Top 55 Jim Ross Quotes

There have always been extraordinarily tough men in the business of sports-entertainment. My view is that one can’t be in the sports-entertainment business successfully and long term without being tough.

The fans of the U.K. are tremendously supportive of the efforts of the WWE Superstars, which is why every wrestler I know loves to be a part of the tours to the U.K.

When you grow up on a farm, you grow up fast.

The first thing that you need to be a draw, to be a star, is the intangible ‘It’ factor. You cannot manufacture ‘It,’ you cannot replicate ‘It.’

I’m a wrestling fan with a phenomenal journey.

The adrenaline of performing live in front of an audience is a feeling that’s hard to replicate.

All of the pivotal moments in my adult life are connected to the wrestling business.

Sports-entertainment has provided me with many blessings, but nothing was ever more unpredictable and fun than hanging with Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, who, in my opinion, are the greatest incarnation of The Four Horsemen and the most important faction to ever step into the ring.

We live in a very defiant society, especially among young men in the WWE’s target demographic. So sometimes when you’re really trying to promote somebody and build them, the audience can easily take it as you’re trying to force somebody upon them.

I look back upon those days in the Crockett/Turner era of The Four Horsemen and often wonder how I made it out alive. Perhaps my contract had some fine print on it that said, ‘Associating with The Four Horsemen can be hazardous to one’s health.’

The Heisman Trophy equivalent in collegiate wrestling is named the Dan Hodge Award, which illustrates just how Dan is perceived within that culture.

I was lucky to have been able to work so closely with Vince McMahon as he was able to see up-close what I could contribute to WWE, which lead to some amazing years not only at ringside, but also in the boardroom.

I can’t change history but only learn from it.

Bobby Heenan did what every announcer should strive to do and that is to make talent bigger stars than they are and to embellish every talent’s TV persona.

My mother and father both died at 64.

Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling’ is really not a wrestling book. It’s a book about life, and there’s a great love story in this book. There are great life lessons in this book about not allowing others to define you.

The best incarnation of The Four Horsemen was undoubtedly the unit comprised of Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, along with talented manager JJ Dillon, which will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.

WrestleMania is a major event and that’s an understatement obviously, but it’s a major event from the standpoint that many other companies use WrestleMania as a source of creating new revenue.

I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life, and for so many years a lot of us have been, for lack of a better word, bullied. We’ve been teased, kidded, eyes rolled from our peers and family members. ‘You watch wrestling?!?’ I see my shows as a safe zone, a safe haven.

Like many kids, I grew up sports-minded.

I like Twitter because I’m a creature of the short-attention span theater. I can get a lot of sports opinions and other things and Twitter tells me what time it is, but not how to make the watch.

Sometimes our passion will motivate us to say things that can easily be misunderstood.

I don’t like losing at anything, but it’s not the end of the world if you beat me.

When one chooses a life as a public personality they give up certain levels of privacy but in one’s home and intimate moments everyone should be protected.

I can always get better at what I’m doing because I’m not nearly as good as I think I can be. I’m going to try to improve every chance I get.

Unlike the on-air talents in the NFL where they have producers figuratively joined at their hip, providing them with info and tidbits of data, we WWE announcers are responsible for getting ourselves ready for every broadcast.

I’m a big fan of Lance Archer, Jeff Cobb, Luke Harper.

Broadcasting is a team effort and two, or three, individuals not functioning as a team cannot be as effective as they can if they set aside their own agendas and focus on what they see on their TV monitors and embellish the TV personas of the talents involved. I’ve been blessed to have had many outstanding partners.

Working alongside Tony Schiavone was pivotal in my growth as a broadcaster.

I had a very humble upbringing, earned everything I got, and learned how challenging it is in the pro wrestling business.

I don’t hate anyone, especially any college football team.

The black man’s journey within the genre of grappling wasn’t unlike the challenges their brethren faced in professional sports, entertainment and, most importantly, everyday life. To say it was challenging would be a massive understatement.

Jericho uses tried and true, fundamental pro wrestling villain techniques to make him effective. He’s a master in ring psychologist.

I’m a fan of Lucha Underground and hope they are successful.

In the early 1900s, wrestlers who attained main event success were largely all tough men who could handle themselves in any environment whether it be in a wrestling ring or a tavern.

John Cena’s work ethic is beyond reproach. It’s been phenomenal to see what he does and he’s made himself a brand.

I always say the wrestlers provide the music and the announcers write the lyrics. You have to feel what you’re seeing and experiencing to write the best lyrics.

Sept. 11, 2001, still feels like a blur to me. I wish it were simply a bad, re-occurring dream, but unfortunately it isn’t.

The Rock had the amazing athletic abilities that few people are gifted with, but he also had the burning desire to be the best, and none of that can be denied.

I’ve just been so blessed in my journey. Fat kid from Oklahoma, buddy – Southern accent and Bell’s palsy, becoming a broadcaster and hanging around a fickle business for 40 years. You wonder how in the hell that happened. It was somebody’s plan.

We’ve only got so much energy in our bodies, and if you want to use some of it for hate, if you choose to exert it negatively, I feel for you. I choose to not hate any team. I use whatever is in my tank for good.

The thing that people should remember, is that back in the day, because wrestling does not have a season, every week is a week of first run TV. In the territories that I worked in, specifically, we never had a rerun. So those shows that aired, aired one time to their constituency.

I’ve always thought Wrestlemania is a special event that brings the best out of everybody, whether it’s the wrestlers or the broadcasters or whomever, and I still believe that.

Without question, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler is my most recognizable partner and my favorite to work with over the years. We endured several things together that reach far beyond merely signing on and subsequently saying ‘good night everybody’ at the end of the show.

I grew up in Oklahoma.

Aug. 2, 1992, was one of the most memorable moments in sports-entertainment. It was on that night in Baltimore, that Ron Simmons became the first African American recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling.

Freebird Michael Hayes was my first broadcast partner who was a pure, 100% antagonist. Hayes and I joined forces during Cowboy Bill Watts’ attempt at expanding the Mid-South brand by renaming Mid-South Wrestling the Universal Wrestling Federation.

I would never tie in creative with a talent’s contract. To me, that is insanity. Creative needs change, talents evolve or not, and to be locked in to a talent having the ability to not run the plays that the team dictates is not smart business.

Men should know that no job is more important than their family. I had that all screwed up for a long time. I regret it.

Walking away from a problem is never a solution. Never. Solve the problem.

When I need quick info, Twitter tells me.

That may be the ultimate definition of toughness inside the squared circle – having the will to overcome a serious injury to return to elite status as a main eventer.

It doesn’t matter if you have a six-minute match on ‘Superstars,’ go out and steal the show. Go have a great, solid match. Somebody’s going to say, ‘Who cares about ‘Superstars?’ Nobody watches it. And it’s only six minutes.’ That’s the wrong attitude. That’s a loser’s attitude, and that’s what I’ve told dozens of talents.

I’ve done everything. I’ve been ring crew, I’ve been driver for a blind promoter, I’ve been a valet, I’ve been a referee, I’ve been a ring announcer, I’ve been a corporate officer, play-by-play man, blah, blah, blah. No one has been on my journey.

For my money, Dan Hodge is the greatest amateur wrestler ever produced in the U.S.A.