need to get Goldberg back into the character he was - an animal that talks very little and gets his work done in the ring.
Landsberg talks about keeping Goldberg's matches short. Ross says that WWE wanted to re-invented Goldberg and in hindsight that may have been a mistake. But the way to fix that is to go back to the things that brought you to the dance. Ross says that Goldberg's interactions with Chris Jericho have helped his character.
Michael talks about the similarities between WCW and the current WWE, namely all the old superstars. Ross says that's a concern and that they have to use the established guys to give the rub to the younger guys. JR says that just need to balance everything and use the right blend of young and old wrestlers.
Landsberg talks about Booker T and how fans want to see him as the next big thing. JR says it's a gradual process - he's chasing Christian and the Intercontinental title. Sometimes the chase is better than the conquest. JR says that Booker T's time at the top is imminent and there is a focus to elevate him.
Landsberg asks about Sting and JR says he hasn't talked to him in a long time. He says that Sting is deeply involved in religious activities and he has a family with young children and likes to stay at home. JR says that he would like to do a deal with Sting later on.
Landsberg then asks JR about Randy Savage to which Ross responds he probably won't be back but never say never. Michael points to Sable and JR says he would have said never say never in relation to her a few years ago too. But WWE does what is the best for the product and both Vince and he felt that Sable would help the company.
They talk about Trish Stratus and JR jokes that Landsberg has no chance with Trish Stratus.
Landsberg asks about Mick Foley. JR says that Foley will probably have a recurring role with WWE and there's a good chance he will return in some sort of part-time wrestling capacity in the future.
Landsberg shows a clip of Edge talking about how he wrestled with his neck injury for a couple months. JR says that he's a big supporter of mat wrestling and feels that wrestlers don't need to take as many high risk bumps as in the past. JR says that the industry is evolving and WWE is getting better at taking care of the wrestlers and the wrestlers themselves are learning how to tell stories better without high risk moves. They talk about wrestling's recent past about how wrestlers sometimes make bad decisions in regard to pain killers and other drug issues.
JR then talks about Jeff Hardy's dismissal. Ross says he tested Hardy numerous times and asked him to go into rehab but Jeff wouldn't so he had no choice but to terminate his agreement.
Landsberg talks about wrestler deaths and the possible links to drugs and whether he feels guilty about possibly preventing that from happening. JR says he can't speak for others, but he doesn't feel guilty as he feels he has done as much as he can to help many of the wrestlers who died. He talks about Owen Hart and Brian Pillman and how in Pillman's case nobody detected the hard condition he had. Ross concludes this segment by saying that he doesn't feel drug use is rampant in today's wrestling world.
We come back as Landsberg asks JR whether he is concerned about Kurt Angle's neck and health issues. JR says he is concerned about many of the wrestlers. He says that Kurt's surgery is working very well and it may help other wrestlers in the future who choose this option. He talks about the pre-Wrestlemania conversations and how everyone was asking Angle if he was okay to do the match. Dr. Lloyd Youngblood reassured the company that his neck injury would not get worse and that's why they went ahead with the match. If there was any risk to Angle, the match would not have happened.
Michaels asks about Steve Austin and how he's handling his injuries. JR says that Stone Cold is adjusting well, better than he did last year when he walked out of WWE. Ross says that sometimes Austin holds his personal issues in and it got to him and affected him. Ross says he'd like to see Austin have one more real "retirement" match to see him go out the right way.
Landsberg brings up Trish Stratus and how she has accomplished something that no other female wrestler has. Ross says that never before has a non-wrestler, male or female, worked as hard as Trish to learn and get better at wrestling.
As we return, they talk about Jim Ross' new cookbook that came out in June. Ross says it's more auto-biographical than the other one as the recipes came from his family and there are some tales from the world. All in all, it was very enjoyable to write.
JR talks about his love for football and that the only job he would consider adding to his current duties is doing commentary for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Landsberg asks JR if JR himself showed up at his office, would he hire himself? JR tries to sidestep the question saying that Vince and Kevin Dunn usually handle that but then he says that he probably wouldn't hire him based on looks but often you can't judge a book by its cover so he would probably give himself a shot
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