The stories that come out of the WWE and the former WWF are always out of this world. The lifestyle they lived back then was like you see in the movies.
WWE’s Jim Ross, long time announced of the organization spoke with Sports Illustrated about his new book Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling. He told a story about his recently deceased wife and when they first met. It was no traditional story.
WWE Legend Ric Flair tried to flirt with a stewardess on an airplane and was unsuccessful with his overtures. Ross would go on to talk to her and Jan, would later be his Ross’ wife.
Sports Illustrated asked about the story and what it was like trying to recall such a story after he lost his wife in an auto accident.
Jan was in my life for 25 years, and a lot of people don’t realize she was a major part of my success. The fun times were not hard to share, at all. They were real and I lived them in the flesh. Everything is very real and guttural in the book.
When Ric and I were sitting together on that flight, there were four first class seats on that small airplane. Jan worked first class, and she was very engaging and outgoing. She had Flair and I laughing. When I read the audio version of my book, I felt like I was back in that seat. I felt all those emotions; I remember what I drank, the conversation, and Ric being Ric. He wasn’t being unruly, he was being fun. My relationship with Jan started off with fun and laughter, and Ric was a part of that.
There are so many parts of my life connected to wrestling. I met Jan while I was with Ric Flair. I received a collect phone call from Oklahoma telling me that my dad had a heart attack on the night the Road Warriors returned to Monday Night Raw. I went back to work thinking that WrestleMania XV with Austin-Rock I was going to be my last match ever, and I never revealed that to anyone, because of my face and my lack of confidence in my speech and enunciation. All of the pivotal moments in my adult life are connected to the wrestling business.
It is a heartbreaking tale but shines a light on Ross and the compelling life he lived. His professional career has been on display for many to see but a peek behind the curtain shows a man with plenty of nuances. The story only adds to both Flair’s and Ross’s legends.
