The man who has seen a plethora of matches throughout his years is very high on New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Jim Ross, who has tallied up 36 years in the pro wrestling business knows what it takes to establish a solid foundation to progress as a company/promotion. The WWE Hall Of Famer has worked in the talent relations department of WWE and is still doing commentary work for the company, as well as commentary for NJPW on AXS TV. Along with his partner, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett, Ross stated that there is never a night when they do not get to call great action.
"There's not a week that goes by that we don't have some match that's a really damn good match," Ross stated while being interviewed by Bleacher Report.
Tomorrow night, NJPW returns to the United States for the first time since the summer of last year. The company is presenting their 'Strong Style Evolved' show in Long Beach which sold out in nearly 30 minutes after tickets were available for purchase. JR is confident that the event will be a success.
"There's no reason it shouldn't be awesome," Ross said. "They will go way beyond the comfort zone in taking bumps that are quasi-insane."
There are a number major names associated with and signed to NJPW. Jim Ross stated that each one of those men are extremely talented and they have a chance to edge their names in the history of the sport. New Japan also has a more fight-based style opposed to one like the WWE. In NJPW there are stiffer forearms, stiffer kicks and the performers are laying it in thick onto one another.
"I have no doubt that some of these kids working in New Japan now will have an opportunity to do the same thing. Sometimes their style is not conducive to long careers. It shortens your shelf life. They're young and hungry, you can't pull them back more often than not. It's entertaining as hell to call, it's great to watch."
JR also has his eyes on the WWE product. One match that is on the WrestleMania 34 card that has direct correlation to NJPW is the WWE Championship match. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura will have their rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 10 on "The Grandest Stage Of Them All" and Jim Ross stated that he has high expectations for the bout.
"They have incredible, incredible chemistry," Ross said. "I have extremely high expectations for that. I hope people come out of that and say, 'My God, I didn't know Nakamura was that good. I didn't know Nakamura is that physical. AJ Styles, in my view, is the top in-ring performer in the business right now."
Good ole' JR would also discuss what NJPW needs to do in order to further expand their brand. He went over his thoughts regarding Ronda Rousey signing with WWE, and more. To view the full interview, click here.
