Jim Ross Talks Talent Who Do Not Get Booked On The WrestleMania Card
During a recent episode of the Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross talked about WWE signing a deal with NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service to exclusively air the WWE Network in the United States. Ross said the deal shocked him, but it's never a bad idea to continue to build the relationship with NBCUniversal.
"Surprised to be honest with you, didn't see it coming," Ross said. "Getting further entrenched with NBCUniversal is probably not a bad thing. Continuing to build that relationship is probably not an unwise thing whatsoever. Providing them more content makes you more valuable to them therefore you get more money. The NBCUniversal cheques I'm assuming are never late and always good.
"I'm sure it's been well thought out, I'm curious if it's going to affect any jobs. You hope not, especially in this climate. I was surprised Conrad, I don't know what it all means yet. We'll have to wait and see what the ramifications are of WWE not managing their own network. I don't think it's a bad suggestion. I got to believe it's a hit."
Ross also discussed the conversations he's had over the years with wrestlers about not being booked on the WrestleMania card. He said he's not a fan of WWE doing battle royals and extra nights in order to justify getting everyone on the card.
"Every year at WrestleMania you had that conversation with a variety of folks," Ross said. "They're wondering what they did wrong, who'd I piss off, this is got to be a political decision because I'm great and I should be on the card. It's a very hard, very sensitive subject to discuss, but I've had dozens and dozens of those conversations over the years, 26 years. You can't get everybody on the card. They've done a better job by adding battle royals, another day.
"I've always believed just because you're on the roster doesn't mean you automatically get a pass to be on a WrestleMania card. I would never book anybody on a card just to make them happy if they didn't deliver a really good product because those tickets and pay per views are not cheap. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings but we have to, it's a business we have to be realistic. That can't be a reason you book somebody, because you didn't want to hurt their feelings."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.