"He didn't embarrass the company," says Jim Ross about recently signed star's debut match in AEW
Jim Ross liked a recently signed AEW star's in-ring debut in the promotion. Big Boom AJ (with Big Justice and The Rizzler) wrestled his first All Elite Wrestling match against QT Marshall at Full Gear Zero Hour and won.
Despite having a broken foot, Big Boom AJ delivered a stellar performance. A few days later, he revealed that he and his son had officially joined the Tony Khan-led company's roster.
AJ's match at Full Gear was well received by many fans. Wrestling veteran Jim Ross was also impressed with the social media sensation's debut match at the AEW pay-per-view. On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said he found the bout entertaining.
"It was a great thing for his sons. They saw Dad sacrifice pain and continue on. And I thought he and QT did a good job. If you haven't seen it folks, you can check it out on YouTube or something. But it's a good outing for him. And he didn't embarrass the company for god's sake. It was entertaining; I liked it."
Ross added that bringing in The Costco Guys and The Rizzler for AEW Full Gear was a smart decision by Tony Khan. He felt the trio's appearance possibly brought more eyes to the pay-per-view.
"It's a good thing. It don't hurt nothing. The purists, you know, who want them back in wool tights and holding onto the tag rope, which I do adhere to, that kind of thing, they're not going to like it. You can't make them like it. But it gives another ring in the circus (...) So I'm for those things. WWE has done a good job over the years of using celebrities. We've done that here in AEW. Mike Tyson, Shaq. So we've done it before. Not quite to the extreme that we did it Saturday with the boys of Costco." [H/T: WrestlingInc.]
AEW star Big Boom AJ reveals what would have made him continue his pro wrestling career
Big Boom AJ was an indie pro wrestler before becoming a TikTok and YouTube sensation. He was away from pro wrestling for around 16 years before returning for a match in 2021.
During an appearance on Hey! EW, AJ revealed that he would have remained in the pro wrestling business if the internet had been as active as it is today.
“Well, because if we had all we had right now, the Internet, where you could really reach everyone, I would have stayed in wrestling," said AJ. "At the time, I went as far as wrestling as I really wanted to go, because without being on the road so many days a year (…) I have so much respect for professional wrestlers. Being on the road over 200 days a year, at the time, television was really only the opportunity."
AJ's last indie match before 2021 was on April 30, 2005, at the NWS Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament. At the event, he teamed up with Jim Neidhart to defeat Hasheem Ali & Simon Diamond. He has wrestled two bouts this year.