"I'd rather not done it" - Jim Ross disliked Vince McMahon's WWE storyline idea for him
Former WWE commentator and executive Jim Ross recently admitted he did not enjoy his short run as a heel on-screen personality.
Kevin Nash (f.k.a Diesel) and Scott Hall (f.k.a. Razor Ramon) joined WCW from WWE in the summer of 1996. Shortly after Nash and Hall left, Ross turned heel and repeatedly claimed that Diesel and Razor Ramon were going to return.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said he would rather not have participated in the Fake Diesel and Fake Razor storyline:
“I’d rather not done it because I thought my skills were being wasted by doing that and not doing play-by-play. That was just me, maybe just my ego talking as well. It was different and it was new. Like I said many times, wrestling fans love new. I had fun at the beginning but tying me to that wagon with the Fake Razor and Diesel, I didn’t think it was gonna accomplish very much,” he said.
Vincent Kennedy McMahon was wild for having a fake Razor and Diesel 🤣😂😂🤣🤣😂 https://t.co/6uZhyfQiGm
WWE reprised the Diesel and Razor Ramon characters in September 1996, with Glenn Jacobs (a.k.a. Kane) playing Diesel and Rick Bognar playing Razor Ramon. The storyline was quickly dropped due to negative reactions from WWE fans.
Reason why Jim Ross agreed to turn heel
1996: Fake Diesel and Razor Ramon (WWF)
It was supposed to give Jim Ross major heel heat following his ‘worked shoot’ promo on Vince McMahon and the WWF. https://t.co/bFnHTVY5YV
Although Jim Ross wanted to remain a serious commentator, he agreed to turn heel at the request of Vince McMahon. The storyline also allowed him to take in-character digs at the WWE Chairman during promo segments.
The 69-year-old added that he became a bad guy simply because his boss wanted him to.
“I love the business so much that it was something to try, something different, and it’s what Vince wanted, so that’s what you did. You did what the boss wants. Don’t try to outsmart the system,” Ross said.
Ross worked for WWE for a combined 22 years between 1993 and 2019. He is currently a commentator and senior advisor for AEW.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.