Jim Ross Talks Darby Allin Possibly Becoming Concussion Prone, The Original TLC Match In WWE

On the latest episode of the Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross talked about the SummerSlam 2000 PPV. Throughout the show, Ross also talked about AEW and how it's currently dealing with the changes to their programming because of the NBA Playoffs. Ross said that it's tough to get your audience to change their schedule and adapt to change, and that ultimately hurts their programming.

"You got to find us now a little bit," Ross said. "Any time you're moved off your spot, you force the audience to track you down. Some people won't go to the effort but the diehards will. But some people won't go to the effort to find you. Any time you move off your spot is not good news; there's no good time for it."

Ross also talked about Darby Allin, who recently had a concussion on AEW Dynamite a few weeks back. He said he worries about Allin becoming concussion prone and describes why concussion/head injuries are the worst for talent.

"You just wonder how a guy like Darby, whose working his ass off to get over and becoming one of our most popular stars, but I don't want him to become concussion prone," Ross said. "The way that Darby wrestles, so spectacularly in a young Jeff Hardy-like fashion, Darby takes lots of risks. You worry about brain injuries because you can't see it. You can't see the bruising, the blood, the wound, whatever. It's always that fear of the unknown."

Ross also talked about the renown, first-ever TLC match involving The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Dudleyz. He mentioned how he had never seen a match before like TLC, and that the precedent for how the match would play out was never set.

"The precedent of a TLC match with three teams had not been perfected, had not been overplayed," Ross said. "It was new. Trying to imagine beforehand what these guys were going to do in this match was next to impossible. They overachieved to the most amazing levels that I could ever remember. It was a match that was new and fresh – you had three teams that were very talented and hungry."

Ross also talked about how big the TLC brand has become, to the point where WWE now has a PPV designed around the match. He also mentioned how he saw things during that match that he never thought he would ever see in a wrestling match.

"None of us realized this TLC match was going to spawn a brand," Ross said. "The only thing you worry about in those scenarios is are they willing to take too much risk? Were the risk/reward factor out of proportion? The one thing as the head of talent relations is that you didn't want to lose them. They aren't going to make you any money on the injured reserve list. Luckily, they did [not get hurt].

"I saw things in that match that I had never seen before. For Lawler and I to see things in a wrestling match that we had never dreamed to be seeing, that was pretty damn special. I thought it was just absolutely one of the most amazing things I had seen in pro wrestling, and I still believe that."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.