Jim Ross confesses to being the 'scapegoat' and sticking his neck out for current AEW star
WWE veteran Jim Ross recently admitted he was the scapegoat for helping an AEW star in the past. The star being discussed is Jeff Jarrett. He is currently working as AEW's Director of Business Development. He has previosly worked in WWE, WCW, NWA and TNA.
Double J was one of the top performers during the 1990s. After leaving WCW, he returned to WWE in 1997 and signed a two-year contract. In 1999, when the contract was expired, the promotion had asked him to work some extra events after his contract expired. Therefore, he had asked for extra money for the additional performances but WWE rejected his offer.
This business was supposedly handled by Jim Ross as he was the Head of Talent during that period and handled Jeff Jarrett's business as well. On the recent Grilling JR podcast, the AEW commentator claimed that he was the scapegoat in the entire saga as Vince McMahon didn't agree with the deal and Jim Ross had to inform Jeff.
“I was the scapegoat in that whole situation. And some of it honestly was my fault. And I didn’t pursue Jeff as fervently as some would expect; that may just have been on me. You know, the money he wanted and the terms and all that stuff were commensurate with a top guy. I didn’t pursue Jeff at that time, [as] a top guy for WWE," he said. [H/T - EWrestling News]
Jim Ross once told Jeff Jarrett about his pay cut
While Jeff was signed to WWE in his early years, Vince McMahon decided to change his annual salary from $350,000 to $250,000.
Speaking on the Grilling JR podcast, the AEW commentator claimed that the former Chairman of WWE told him to notfiy Double J about the pay cut.
"To pare back a little bit and downsize, just to prepare for the eventuality that things will not always be great, so that's kinda what we had there. That was Vince's call. Of course, I get to be the messenger, but I didn't create the scenario. I created the process on McMahon's orders, and Jeff was just caught there," he said.
As of now, both the stars are working for AEW and have no issues with each other in the current promotion.