Exclusive: Jim Ross Comments On Brian Christopher’s Passing, His Upcoming Stage Shows w/ Jerry Lawler, Their Chemistry, More

WrestleZone Radio has just released an exclusive interview with WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross!

Jim’s interview with WrestleZone is in conjunction with Jim’s upcoming “Live w/ JR & The King” shows alongside fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler. The two have shows on August 17th in Nashville and August 23rd in Chicago, both at Zanies. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

You can find some transcribed highlights from Jim’s interview below.

Related: ‘Live w/ JR & The King’ Coming To Chicago On 8/23; WZ’s Nick Hausman To Serve As The Host (Full Details)

On how he’ll remember Brian Christopher:

JR: The thing about Brian is that he was a chip off the old block as far as natural timing and a feel for the game, so to say. Bell to bell he was absolutely exceptional. He and Scotty 2 Hotty made a really good team. In the ring there was nothing Brian couldn’t do. Brian’s issues, and I’m not a psychologist, I think he had a very hard time living up to his father’s legacy. That happens to a lot of sons of greats, unfortunately. I just felt some of his drug and alcohol issues were very challenging and daunting to everyone who loved him. He had a lot of people who loved him. More people are probably going to focus on the drugs and alcohol and him being found in his cell. It’s still a mystery to me why you’d have somebody in solitary confinement for a DUI. Look, I’ve been to jail for a DUI, I’m not proud to say that, but I damn sure didn’t get a solitary cell, which I am happy to say as well. That’s all I’ll say about that. Let’s not lose site of the fact a man lost his son, Kevin lost his brother and their mother lost a son. Losing my wife last year was so unexpected, there’s no manual for it. There is no grieving manual. You rely on family, friends and yourself to a large degree to get through it. Let’s not focus on drug and alcohol issues, which is a surge of the Earth right now.

On why he and Lawler decided to do a live stage show together:

JR: Opportunity and the desire to get on a stage and perform together. Based on all our time spent together in the Attitude Era and the fact that we are still friends. With the recent events of Jerry losing his son Brian I think it’s a great opportunity for healing, so to speak. We are going to have fun. We are going to laugh and we are going to answer a lot of Attitude Era questions, of course. I am excited about the opportunity. I’ve played Zanies and sold it out before. They are great folks and I enjoy working there.

On the effect that Jerry’s son, Brian, passing has had on the show:

JR: Jerry and I are so much a like, we are so old school and neither of us like to miss bookings. We have, of course, because we’ve been in the wrestling business for over forty years. Jerry will be there and he’s looking forward to it. He and I have a great chemistry, at least we think so, and we communicate so well.

On his and Jerry’s chemistry as a broadcast team:

JR: Through all of those years we were doing solid work on Monday nights and we never rehearsed. There was never any, “Okay, you say this and then I’ll say this and then I’ll raise my eyebrows and you laugh…” Nothing like that. It was all natural chemistry. We’d listen to each other. I have a feeling that a lot of these broadcast teams today don’t listen to each other. They are too worried about what they are going to say next or how they are going to be “cool” or how they are going to get themselves over to some degree. We may have gotten ourselves over to some degree, I won’t say we didn’t, but our agenda was always about what we were seeing on the television screen.

WrestleZone will release more transcribed interview from our interview with Jim Ross tomorrow before SmackDown Live.