“There’s so many guys now..." - AEW commentator Jim Ross on a major thing that's changed in wrestling
AEW commentator Jim Ross has been associated with the industry for decades. It is natural for him to have seen numerous changes during his career, the amount of money wrestlers make these days being one of them.
Seven-figure contracts have historically been reserved for the biggest names in the business. While that is still the case to some extent, the amount of money in professional wrestling has increased, as seen by WWE's record-breaking profits in recent years.
Hence, more stars are on big-money deals than ever before. One such instance is Kevin Owens, who recently bagged a multi-million dollar WWE deal.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, the legendary AEW commentator said the following about stars with million-dollar-plus contracts:
“There’s so many guys now making over a million dollars guaranteed in the pro wrestling business. It’s unprecedented. I remember one time on one of my rosters we had 20 something guys make over a million in one calendar year. WWE for sure [has more than that today]. More people are making seven figures annually today than in the entirety of pro wrestling, in the history of the business,” Ross said. (H/T: WrestlingInc)
“WWE didn't really let me think about it much, they made it clear they wanted me to stay.
Vince McMahon, I dealt with Vince directly and he made it clear he wanted me to stay. We made an agreement right then and there”
- Kevin Owens on re-signing with WWE
(via Out Of Character) https://t.co/NKCzDRSVd7
Jim Ross believes Jeff Hard is AEW-bound
During the podcast, Jim Ross also addressed the possibility of Jeff Hardy joining AEW. The legendary commentator said that the Hardy Boyz against The Young Bucks would be a match that he would come out of his retirement for:
“I think Jeff Hardy’s coming to AEW, I don’t want to say it’s the [worst kept secret], to have the Hardyz here for their last major tag team run is a bookers dream. I think because The Young Bucks idolized The Hardyz forever, to have that opportunity at some point in time, is a match that if I was retired, I’d want to come out of retirement to call that one,” Ross said.
Jeff Hardy is AEW bound 🗣️ https://t.co/oJxbcldhIo
Jeff Hardy is widely expected to join All Elite Wrestling soon and has confirmed the same recently. Ever since he was released from WWE, fans have wanted this move to happen, and it feels like it is almost inevitable at this point.