Jim Ross weighs in on AEW vs. NXT.
On Tuesday, WWE announced that NXT will be moving to USA Network every Wednesday beginning on Sept. 18. The show will air head-to-head with AEW, which debuts on TNT on Wednesday, Oct. 2. With NXT moving from WWE Network to USA, many have wondered if Vince McMahon will allow NXT to remain unchanged. Longtime WWE announcer and current AEW announcer and advisor Jim Ross gave his opinion on whether or not Vince will be able to stay away.
"Vince has his hands on everything, from approving t-shirt designs to everything else. Who is gonna stop him? Nobody. It's his company," Ross said on Grilling JR. "If he wants to play quarterback, he will. I think from a time situation and the fact that the launch of the XFL is imminent and he has a lot of skin in the game on that one, that the football will take him away from some of the wrestling. He'll never be out of touch as far as the direction of the show is going or the talents being pushed that he wants. But he may not be at TV as often as he was. I see this thing as the individual guy who is responsible for the show will be at the head of the table. Roles like that will be filled in Vince's absence. But Vince will have a hand in it, now more than ever because there's competition. Vince loves competition and loves to compete."
Vince reportedly missed television this week. Raw executive director Paul Heyman, NXT founder Triple H, and executive producer Kevin Dunn reportedly sat at the head of the table for Raw. Eric Bischoff is the current executive director of SmackDown.
Ross continued, "Vince once told me, 'JR, I never lost a street fight.' Vince will look at this as a corporate street fight. He'll be involved, but I don't think they will deviate too far from what brought them to the dance. They have a good show, I enjoy watching it. I love listening to Mauro Ranallo. They've loaded that roster up. It's a who's who. Vince will be involved in some manner as long as his heart is beating."
Fellow longtime WWE wrestler and current AEW star Chris Jericho expressed similar sentiments to Ross, saying that he doesn't believe Vince McMahon will be able to stay away from NXT. You can view his full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Fightful.
