All Elite Wrestling commentator Jim Ross recently opened up about WWE ‘s decision to release a substantial portion of its superstars and backstage personnel on the latest episode of Grilling JR . As quoted by WrestlingNews.co , the WWE Hall of Famer said that the company has been “stockpiling” talent in an effort to monopolize the wrestling industry, which he believes is just bad for business.
Ross discussed the company’s tendency to sign the wrestlers to big money deals, presumably because Vince McMahon and other company officials didn’t want them joining AEW and becoming bigger stars there.
However, Ross believes that the decision to sign underutilized talent to expensive deals was a mistake, stating that the company should have asked them to renegotiate their deals since the economy has changed as a result of the coronavirus.
“I just think that there’s more to come on this [release] thing, unfortunately. But I think that some of these had massive salaries. For guys coming in and working three or four times a month? It’s just not good business, and a lot of people believe that the reason all these talents are being stockpiled is because WWE did not want to make it an easier road for AEW to travel, to build their brand.”
Ross’ words suggest that the company was worried about undervalued talents being allowed to showcase their talent elsewhere. In most cases, these aren’t superstars who’d move the needle for another company, though chances are they’d show that they are capable of better performances than they were allowed to showcase in WWE.
What will the fallout from #WrestleMania be on the blue brand?
Find out on #SmackDown THIS FRIDAY at 8/7c on @FOXTV ! pic.twitter.com/8ya9At5Z12
— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2020
Ross went on to say that scooping up most of the best wrestling talent in the world suggests that the company doesn’t have a lot of belief in its own “management philosophy.” Instead of signing the talents they needed and doing right by them, the company thought it was a better idea to dominate the industry instead, which essentially resulted in several wrestlers being paid to do very little.
Ross was the head of talent relations in WWE in the past, so he has an understanding of how the company operates when it comes to signing and firing people. While it’s been several years since he worked in the role, he knows how McMahon and other company officials approach the business.
Now that the company has been forced to release several names, it will be interesting to see if they join AEW and make WWE regret the decision to let them go.
