Oh come on. You know it's true. You aren't about to tell me that good ol' JR, the man who never ceases to alert us that business is about to pick up, isn't a card-carrying, flag-burning member of the KKK. I mean, Ross is from the south. Ross is from the south and he's a white. I'm not saying that everyone who is a white and from the south is necessarily racist, but I'll be damned if there isn't more prejudice down there than there is in the more northern States. You factor in Jim Ross' age and it doesn't become too hard to figure out, when the cards are all laid on down, you can bet your beef he was around in fifties, and the sixties, when there were a lot of changes being made in the U.S.A. And given the way lines were drawn at that point in time, it would not be too unfathomable to venture a guess that JR's 'momma and daddy' were not supportive of the civil rights movement. It's just a fact. Most white people weren't at the time.

However James Ross is now an adult, and I personally sense some racial tension when I see him announce. He never ever puts over any black boys like he puts over southern white boys. I don't like that. I mean, Jesus, how long is JR going to continue to toot the horn and sing the praises and pat the back and shine the shit of Bradshaw? What is it, Jim Ross, about this particular man that you like so much? Is it that he's a 'hoss'? Because excuse my language but what in the name of blessed fuck is a 'hoss'? Is it that he's a 'honery Texan'? He isn't the first, Jimmy, and he isn't the last. Bradshaw is no more Texan than Jackie or Mark Henry but I'll be damned if they ever get promoted as Texans. No it's Bradshaw. Well here's a slice of reality pie for you, JR. Bradshaw is not in good shape. Bradshaw is barely an average wrestler, even by 'big man' standards. I've seen Hulk Hogan's matches from Japan and his early WWF years, and even the infamous no-selling ego-monster was a better 'big man' than Bradshaw is. Bradshaw is big and he talks a good game, but he is not an elite-level performer, cannot be relied upon for good matches every time through the curtain, and until recently could not get over no matter what he did. Whether it's Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw, Blackjack Bradshaw, Bradshaw (before joining the Corporate Ministry), Acolyte Bradshaw, or whatever, it wasn't until he sang the virtues of drinking and taking money to kick people's ass that he got over. And by virtue of the fact that Faarooq is also over with that gimmick despite being pushed as the weaker member of the team (always suffers their pinfalls, isn't allowed to dominate the same way, never gets the cool lines, etc.,) says a lot about the gimmick.

Where is Dr. Death from? Steve Williams? The man famous for being JR's 'boy' and then getting the living crap kicked out of him against Bart 'Lefty' Gunn who then went on to have the crap much more decisively kicked out of him by a fat garbage boxer at the biggest show of 1999. Gee, I wonder what would have happened to Williams? Now, I won't go into how far back this set pro wrestling, or the fact that Butterbean is not even a real boxer, is blacklisted from any real boxing promoters list, and would get the fat knocked off him against any reasonably ranked fighter who is considered legitimate (including the recently humbled Lennox Lewis) or any of those details. But it was an example of JR basically performing fellatio on a concept designed to bolster one of his personal friends who has never drawn a dime anywhere in any way related to wrestling.

Jim Ross loves the Big Boss Man. So did I, before my sixth birthday. Then I realized he was a fat no-talent clod with not even the slightest aptitude for the operation of the business, despite being a great human being who is actively involved with charities. Now Bossman is less fat, but has gained no skill, and has had more hideous encounters on television than any wrestler in recent memory. JR tells us, whenever the Fat Assman is in the ring or was in the ring, that he is smart and very quick, very mobile for a big man. Well he's from Georgia, ladies and germs, and that's the only true thing JR has ever said about Bossman. I mean, hello? Remember the Hell in the Cell match at Wrestlemania? Bossman sucked the life out of that franchise gimmick so hard they didn't try it again for almost another year. I love how around Armageddon last year the WWF showed HITC moments, none of which featured the worst Wrestlemania contest of all time, Boss Man V.S. 'Taker. How about the 'Hell in the Kennel'? Sure, that made a lot of internet tape traders 'want' lists. Or, maybe, perhaps: it sucked. Every match with Boss Man sucks. Every single one for the last ten years! With Nailz? Sucked. With Akeem? Sucked. With Foley, Austin, Rock? Sucked, sucked, and sucked. And don't think I am not including any matches he had as Guardian Angel, Big Bubba Rogers, or Ray Traylor in WCW. It's just that at least the matches fit in back there.

Still, JR pushes him with more substantiated legitimacy given his background and reputation as a wrestling journalist than even the most potentially over of black WWF superstars. D'Lo Brown was the Euro-Continental Champion, but JR almost ignored it during Raw broadcasts. Now, D'Lo, who literally crippled someone for life in the ring, may have a lot more working against him than is visible at first glance, but having said that, he was only slightly more successful at ending someone's ability to walk than was Owen Hart. Owen did not catch any shit about that; I don't remember one person holding him down because of it. In fact, not only did he not catch flack, but they put out a t-shirt which bragged about it. Owen 3:16, I just broke your neck. Christ on a Cracker, isn't that in poor taste? Now for doing the same, except much worse, D'Lo's testicles were chopped off. I hear the Klan does that sometimes. But to punish D'Lo by evaporating his push, and putting him in yet another racially offensive gimmick with Chaz and having them dress up as Sikhs is just completely over the line. Punish him, fine, but you don't have to turn his ass into a joke. And by the way, I don't know if Jim Ross has any middle eastern friends, but I do, and not one of them though that Tiger Ali Singh's little 'we don't drive taxis' promo was remotely funny. However I am certain JR had a hand in writing it, because he did say, on the air, during Tiger's original push several years earlier, 'why don't you go drive a taxi?'

Okay, so it's not just blacks he hates, it's brown people as well. At least he's consistent.

And then there's Stone Cold Steve Austin. Now, I understand that he is one of the two biggest draws of the last decade. I admit he has generated more revenue than even the first golden era of Hogan and Macho Man did. I appreciate his rabid fan base literally saved the WWF from being bitch-slapped into oblivion by WCW. I get it. Austin was, and still is huge. But so is the Rock. The Rock is every one of those things I said, every claim about Austin is also true of the Rock. On top of that, the Rock is more famous than Austin has ever been. More people know the Rock, know who he is and what he does for a living than anyone else in the history of wrestling. The Rock can do movies and television shows that people actually see. Nash Bridges is not something I put in this category. The Rock is the biggest deal ever in wrestling. But when the two are held up together, JR, and seemingly following his example, the WWF, certainly bolsters Austin as the more relevant, established, and frankly more important of the two.

Is that because the Rock ain't white? I mean, Jesus, I realize that he isn't but apparently, judging from his wild fame and the ratings he delivers, the wrestling world in the United States and Canada, the two countries where the WWF does most of its business, doesn't have a problem with that. Does JR? I mean, he is not a great actor. His orgasms whenever Austin did anything ever in the WWF sounded real. The way he says that Stone Cold was/is the greatest WWF champion of all time sounds like he believes it. The way he promotes Austin, with his entire heart, going beyond his general talent of making us believe during matches, is somewhat disgusting. I realize they're friends, but when Austin was gone, down and out, and was assumed permanently retired due to mortal career-ending bone spurs in the year 2000, Ross still did not promote the Rock with even half the vigour! In the February 2000 edition of RAW magazine, as well as in various internet Ross reports, JR wrote: "To many of us, Steve Austin is still the MAN!"

'The Man?' Historically speaking that term is used in wrestling circles to describe somewhat unequivocally the top dog in wrestling. Ric Flair used it to describe himself when he was the top dog in both companies. Sid used it as the WWF champ and a main-event player. It is a term that is often utilized to put over a top hand. To refer to an injured, seemingly retired wrestler as 'the man' is not only showing flagrant favouritism, but is bad for business. Never in the history of wrestling has the top face been ignored, pretty much made into a moot point, by the most publicly visible executive of talent relations. Never has anyone done that. Why did Jim Ross repeatedly say that, in shoot-esque formats? Even Austin though he was done during the time that JR made these comments. What possible reason could JR have not to put the Rock over? What possible reason could he have, what could his motive conceivably be, for not trying to make the Rock look like hot shit? It's his damn job, and he didn't do it all the way, he did it half-ass.

But I won't complain about the article. I mean, in that same February Raw magazine, the Rock does get a mention in the article. Ross does drop the Rock's name. 'Has any organization ever had anyone like the Rock?' was the comment. GOOD JOB, JR! WAY TO PROMOTE A TOP BABYFACE!

If you think I'm talking out of my ass, you're wrong, because I am not the first person to make these claims. Go to chairshots.com, and listen to the Bad News Allen interview. He constantly makes statements about McMahon's racism, and how the WWF was always the Great White Hope company, and the black people were put down and handed degrading gimmicks. Can you tell me why Too Cold Scorpio, probably the best light heavyweight that the WWF had at the time, was called Flash Funk and dressed like some kind of psychedelic pimp? Said Bad News: 'Sapphire's (name) was a slap to all blacks, particularity women, people of my era knew that calling a woman sapphire was an insult (Amos & Andy days), when I called Vince on it he feigned ignorance and promised me he'd change her name, he changed it to Sweet Sapphire, forever protecting his right to be a bigot. Slick was a Preacher who didn't drink smoke or do drugs, yet Vince portrayed him enjoying all the vices including pimping.' Now, that's fine, McMahon is one thing and I won't even go into his horrific stereotyping of every single group ever on the planet. This has always been a white man's gig. The Rock's book talks about how against his decision to be a wrestler his father was. What the book fails to mention is perhaps why his father had these beliefs. Could it be that he saw first hand that the best a black wrestler was ever going to do in any territory not run by Bill Watts' is be a tag-champion?

Could it be the Godfather was made a pimp and forced to make soul-train references because he's black? I'd like to see a white guy do that gimmick.

Booker T's spin-a-rooney has been so criticized by JR I've wondered what Booker T ever did to Ross. I mean Christ, I appreciate that he's a heel, but JR is so bitter, so damn bitter about it, as if no other wrestler has done a showboat-type maneuver before. Why could Shawn Michaels strip and point at his crotch and still remain credible, but Booker can't spin around. I mean, JR doesn't sell it as an arrogant move, for God's sake he puts it down, he blows it off, he acts like it has no place in the business. He constantly says 'Ric Flair he is not. Sting he is not.' You're right JR, Booker is not either guy; he is not Sting and he is not Ric Flair. He actually still wrestles. But he is black. That doesn't mean he isn't a good athlete, and even if JR says that he is it's obvious he's just going through the motions.

Jim Ross is the man fans look to for information and credibility. As such when he makes stupid statements or blatantly undersells non-white competitors it gives wrestling a bad name. I won't go into the many anti-gay comments Jim Ross has made, because that only serves to prove that he is completely prejudiced against just about anyone. What I will say is that I am sick and tired of the way the WWF uses minorities. Bobo Brazil and Junkyard Dog are dead. Nothing can be done about the way they were used. The Rock is the best thing that ever happened to the WWF, but the fact remains that he isn't even black. He's half-black and half-Samoan, so let's not ignore the fact that McMahon still has not promoted a black WWF Champion, and what's more, apparently he won't let WCW have one either, as he ripped the gold off Booker T and slapped it on a white guy for no good reason, without any significant feud or any substantial build-up on a Pay-Per-View. I don't care if that white guy was Kurt Angle, probably the best pure wrestler on the continent today (since Benoit, Guerrero, and Triple H are out), he still should not have taken the belt without any kind of storyline, without even a back-story or a pay-per-view. All thing considered, however, I am hoping for a less prejudiced future in wrestling than I have been subjected to in the past.

Whatever the case, I am certain Jim Ross is a racist, and more than partially convinced McMahon is as well. And it sickens me. All right? It is 2001 and Tajiri is a little beyond that stupid stereotypical music he comes out to. It is 2001 and the fat clods that JR continues to pass off as athletes simply because they are white southerners should not have the position they have. And most of all, it is 2001, and as we're about to see, the Rock is the biggest goddamn deal in professional wrestling whether Jim Ross likes it or not.

And if I had to guess, I'd say it's not.