On a recent episode of his podcast, “Grilling JR,” Jim Ross discussed Christian leaving WWE for TNA in 2005 and more. Here are the highlights:
On Vince McMahon not being a Christian fan: “I thought it was kind of absurd, because Christian deserved more time. He could help us. He could work with these guys that were less talented then him and make them look good. I think Vince’s issue with Christian was Christian’s physique. He’s not a big guy. He’s always in great shape, but he’s not a big guy. And Vince has these hard ons for big guys, big teams more often than not, when you look back.”
On Christian leaving WWE for TNA: “I had an idea [Christian was frustrated and leaving]. Of course, yeah, absolutely. Anybody that talked to him would know. Anybody that looked at his facial expressions, his body language. It’s not hard. When you get to know these guys, you understand their moods. You gotta be able to read the book that they’re writing, and they were — he was one of those guys that was very easy to read. He was unsatisfied, and he didn’t know how long his bump card was going to last, considering that he was out three or four months, wherever it was, with a back injury. That’s the kiss of death for a wrestler — back injuries. How many times does a move, a match, or a sequence end up being with a flatback bump in some shape, form, or fashion? And if your back is weak and you get back problems — man, the clock starts ticking.”
On why Christian left: “I think so, yeah. He just wanted to be acknowledged as a top guy, because that’s what he was. And he did good work at TNA. I think he helped build their brand, quite frankly. He was reliable again. He’s just — he came in, he made things better than it was before he got there.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Grilling JR podcast with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
