AEW's Jim Ross Addresses WWE Star Shawn Stasiak's Reported Surreptitious Recordings

Jim Ross is not one for conniving tactics, especially from wrestlers recording private conversations amongst their peers. For Shawn Stasiak, recording off-the-record conversations landed him in hot water, ultimately resulting in his dismissal. Since Stasiak's first removal from WWE in 1999, rumor mills have swirled regarding whether the former Hardcore Champion's departure came from an actual firing by Ross, a suspension, or a breach of trust. The AEW commentator immediately set the record straight with his response.

"[It] was a breach of trust," Ross said on "Grilling JR." "What happens in locker rooms should stay there. It doesn't need to be shared by Vince, JR, or anybody else...I thought the breach of trust term was...spot on. The talent didn't want to work with him after that. They thought it was... intruded on their privacy... And you don't know where these tapes are going to end up."

Ross believes any locker room should be a safe space for any wrestler to prepare and converse discreetly with co-workers on professional and personal issues. What Stasiak did, in Ross' eyes, was take away the protection of this unspoken rule.

"It was infiltrating the locker room, which you don't do," Ross added. "You gotta give them a safe haven somewhere...the locker room has got to be sacred. It's got to be protected. I thought he didn't do a very good job of protecting the locker room by recording that bulls**t."

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray also spoke on Stasiak being chewed out for recording conversations, stating that the former three-time WCW World Tag Team Champion took advantage of his personal connectedness with Steve Blackman and Davey Boy Smith, saying that the recordings of their conversations were for inspiration for his promos.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.