Jim Ross Says WWE Nearly Held Event At Infamous Island Prison

All Elite Wrestling recently held an event called Fairway to Hell at an indoor golf course, which led company commentator Jim Ross to discuss some other ideas for unusual pro wrestling venues on his podcast, "Grillin' JR." Ross revealed that, during his time in WWE, he once came up with the idea to host an event at a chilling landmark from America's past.

"I pitched matches from Alcatraz," Ross said. "There was a lot of interest in it internally, from us. ... Some government agency manages, obviously, that property and that attraction and all that s**t. It got politics involved, and it got bogged down, and we couldn't get it out of the mud of bureaucracy."

Although the idea never became a reality, Ross stated that his concept would've seen the ring set up in the prison yard. The Undertaker would've taken part in the main event, but Ross didn't envision a straightforward card loaded with matches.

"In my crazy mind, you could do a two-match pay-per-view," Ross continued. "The main event would be held, of course – you want to save that space for the main event, and that might be the only thing you have from Alcatraz. You have the matches at other venues to supplement the card, but the attraction would be Alcatraz."

While no matches ever took place there, WCW did film a 1997 segment at Alcatraz. It featured "Rowdy" Roddy Piper cutting an unhinged promo on Hulk Hogan ahead of their match at that year's SuperBrawl.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Grillin' JR" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.