Jim Ross Calls Out Modern-Day Wrestlers for Weak Selling and Bad Habits

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has been part of the industry for several decades, and he has seen the business change in various ways over the years. He always shares his opinion on modern-day wrestling and he has now criticized modern-day pro wrestlers for weak selling in their matches.

While speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross criticized today’s wrestlers for not properly selling moves. He mentioned that many wrestlers stop their movements before their punches or strikes even land, making them look fake. He also pointed out that when wrestlers land big punches, the camera zooms in on the opponent’s face, but there is no sign of injury, like redness, swelling, or blood.

“A lot of guys are playing pity-pat, and they’re stopping their movement on a blow before their arm or hand even gets there, and it looks fake. But that’s business-wide, and I don’t get it. Conrad, you hit a guy ten times, and you land your big-time punches, usually with the right hand because most people are right-handed. Then when they get a camera shot, which I would never go to right away unless there’s evidence of assault, they go to the guy’s face, and it’s not even red, not swollen, there’s no bloody nose, no chipped teeth. QT Marshall says, ‘Thank God,’ and there you are.”

Ross added that he doesn’t understand why wrestlers do this, stating it exposes the flaws in their work. He compared it to using a finishing move, like a DDT, just for a near-fall instead of as the match-ending move it should be.

“I don’t get it. They expose themselves like that. That’s like delivering an established finishing move and using it as a high spot. You see somebody hit a solid, hard DDT, and the guy gets nailed and planted— that should be a finish. If you don’t want to use it as a finish, then don’t use it, because it’s sure as hell not a high spot or getting the old proverbial 2 count.”

Good ol’ JR noted that many young wrestlers copy what they see, but sometimes they are picking up bad habits, like throwing weak punches. He mentioned that some wrestlers he respects are retired, comfortable, and have made their money, but are still confused by the poor technique in modern wrestling.

While he admitted he might be wrong, he said that today’s wrestlers are making more money and working less than ever before, so he is not sure how bad things really are. In the end, Ross believes that if wrestlers focused more on improving their basic skills, there would be more money for everyone.

“I watch a lot of wrestling, and people emulate what they see. If you’re a talent, and some of what they’re emulating isn’t good, if you can’t throw a good punch—I’ve heard this a thousand times. Some guys I respect are Hall of Fame guys. There are guys who are retired, comfortable, they’ve made their money, saved their money, and been smart through the process. My God, some of the stuff I’m seeing just doesn’t make sense to me.

And I might be wrong. I’m just telling you, I might be wrong, because I understand the talents are making more money and working less than they ever have in the history of wrestling. So how bad is it really? That’s just a rhetorical question. But maybe it’s okay, maybe it’s fine. I just think there would be more money to spread around if they were more fundamentally sound and logical. Be logical, try to be logical. If you can, well, let’s be logical.”

Jim Ross even criticized wrestlers for wearing jewelry during matches. Regardless, Jim Ross has the right to express his own opinion and many fans will likely agree with his criticism, as he simply wants wrestling to be more believable at the end of the day.

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