Jim Ross On If Kenny Omega Will Sign With AEW, Potential Political Backstage Issues In The Company
Recently on The Jim Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross shared his thoughts on the recent All Elite Wrestling rally. Additionally, Ross talked about former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and the likelihood of him signing with AEW. Ross weighed in on wins and losses mattering in AEW and also the difficulty of active talent being responsible for booking.
On the subject of the recent AEW rally, Ross said the event confirmed the formation of the new pro wrestling promotion and that the presentation was entertaining and well produced. 'The Voice Of The Attitude Era' suggested that pro wrestling legend Chris Jericho is the biggest star of the AEW roster though he doubts the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion will be on AEW TV every week.
"I watched it all from start to finish. I thought that the message that the new promotion wanted to tell was told. In other words, the validation that this is a real entity and another global wrestling brand will develop over time thanks to the Khan Family is a reality, so I thought that it tied a bow around everything and there's no more speculation. There's no more this or that. It's a matter of reality. It's real, so I thought that was very good. I thought that the presentation, by and large, was entertaining to the degree that the close of the event with Chris Jericho was outstandingly booked. It was well placed, well produced, if you will, whatever your term might be, because Jericho was the biggest star on the show!" Ross explained, "I'm not knocking anybody! It's just that Jericho is the longest tenured global star that appeared on that presentation. End of story! So I thought that was a great way to end it. He'll be a great asset, no doubt, in any role that he's put in. I don't see Chris being on a weekly television show every week though. He's just that kind of guy. He likes to do a lot of different things. He has varied interests and that includes his band and other projects that he's working on."
Ross said that he took away from the rally that Cody [Rhodes] will oversee the men's division for AEW while Brandi Rhodes oversees the women's division and The Young Bucks manage the men's tag division. 'Good Ol' J.R.' has little doubt that disgruntled WWE performers will inquire about joining AEW.
"I enjoyed the presentation. I thought it was nice. They introduced everybody. It looks like Cody's the guy that's going to ramrod the single [male] wrestlers. The Bucks I'm sure will oversee, to some degree, the tag teams. And apparently, Brandi Rhodes is going to oversee the women." Ross continued, "So there's a plan coming about and I respect the commitment of the Khan Family. I know that this company is not going to run out of money tomorrow. They're not going to have a problem getting the ring to the next town. It's all going to work out real well. I'm being facetious here. I'm sure that other talents... this is like recruiting in college [athletics]. When you sign a five-star recruit out of high school, and you sign him early in football, for example, then you find out that one of your star players becomes one of your best recruiters. And others in the star player's world of high school football, graduating, and going to college, they become very interested in what their buddies are doing. So that's kind of what I see in this scenario, talents who are not happy in one regard, for one reason or the other, usually because of one of the two Cs, and occasionally both of the two Cs, meaning cash and creative, so some of those people I'm sure will be making inroads or inquiring about getting a jersey for the AEW team."
With respect to Omega, Ross shared that 'The Cleaner' is "unique" person and that he will probably end up signing with AEW.
"Kenny Omega is a really unique cat. I've always enjoyed conversing with him. He's a smart young man. He's as good as there is in the world right now. He really is as far as unique matches, adding wrinkles, being courageous enough to try new things. I think Kenny ends up at AEW with his buddies for the same reason. He [has] worked with these guys, he's comfortable there, he'll have everybody's ear for creative, he'll have a voice and a very prominent voice, especially when it comes to his storylines and his angles." Ross added, "so I think Kenny Omega ends up with AEW. I might be wrong, so we'll keep our eye on that deal."
In response to AEW President Tony Khan saying that there will be an emphasis on wins and losses at AEW, Ross took that to mean a return to old school storytelling.
"They're telling me in wrestle-speak that wins and losses are going to matter, then it tells me they're going back to a retro presentation where it's more of an athletic event, but drama, timely comedy, bigger-than-life personalities, but above all, amazing athletes doing amazing things in the process of structuring a pro wrestling match. That's what I got out of 'wins and losses are going to mean something.' Ross noted, "it meant a lot more than that one short statement."
Also during the podcast, Ross indicated that Cody and The Young Bucks booking for AEW may lead to issues with backstage politics.
"They have a challenging scenario, in my opinion, where you have active talents involved in the administration, the booking, and all the creative because generally it creates, or can create an area of discomfort for some talents that don't have the confidence that they're not getting the attention they need, the good old boy system, or 'he's buddies with this guy and he's buddies with that guy' or whatever. Whatever. That's going to be interesting to see how those younger guys in administration make that happen. I'm not saying you can't because you can. They're all smart guys and I think they'll all be fair and objective. But they're going to find out sooner than later when you start making creative decisions that effect somebody, and wins and losses, again, are going to be significant again, then people are going to learn how to take some losses, so the only thing I'd tell those guys is learn how to lose." Ross said, "no, really, there's an art form in that!"
Check out this edition of 'Slobberknocker Audio' here or in the audio player below. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Jim Ross Report with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Jim Ross Report