Jim Ross strongly disagrees with the idea that someone needs to have been a professional wrestler to successfully book a wrestling promotion.
Bret Hart recently told Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes that one of WWE’s problems is having people instruct wrestlers how to work despite never having wrestled themselves, specifically naming Bruce Prichard.
During Grilling JR, Conrad Thompson raised Hart’s argument with Ross and pointed out that AEW President Tony Khan books his promotion despite never having been a wrestler.
Ross immediately rejected the premise.
“No, absolutely not. Not even close. That’s not even a close assumption,” Ross said.
Ross pointed to legendary St. Louis promoter Sam Muchnick as one of the clearest historical examples of someone who understood how to present professional wrestling without having performed inside the ring.
“Sam Muchnick did pretty good in St. Louis, and I don’t remember Sammy ever putting on the tights,” Ross said. “If you understand the genre, and one has product knowledge, you can damn sure be a booker. I’ve booked some pretty successful cards, and made some fellows a lot of money, helped facilitate them making the money, and I never wrestled.”
Ross acknowledged that he occasionally became physically involved in wrestling storylines during his career, but he doesn’t consider those appearances evidence of genuine in-ring experience. In fact, he admitted that he remains embarrassed by some of them.
“In some of those skits that we did, I don’t call it wrestling. I was embarrassed to do them. I still am embarrassed to think back on some of the days where I got booked into an angle, not being in shape, not being trained,” Ross said. “The JR announcer character’s popularity was the only thing that made it work. I’m honest. It wasn’t my skills, for God’s sake.”
Where Ross does see significant value in wrestling experience is during the process of turning a creative concept into an actual match.
He argued that a non-wrestler can develop the storyline and overall direction, but experienced wrestlers should then be trusted to translate that vision into what happens between the ropes.
“Once the booker, who may not be a wrestler, creates the storyline, the torch needs to go to the wrestling people to lay out the match that you envision in your mind,” Ross said. “The value in having been a former wrestler really is all the money. It’s not creating the idea originally, it’s refining the idea.”
Ross therefore made a clear distinction between creating a wrestling storyline and possessing the experience necessary to refine its physical execution.
“So no, that’s bulls**,” he said. “I don’t think you have to be a wrestler to book whatsoever.”*
Despite disagreeing with Hart’s position, Ross was careful not to dismiss the WWE Hall of Famer personally. He also noted that he had not read Hart’s complete remarks.
“Bret believes what he said. He believes the issue that he identified and his description of it. He believes it in his heart,” Ross said. “Now, whether he’s right or wrong is up to somebody else hearing the message and agreeing or not.”
As for Prichard being singled out for criticism, Ross said scrutiny comes with the territory given his position within WWE.
“It’s not the first time he’s been criticised. He’s in a role where he will always be subjective and potentially nailed to the cross, because of who he reports to and what he’s doing,” he said. “Nothing new. It ain’t gonna end.”
Muchnick provides historical support for Ross’ argument. He promoted wrestling in St. Louis for decades and served multiple terms as president of the National Wrestling Alliance despite never having competed as a professional wrestler.
Ross himself also spent years working behind the scenes in wrestling, including booking responsibilities in Mid-South Wrestling and WCW and a lengthy tenure overseeing talent relations in WWE.
For Ross, previous in-ring experience can be invaluable once wrestlers begin constructing how a match will unfold, but he firmly rejects the idea that taking bumps is a prerequisite for creating successful wrestling stories in the first place.
