Jim Ross has come out in support of Kevin Nash’s recent call for WWE talent to unionize, and said Nash’s product knowledge is the reason he would already be running someone’s creative team if he wanted to be.
The endorsement came on the latest episode of Grilling JR, where co-host Conrad Thompson read out Nash’s pointed comments from his Kliq This! podcast that has driven the WWE union conversation this week. Nash’s argument was rooted in the gap between TKO leadership’s compensation increases and WWE talent reportedly being asked to take pay cuts to renegotiate contracts, citing The New Day’s Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston specifically.
Ross was asked directly what he thought of Nash pushing for a wrestling union, with the framing that wrestlers like Nash, who have always been able to make a great living, are not usually the ones leading that conversation.
“He’s a very smart guy, Conrad. He’s very bright. He knows what he’s talking about. You know, I tell the story of getting unions that Bill Watts said one time, you know, these guys can’t agree on what to have for lunch or go to for lunch. So it’s hard to get everybody on the same page, so to speak, because they’re the decision makers in that world heretofore have been somewhat, I don’t know, they have their own agendas, and if they get their money, then they’re happy. They’re not willing to give some of their money back to the union and move on. You can’t hurt yourself by listening to Kevin and his ideas for a union or any other topic in wrestling.”
Ross said Nash’s grasp of the business is the reason his opinion carries weight, and made the case that Nash should already be running someone’s book.
“You know, I think if he was more motivated with the product, he’s probably in charge of somebody’s creative right now. He’s that good. And you want to get guys to have product knowledge. Those of you that follow me know that I am big on the product knowledge. If you, that’s how you find the best people. Product knowledge.”
He compared Nash’s product knowledge to Jim Cornette’s, while acknowledging the limitations Cornette had to work around in his own booking career.
“People didn’t hire Jim Cornette because he was a future main event waiting to happen. They just didn’t. But he’s a student of the game, and he knew how to navigate the ship on any kind of water you want to get on. Rough waters, icy waters, blue water, whatever, he understood the product, and therefore he was able to make good, sound booking decisions. You know, we don’t know how good Cornette’s stuff would have been if he had had the chance to have another two or three stars on his roster that he could acquire and build from there.”
He closed by tying the union angle to Nash’s specific track record across multiple work environments.
“So, product knowledge is essential, and Kevin Nash has immense product knowledge. And because he’s been in so many union environments, he’s somebody that you should listen to. I do. I find it to be very bright, very informative.”
Nash, speaking on the latest Kliq This! podcast, pointed to SAG-AFTRA as a viable organizing path for wrestlers and contrasted TKO’s reported pay cuts with the company’s executive compensation. His original quote, which Conrad Thompson read in full during the Grilling JR episode, accused Endeavor leadership of running a one-way game.
“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t play Endeavor at the top with the 300% increases and 1099 the dock workers. If they’re going to play by those rules, let the boys play by those same rules. Go through Screen Actors Guild, they’ll be more than happy to take their cut of your money. It won’t be 50%, but it’ll change the ball game. Take one of the programs that’s written down and tell me that that program isn’t more heavily written and more produced than Curb Your Enthusiasm when all those actors got SAG paid.”
The Nash comments came in the wake of reports that WWE asked Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to take pay cuts, after which both denied and asked for their release, along with JC Mateo, Tonga Loa, and others in the May round of cuts. WWE released 25 wrestlers on April 24, days after WrestleMania 42.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit Grilling JR and include a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
