Jim Ross doesn’t think WWE has a talent problem. He thinks it has a superstar problem.
While discussing WWE’s softer-than-expected SummerSlam ticket sales on Grilling JR, the Hall of Famer argued that the company has plenty of gifted performers—but nobody who’s truly caught fire in the way past icons like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or John Cena once did. For Ross, that’s the biggest thing holding WWE back right now.
“Well, I would say that they don’t have… WWE doesn’t have any one wrestler that’s just white hot. You got to have somebody hot. Somebody people are talking about, and they don’t have that right now.”
Ross was quick to point out that he isn’t criticizing the roster itself. In fact, he believes WWE is loaded with talent. The issue, in his eyes, is how that talent is being presented and whether creative is doing enough to turn great wrestlers into genuine attractions.
“They got a lot of great talents. I’m not saying that, but it’s always been a matter of how they’re utilized. And I think that they could do… they got to do a better job of utilizing their talent and seeing where that takes them. You got to get somebody hot. Wrestling has always been, Conrad, at least in my opinion, an attraction-driven business.”
Naturally, the conversation turned to Roman Reigns, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, three names many fans would consider WWE’s biggest stars today. Ross acknowledged all three are major players, but said none of them have reached the level where they’re driving the business the way wrestling’s biggest icons once did.
“Well, if you can get them all hot, it’s a good thing. It’s just more the merrier, as the old cliché goes. But I don’t feel, just in my opinion, that they have anybody hot or close to being hot on that national or international level.”
He believes that’s where consistency becomes critical. According to Ross, WWE can’t expect someone to become a breakout attraction if they’re featured one week and disappear the next.
“It’s just got to catch on fire. Somebody has got to catch on fire. Somebody’s got to get some people talking. And if they can pull that off—and they can—but it’s a matter of continuity. You can’t be hot this week on TV and disappear next week. There’s got to be some consistency.”
Ross didn’t put the blame on the wrestlers themselves.Instead, he pointed squarely at WWE’s creative team, saying that’s where the responsibility begins.
“”Creative. It’s a creative issue. The creative drives the ship, whatever I’m trying to say, but you know what I’m saying. Creators got to be spot on.”
He said creating a true megastar isn’t something that happens overnight. WWE, in his opinion, needs to fully commit to someone and keep building that person until they become impossible to ignore.
“WWE doesn’t have anybody that’s white hot that can sell tickets in their current creative capacity. So it’s an interesting scenario. But they got lots of talent, man. They got to commit to a talent, ride that talent until they’re rocking and rolling. And that’s going to take some consistency and continuity. So it’s a big process, man, to get somebody over big time. It takes a lot of effort and it can’t just happen at TV. There’s got to be a whole package put together to make that thing work. And so I don’t see that happening.”
Ross isn’t questioning WWE’s depth. His argument is much simpler: the company has stars, but until one of them becomes the undeniable face of the promotion, he believes WWE will continue searching for the kind of attraction that has historically driven wrestling’s biggest business booms.
Do you agree with Jim Ross that WWE is missing a truly “white hot” megastar, or do you think the company already has one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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