Jim Ross Tells AEW Talent to Quit Whining About Their Workload

Jim Ross didn’t hold back when taking aim at AEW wrestlers who complain about their schedule—calling it out as soft compared to what older generations went through.

During a conversation with Inside the Ropes, JR spoke about the old-school locker room mentality and how things have changed. He recalled how wrestlers in the past would handle disputes with humor, hierarchy, or heat—but without legal threats. That setup wouldn’t survive today.

“It started out in jest and fun, but it kind of—sometimes it went over the line. So we just had to balance it out as best we can. But that era is over. Everybody would be calling their lawyers—I’m serious. They’d be calling their lawyers, and it wouldn’t be something that the lawyers would recommend that we do and all this other— We’re just having fun. We’re just having fun.”

That led straight into his blunt message to AEW’s locker room:

“That’s what kills me now. I know that the talents in AEW should never bitch about nothing. They work a day a week. Stop it. I don’t—I never got that.”

He ended the segment with a shot at the entitlement he sees creeping in today’s locker rooms, cracking a joke aimed at Kenny Omega.

“Here’s the Tony Garea story: ‘Back in my day, the sheep were afraid of me.’ Is that too close to home, Kenny? Prick.”

Ross didn’t stop there. On Grilling JR a few weeks earlier, he expanded on AEW’s internal dynamics—suggesting that some backstage figures are more worried about protecting their spot than growing the company.

“It’s funny. The last time I was there, I listened to—I was really curious to hear the office talent talking, and they were like, you know, digging a—a space for themselves. And some weren’t. Not all of them. All of them had good intentions. But god damn it, some of them didn’t. Some of them didn’t, Connie.”

He admitted he played the same game in the past—but wouldn’t again.

“The talents that work in the office are oftentimes—not all of them—but oftentimes very, uh, self-serving. I was too. I was too. And I look back at my experience. I would never do that again. I’d let you fire me or get rid of me because I’m not going to be that guy.”

Despite the ego clashes, Ross praised AEW’s production and backstage crew.

“Tony’s people have done a really good job here lately of manufacturing the show and producing it. And there’s some good—good people there behind the scenes. Really, really good people. I’d start a territory with them in a heartbeat.”

Still, even those hard-working team members aren’t safe from petty behavior.

“They’re just—they’re getting nailed by their peers. Little pot shots. It’s like a—it’s like a Western. There’s a lot of common cheros out there that are using their guns to do their communication. And these guys are doing some of that too—not that extreme obviously—but some of that.”

Jim Ross has spent decades in wrestling’s most chaotic locker rooms, and his latest remarks suggest AEW might be repeating history—minus the grind. And if you’re only working once a week? He thinks it’s time to quit complaining.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.