AEW commentator and hall of famer Jim Ross recently spoke with DAZN to hype this Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay per view, and talk all things pro-wrestling. During the interview Ross spoke about how he sees Wardlow as a big breakout star, how Orange Cassidy has grown on him as a performer, and how he wants AEW and NJPW to keep working together so fans can enjoy another classic showdown between Omega and Okada. Highlights are below.
Believes Wardlow is going to be a huge star:
Wardlow is going to be a huge star. Trust me on that. He’s the kind of guy that McMahon would covet. He’s the kind of guy that McMahon would do anything to change Wardlow’s mind about his place of employment. I love this kid. (He’s) big, pleasant, polite, intelligent, never had any issues with any of those guys in the locker room. Sammy can be a wild child. Bill Watts, my old mentor, said one time, ‘You got to let these horses run JR.’ That’s what they are, and you got to let them have their head and go out there and do it.
How Orange Cassidy grew on him:
Orange Cassidy is a little older than two of those guys I’ve talked about in their 20s. When I first saw him work, I said, ‘What have we done? What happened? Why did we hire this guy?’ Didn’t understand his gimmick. I didn’t understand his persona. I realized, ‘Okay, hold the fort here, JR. This kid, you need to give some time. Be patient for once in your life’. So that’s what I did, and now I’m a big fan of his work because he’s different. He hasn’t copied his game from anybody that I can recall. I’ve seen a lot of guys since my debut in 1974. He’s just different. He’s a quality guy, educated, smart. We don’t have a lot of these issues with guys showing up abrasively late or being malcontents. We got enough locker room leaders that don’t want to tolerate it. They lived that life. Chris Jericho doesn’t want to get involved in heavy-duty politics. He’s lived that life. I can tell you from being in that political world of pro wrestling, this is a lot more fun. A lot more fun in AEW.
How he wants AEW to work more with NJPW, and potentially set up another Okada vs. Omega match:
I’d love to see us do more with New Japan. I had my little run there for three years doing New Japan voiceovers with Josh Barnett. I developed a friendship with a lot of those guys, just like I’ve done with this roster. I’m pulling for them. I know how talented a lot of those dudes are. I would like to see a pay-per-view with Okada challenging Kenny Omega for the AEW title. Why not? That’s easy layup booking, but there’s a history there. There’s a backstory. You could lead into this thing for weeks and weeks until the day came for the big event. So things like that excite me. They got a lot of great talent over there that could match up with some of our guys. Darby (Allin) would be great. (Chris) Jericho had his run there and drew money. He sold tickets. I think there’s a possibility that could happen down the road. I’m not in that circle. I’m not leaking any information that I shouldn’t be talking about out of school. But I just think it makes too much common sense that once these COVID issues have been better addressed globally, I think that could happen. It may not be this year. But I think somewhere down the road. We’re not going away. They’re not going away. So when the time is right, you never know. I think it’d be fun for the fans.