Jim Ross Calls Criticism Of AEW's Signing Policy "A Weak Argument"
JR doesn't agree that signing ex-WWE stars is harmful to AEW's growth.
Jim Ross doesn't agree that AEW's signing policy is counterproductive.
The announcer told fans listening to his 'Grilling JR' podcast that claims the company signs too many former WWE stars is "a weak argument". To Ross, it's far more important that Tony Khan's group gets the right men and women on board.
If some of those happen to be released WWE names, then so be it.
JR specifically takes issue with some online comments he's read that suggest AEW is "WWE lite". That's a slap in a face to the promotion's homegrown roster, he says, and it's simply inaccurate; Ross refused to knock WWE during the podcast. Instead, he recalled a "great" 26 years of employment under Vince McMahon's umbrella.
AEW has taken some stick for signing ex-WWE stars like Paul 'Big Show' Wight, Mark Henry, Andrade El Idolo, Christian Cage and Malakai Black over the past year or so. Those names joined others like Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley as workers who had previously made hay for McMahon.
Jim isn't so sure that mixing AEW's homegrown talents (MJF, Sammy Guevara etc) with these incoming stars is a bad thing for anyone.