Jim Ross came away liking WWE Unreal, but one part of the Netflix series immediately made him think about life behind the curtain. While fans are watching to see how WWE operates, JR believes the wrestlers themselves could end up looking at the show very differently—and that’s where locker room issues can start.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross explained that watching Unreal wasn’t even part of the plan. His DirecTV went down for an entire day, so he grabbed his iPad, watched a McMahon documentary, then ended up checking out several episodes of WWE’s behind-the-scenes series.
“Yeah. Well, my Direct TV was inoperable… I had no TV all day Tuesday. So, I got my little iPad out… I watched a McMahon piece… I watched several episodes of that program you just mentioned.”
Overall, JR thought WWE did a really good job with the series. He liked it most when everything felt genuine and wasn’t trying too hard to sell viewers on something. Outside of a few moments where it felt a little too polished for his taste, he thought the production was top-notch.
“Some of it I liked a lot, and I liked it a lot when it’s real natural and organic, but not when it makes me feel like that somebody’s trying to sell me something. It’s a fine line between entertainment and business. It’s not the shopping network.”
Ross also liked that Unreal wasn’t built entirely around WWE’s biggest stars. He thought giving younger talent and wrestlers outside the main event scene more screen time was one of the smartest things the series did.
“I did like that they took the opportunity to try to get some younger talents over or some talents that aren’t necessarily considered in the main event realm right now. So that was good, smart… technically it was an A+.”
But while fans might see that as a positive, JR admitted his mind immediately went somewhere else. Having spent years handling talent relations in WWE, he started thinking about the wrestlers who weren’t featured. That’s where he believes a project like Unreal can unintentionally create friction behind the scenes.
Ross wasn’t saying he knows that’s happening in WWE today. Instead, he was speaking from experience and explaining how these situations tend to play out inside wrestling locker rooms.
“But I thought it was well done. Boy, and I tell you something, those deals, depending on how it’s structured, can really adversely affect the locker room because I got picked to be in the series and you didn’t. So there’s automatically a little rise in temperature. People get the red ass because they didn’t get to be a part of the TV special, of which they’ll be paid something.”
JR said the money is only part of it. The bigger prize is the exposure. Being featured on a series watched by millions gives wrestlers the chance to show fans who they really are beyond what happens on Raw or SmackDown, and not everyone gets that opportunity.
“So, they’re missing out on the payday and more importantly the exposure that they can garner by telling the story of who they are to the viewer. Why should you be interested in me? What’s your answer?”
Even after bringing up those concerns, Ross made it clear he still enjoyed the show. In fact, he laughed that losing his TV service probably helped because it gave him the time to sit there and keep watching episode after episode.
“I was entertained by… I didn’t have any TV to watch as I mentioned, so I stayed hooked on that piece of business and it’s good.”
JR isn’t saying WWE Unreal is a bad idea. He’s saying success brings another challenge: deciding who gets the spotlight and who gets left out. If the series sticks around for future seasons, that balancing act may become just as interesting as anything fans see on screen.
Do you think WWE has anything to worry about, or will Unreal only help the roster? Let us know in the comments below.
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.
