Jim Ross Comments On AEW Criticism

AEW announcer Jim Ross has addressed criticism from some quarters that the company’s pay-per-view spectaculars are just too long.

AEW recently held Forbidden Door in conjunction with New Japan Pro Wrestling in the United Center in Chicago. The 16,000+ fans packed into the event saw Jon Moxley defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event to become Interim AEW World Champion.

That match was the last of nine held on pay-per-view but the event itself also had a pre-show Buy In that hosted four more matches, extending the run time for those intent on not missing any of the action and for those at the show.

Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross – who only called the final four matches of Forbidden Door – addressed that for some the show was too long but for him, it was all about the effort from the talents:

“I thought that [Forbidden Door] was exceptional. It was long, that was maybe a negative for some people, but the talent worked their asses off and that, to me, is where it starts and ends. Great effort and preparation … We had a lot of show-stopping matches and a lot of matches where guys put on spots to raise their game.”

Jim Ross paid particular tribute to Orange Cassidy who raised his game in a show-stealing effort with IWGP US Champion, Will Ospreay:

“For example, the very unique Orange Cassidy, who is a gimmick guy, had a hell of a match with Will Ospreay, who’s a much better wrestler than Orange Cassidy, but we saw Orange Cassidy could wrestle. He did the honors, he lost the match, so what? I just enjoyed the hell out of that show.”

h/t Wrestling Inc.