Jim Ross isn’t siding with Ric Flair in the debate over Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay. After seeing Flair push back hard against comparisons between Omega-Ospreay and his legendary rivalry with Ricky Steamboat, JR thinks the Nature Boy’s response was simply “out of place.”
Speaking on Grilling JR, Conrad Thompson read Ric Flair’s entire post before asking Ross what he thought about it. Ross didn’t need much time to give his initial reaction.
“Out of place.”
Flair had argued that comparing Omega and Ospreay to himself and Steamboat was like comparing “the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.” He also told the AEW stars to get back to him after having hundreds of great matches and hour-long draws, before saying there was nothing wrong with them being “number two.” Ross felt Flair didn’t need to go there.
“I didn’t think it was—I thought it was unnecessary. I respect his opinion. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”
JR knows disagreeing with Flair can sometimes become its own adventure. He joked about how Flair might get angry before eventually getting emotional and moving on, but made it clear none of this changes how highly he thinks of Flair or Steamboat.
“Now, you can say that to him and he’ll get mad at you, and then everything will be cool. Then he’ll start crying, then he’ll hug you, and everything will be over. I respect his opinion, and no one will ever make me say negative things about him or Ricky Steamboat. They were perfect for each other. Great booking.”
Ross did have a little fun with one part of Flair’s argument. Flair had used the huge number of hour-long draws he worked with Steamboat as evidence of what separated their rivalry from Omega and Ospreay. JR jokingly found another way to look at that statistic.
“The fact they went an hour Broadway 200 times is troubling because, you mean you couldn’t figure out a finish? Broadway. So anyhow, I don’t mind Broadway, but it’s not something I relish.”
Still, Ross kept coming back to the same point. Flair is entitled to believe his matches with Steamboat belong on a completely different level, but JR doesn’t agree with how he chose to respond to the Omega and Ospreay comparison.
“So anyhow, I didn’t like—I didn’t agree with Ric’s tweet, or X, whatever they call it nowadays. But I respect his opinion.”
There was one thing about Flair’s post that actually caught Ross’ attention for a different reason. Since Flair had such a strong opinion about Omega and Ospreay, JR wondered whether that meant the Nature Boy actually sat down and watched their AEW All In match.
“I appreciate the fact that he expressed an opinion on Ospreay and Kenny, which leads me to believe—I don’t know about you, Conrad—that maybe Ric watched the show. I don’t know that Ric watched the show. I hope he did.”
Flair wasn’t shy about defending what he and Steamboat accomplished, but JR clearly thinks he could have made that point without knocking Omega and Ospreay down to “number two.” He’ll always defend Flair and Steamboat as one of wrestling’s great pairings, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to defend every tweet Flair sends.
What do you make of Jim Ross calling Ric Flair’s comments about Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay unnecessary? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
