Jim Ross should really be renamed "Poor Ol" JR. Every time he's involved in a major angle it seems like something bad happens to him. From being humiliated in his home town by being forced to join Vince McMahon's Kiss My Ass club in 2001, to being kicked in the balls by Linda McMahon on the way out of the Raw announcer's booth and Mr McMahon making fun of his real life colon surgery in 2005, to not being told beforehand that he was being drafted to Smackdown in 2008, to Michael Cole nastily burying him on commentary in his one off appearance on the Old School Raw special last year, he's regularly embarrassed on TV. Not just embarrassed, but purposefully beaten up for real. In a match on Raw on April 18th 2005, Triple H gave JR a black eye and damaged vision, apparently because he was still upset at Ross for lowballing him on contract negotiations and payoffs in the past, which Vince disingenuously claimed was the fault of his then WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations.
Which brings us to Raw on Monday night and the latest physical angle JR was scripted in by the WWE creative team where Jack Swagger and Michael Cole left him laying after both executed ankle locks on him (a video of the whole angle is included after the jump). According to Dave Meltzer in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, somehow an "overexcited" Swagger legitimately injured Ross when he applied such a basic hold:
Ross had ankle and knee injuries from Swagger getting too excited doing the ankle lock too stiff on Raw. How does this even happen? I mean, it's one thing when a punch lands or a guy lands wrong taking a bump, but how do you injure a guy's knee doing a worked hold that you do in every match?
Hmm, maybe this happens the same way Triple H ended up "accidentally" giving Ross a black eye and damaged vision? Because you'd think someone like Swagger would take extra care to protect a 59 year old non-worker who has had well documented health problems, especially one who is so widely respected with the boys in the back, unless he was instructed otherwise.
Jim Ross on Twitter a couple of days ago indeed confirmed that he suffered stretched ligaments in his ankle and knee, and later insisted that these injuries were legitimate:
Ankle & knee have stretched ligaments in ankle & knee. Still sore & swollen but will be ok. X-rays aft swelling goes down. Thnx Swagger/cole
'Selling' indicates my ankle isn't hurt. Wrong. Legit injury but oliver stone's out there should believe what they choose.
Of course, he had the good sense not to create further conspiracy theories by wondering aloud whether this was another one of Vince's weird hazing deals. In private that may be another story.