WWE Hall of Famer JBL has offered his take on former WWE and UFC Champion Ronda Rousey and her recent comments about Alexa Bliss. Rousey stated in an interview that she felt her feud with Bliss was “f—ing ridiculous” because Bliss was only chosen as her opponent due to her high merchandise sales. JBL called Rousey’s comments “naive,” “disrespectful,” and a sign that she “obviously doesn’t understand business.”
The comments from Rousey have been a topic of conversation, with many in the wrestling world offering their opinions. On the Something to Wrestle With podcast, JBL said, “I think it’s just naive, is what it is, you know, just and like MJF said, it’s just not an understanding of the business. You know, she caught lightning in a bottle, and good for her… She obviously doesn’t understand business….Who do you want to fight? You want to find a guy who can’t sell a t-shirt? Are you going to find the number one merch guy, and I don’t give a damn who he is. I don’t care if he’s some guy on the street corner. If he can sell more merch than anybody else, put me in the ring with him, we’ll make money. I guarantee we’ll be better than some guy that you know can wrestle, that nobody cares about. I think it’s just naivety. It is what it is. And no offense to her, it’s just, you come from a business that everything is a meritocracy and you want to just fight the number one, next person in line. And I get that, but that’s the difference between guys like, say, the Paul brothers, or guys like Conor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather, who are also great fighters. But also great marketers, and that’s why they make so much money.”
JBL went on to agree with comments made by WWE personality Peter Rosenberg, who called Rousey’s comments “incredibly disrespectful.” JBL questioned why Rousey would “bash” a fellow performer who is still making a living in the business just to “get a few clicks.”
“Yes, I think Pete’s right. I think it is disrespectful. You’re taking, you know, I don’t understand Conrad, why you’ve got this Hall of Fame career, and I get it, and it’s your prerogative to say whatever you want… But I think, why are you embarrassing like Alexa, who’s still making a living, you just bash this person that’s making a living and try to discredit her, because it gets you a few clicks. I don’t appreciate it, you know… That is a professional. And, unfortunately, I guess Ronda had a different thought about the business, I don’t know.”
You can hear JBL’s full thoughts on the latest episode of the Something to Wrestle With podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
