As is the case every year in pro wrestling, when you get to October, the first half of the year feels like it happened an eternity ago. So please bear with me as I ask you to cast your mind back to the wonderful NXT TakeOver: Chicago, which happened all the way over there in May.
You probably best remember the show for its shocking assassination of Johnny Gargano by the coward Tommaso Ciampa, but you might remember that was also where Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate gave us a true match of the year candidate for the United Kingdom Championship.
You might also remember that Jim Ross was calling that match, as it was one of his first assignments back after returning to the company during the main event of WrestleMania 33, shortly after the death of his wife. As is the case with many of Ross’ assignments, his commentary for Dunne vs. Bate helped bring the match to the next level for those watching at home.
As it turns out, Ross tracked down the two men before the show, and although he’d never met them before that night, he gave them some words of encouragement as only J.R. can. He wanted to make the night memorable, and he wanted them to seize the opportunity as well. As he explained in a new interview with Bleacher Report:
“I go to catering, and I see Tyler Bate sitting over here. I see Pete Dunne sitting over here. I say, ‘You, come here. Get over here.’ They don’t know me from God-damned Adam,” Ross says. “I said, ‘I want to talk to you boys.’ Their eyes got this big. They are looking up at me. They’re great kids. I love these two kids.
“I say, ‘You need to understand this is probably the biggest night of your career. You’ve heard that all day, right? You believe that, right? Well, here’s something you haven’t heard. It’s the biggest day of my career, too. I’m coming back to work, and I plan on kicking some ass tonight, so you little bastards better give me something to work with.’
“I wanted them to understand the opportunity they had doesn’t come along all the time. The timing, the lay of the land, right place, right time. Wrestling is a funny genre in that regard. The table was set for them. It happens to all of us no matter what we do in our lifetime. We have to understand when there is an opportunity there to better our lives, to help us professionally, to give us a little comfort in our daily life, go for it. There is no guarantee it’s gonna happen again.”
I think we’d all agree those little bastards gave him something to work with! This is your semi-regular reminder to seize the day, everyone. Get out there and make the most of some opportunities.
