EXCLUSIVE: Jim Ross Says Wrestlers’ Freedom Benefits Promoters And Fans

Jim Ross says wrestlers working multiple places benefits everyone. 

In an exclusive interview with Fightful Wrestling, Ross would discuss a recent trend of wrestlers being able to perform at more than one company. Wrestlers like Samoa Joe and Kassius Ohno have been able to finish their commitment to other companies while working for NXT. According to Ross, the change has come from a relaxing of restricting philosophies. 

"I would like to think these promoters are getting smarter, obviously WWE has relaxed their philosophies," said Ross. "I always longed for cooperation, I never understood the animosity that often times exist between wrestling promotions. They act like it's the end of the world to actually be professional and cooperate sometimes. I think that's silly, it's outdated and speaks to some of the old egocentric mindsets of the old territory days, where you had the territory run by the Caucasian alpha male ex-wrestler who's ego is as big as it was when they were in their twenties. They believe there's their way or the highway, it goes all the way back to my days with Bill Watts, people were criticizing Watts for allowing me to use radio to promote live events," continued Ross. 

A wrestler Ross used as an example was Cody Rhodes, who was seen at New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and various independent promotions last year. Ross believes this was a good choice by the promotions involved. 

"If I'm Ring of Honor, I don't want him to have an exclusive, I want him to be happy. I want him to make all the money he can, because I can't guarantee him all the money he needs. So If Cody Rhodes can work New Japan or Ring of Honor or even Impact, who cares? As long as he's there for my dates and he keeps his commitments to my company, I'm cool with that, I want him to be happy, I want him to make all the money he can, I want him to sharpen his steel and become an even better in-ring performer so I can get some of that," said Ross. 

Ross would also say the talent and promotion need to work together to make sure the wrestler would not be overworked. He says supporting the talent in this way will benefit the product and thus the paying customers. 

The rest of the interview can be heard above. Ross will be calling the 2016 G1 Climax, which airs Friday nights on AXS TV.