Interview Highlights Jim Ross believes Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show will be a traditional boxer vs. wrestler match, previews WrestleMania 24 Mar 22, 2008 - 12:03 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Monday Night Mayhem radio Hosts: Big Mosh, Blade, and Chaz Available at MondayNightMayhem.com. Mosh started off by asking Jim Ross how he thinks the WWE has changed from a year ago until now. J.R. said that the WWE is continuing to grow, both globally and financially, with a solid core of "main event" level talent, and a plethora of others on the verge of rising to the top. He also mentions that, with the exception of Rey Mysterio, the roster is "healthy" and "ready to rock".   The Big Mosh then asked J.R. for his thoughts on the upcoming Triple Threat main event match upcoming at WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, Randy Orton putting his WWE Championship on the line against John Cena Randy Orton. J.R. mentioned how Triple-Threat matches are more unpredictable with the extra competitor, and it comes down to who can "isolate and exploit" in order to win the match. He stated that being the champion in this kind of match is "irrelevant," because it all comes down to who can pin their opponent, or make them submit first, with no chance of retaining by disqualification or count-out. He also stated that one of the other two guys could win without having to pin the champion, using the example that Triple H could pin John Cena.   Mosh and DFL then talked about the World Heavyweight Championship Match, with Edge defending his title against Undertaker. J.R.'s prediction is that Undertaker goes in to the match as the favorite to win, and Edge will need "an extraordinary effort and an extraordinary performance" to defeat him. He then broke it down more saying that Edge would love to go down in history as the man who defeated Undertaker at WrestleMania, but he personally does not think it will happen, although it could.   Blade then asked all the Mayhem listeners to stop asking J.R. about "The Macho Man" Randy Savage getting inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. J.R. added that although he's a member of the Hall Of Fame, he does not have a vote or say as to who gets inducted, even though he has always been a Savage fan. He also recommended Savage vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat from WrestleMania III to any young wrestler who likes to learn and study from watching tapes.   Blade asked J.R. his thoughts about the ECW Championship match at WrestleMania, where 24 WWE superstars will be in a battle royal where the winner immediately faces Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship. J.R. stated that he thinks the fans make a good point when they say that this match seems thrown together just to give another 24 guys a spot on WrestleMania, but then added that it's "a privilege" to be on WrestleMania, not necessarily "a right." J.R. went on to say that there are a lot of hard-working guys in the company, but with only so many spots on a show, the remedy to get them all involved is for a Lumberjack Match, a Battle Royal, or another match with more people involved.   The next match talked about was Big Show (in his first PPV match since his return) against Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Blade asked a question that a lot of people are wondering, being just what match will these two be participating in? J.R. said that, as of now, he believes it is just a traditional "Boxer vs. Wrestler" match, where Floyd will wear gloves but The Big Show won't, but as we all know, card subject to change. J.R. also mentioned that he does not see Mayweather coming into this match without his hands protected, since he makes his money by using them. He went on to talk about the size and weight difference between the two, and said that if Big Show is able to get his hands on Mayweather, "the thing is history." Regarding Mayweather's alleged $20 million dollar pay, Jim said that he does not see it affecting anyone else's pay on the show.   J.R. and The Mayhem crew then begain to break down the "Career Threatening Match" that has Ric Flair putting his career on the line against Shawn Michaels, and Ric's Hall Of Fame induction. J.R. said that he thinks a lot of tears will be flowing WrestleMania weekend, including the Hall Of Fame Ceremonies. He added that the Hall Of Fame will always have critics questioning why someone is in, while someone else is not, but the "theory of the Hall Of Fame is very sound." J.R. talked about his close friendship with Ric that has gone through marital issues, employment issues, both thinking that they were not respected by the people they worked for at certain times, and other events. Ross added that Ric is really looking forward to the Hall Of Fame induction more than anyone that J.R. has talked to, and his unedited speech for those that will be live in attendance at the ceremony will be "priceless." He also addressed the rumors that several TNA wrestlers will be in attendance to "pay their respects" of sorts, which he said would be "admirable" but he has since heard that they have "put the kobash on that." J.R. then went on to talk about the match, and said while he loves to play Texas Hold Em, he would not be a lot of money that Flair will lose at WrestleMania. He ended by saying that it's hard for him to believe that March 30 will be Ric Flair's last match, unless "that's just (him) being hard-headed."   On the topic of the WWE Hall Of Fame, J.R. stated that watching the ceremony on USA will be enjoyable, but it will not come close to being there live, or even watching the entire thing when it is released on DVD. J.R. then went on and highlighted some memories of all the inductees, and mentioned some of the stories he hopes to hear at the event. In regards to The Rock inducting Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson, J.R. said that anyone who thinks Johnson & Maivia are only being inducted to have The Rock involved in the weekend "is crazy."   The Mayhem crew then looked at the rest of the card, beginning with the Money In The Bank Ladder Match. They began to address Jeff Hardy's situation, and Mosh asked how the match has changed now with Jeff's suspension. J.R. said that losing a competitor like Jeff in the match is not going to do any favors in the pre-match build-up department, but now there is an opportunity for seven guys to step up with "a more level playing field." He added with the exception of Chris Jericho, the other six guys can really become famous even if they do not win. He used the example of past TLC Matches, and how he cannot remember who won, but he can tell you who was in them due to their great performance. In regards to Jeff's future, J.R. mentioned his past release when Jeff said that he did not believe that he had issues, and said that he was excited when he came back, up until his recent push, and he sees even better things in the future "if he makes the right choices."   On to the Belfast Brawl & the "Raw vs. SmackDown" showcase, Mosh asked J.R. for his comments on these two hard-hitting encounters. J.R. said that he sees the Belfast Brawl as another name for a No-Disqualification Street Fight, so he expects to see JBL get hit frequently with a shillelagh in what will be "an ugly, tough match." He referred to the Batista vs. Umaga match as two bulls going at one another. While he does not see either being "long, epic" encounters, he described them as being "hard, fast, furious and physical" matches.   The Playboy BunnyMania match is then talked about to round out the WrestleMania XXIV card preview, with Candice Michelle & Maria teaming up against the Beth Phoenix and Melina. Mosh mentioned Candice reinjured her clavicle this past week on Raw, and how or if that will effect the match. J.R. said that he knows she was taken to the hospital to see how much she did to her injury, but he has not heard as of yet that she is out of the WrestleMania match, which he considers good news. He added that if the injury was that serious & the decision was made to take her out of the match, it would have been reported by now, but he hopes she will still be able to participate.   On the recent passing of "Playboy" Gary Hart, J.R. gave his insight on his past. J.R. recommended that the younger fans of wrestling get a hold of DVD's, or watch the WWE 24/7 programming to see some of Gary Hart's great work. He said that Gary Hart played evil to a tee, and would have been a great villain in movies. He considered Gary Hart one of the top three managers that he would pick if he were to run a promotion, only behind Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette. J.R. said that he was with Michael Hayes last Sunday when he received a voicemail from Gary Hart the night before, and then got a phone call almost right after from Kevin Von Erich saying that Gary had passed. J.R. also said that a lot of people could have learned from Hart in today's era if he had a more prominent role in today's industry. As an example, he named Santino Marella and Matt Striker as guys who, while they might not never main event a WrestleMania, they could go on to be great "manager material" with Gary as a great teacher.   J.R. also wanted to let the fans know that his current plan is to build four-six more of his BBQ restaurants in Oklahoma, with two being built more this year. He mentioned that his business partner has high success in franchising other restaurants including Steak & Ale and Chili's, so as J.R. would say, "business is about to pick up." He mentioned Ilio DiPaolo's Restaurant (in The Mayhem's hometown of Western New York), which is another good "wrestler-backed" restaurant, but he is hoping that JR's will franchise quite possibly down a street near you.   Also in this near 90-minute interview, J.R. talked about other "Boxer vs. Wrestler" matches he has witnessed before, who he thinks is a "shrewd son of a gun", his memories from the WWE Hall Of Fame inductees, more on the Jeff Hardy suspension/his future return, the difference between WrestleMania's in years past compared to this year and it's effect on ones career, some of the good running backs to come out of Oklahoma State (including the Buffalo Bills' own Hall Of Famer, Thurman Thomas), and much more in an early candidate for 2009 Media Interview Of The Year. 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