Jim Ross Calls Himself The Original "Demo God", Says Triple H Didn't Have His Back In WWE
During the latest episode of the Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross went back and watched Monday Night RAW from October 10th, 2005 where he was fired in the main event. The show ended with Ross being publicly humiliated by the McMahon family and fired by Linda McMahon. Ross talked about how he just did what he was asked by Vince without any hesitation. He also talked about how he felt some of the punishment he received on screen was more than just storyline, it was personal.
"My dad taught me a long time ago that when you work for a man, you earn your keep," Ross said. "You do what he's paying you to do whether you like your gig or not. I didn't have a problem doing what Vince wanted in large because I always did it. If I had a problem with it, I would've figured a way not to do it. That never happened ever one time in all those in ring skits.
"My minute by minute, ratings were always excellent. Sometimes they were better than some of the boys working. People had an interest and emotional investment in JR – the trials and tribulations of poor JR getting run through the wringer again. I always felt like, at times, it was personal. It was more than just creative."
Ross continued to mention how Vince had to have had some motive behind firing JR on RAW and embarrassing him live on television in the main event. He believed it was very personal, and Vince could use the excuse of it being just a storyline if asked if it was personal.
"Wrestlers have this thing where it's almost ribbing on the square," Ross said. "They can treat you like s–t creatively and just say 'Well, it's just for the show. It's part of the process and presentation,' and I always felt like that was the wrong motivation. This was one of those nights where I thought it was very personal and he wanted to send a message to me for whatever reason, and he did. I executed it. The coach called the plans and I ran them."
Ross also mentioned how his ratings were sky high during the segments he was involved in as an on-screen character. He said he was the original "Demo God", not Chris Jericho.
"I should tell Jericho that," JR said. "He just celebrated his 30th year in the business. I'm going to ask Tony Khan when the f*** are you going to celebrate my 47th year in the business? Do I have to work there 3 more years to get a day? JR's 50th."
On the prior week's Monday Night RAW, every member of the McMahon family took a Stone Cold Stunner from Steve Austin. Ross talked about Linda McMahon taking a stunner from Stone Cold, and how she just did what the boss, who was also her husband, told her to do.
"She was reluctant that night to do the business but she, like everybody else, was reluctant to cross the boss," Ross said. "That's what he wanted. She was a great sport."
JR was fired that night in the storyline but also in real life. He talked about how upset he was that Triple H, who was just starting to begin working behind the scenes, didn't stick up for him. Ross said he never had issues with Triple H until then, and he was upset about how much he had done for him without the favor returned.
"When he became an administrator, we didn't have a lot of successful negotiations," Ross said. "I was disappointed in that a bit because I always went to bat for him. I got him the contract he wanted and that was important to him – to have the same million dollar downside guarantee that the other guys did. I think he just took Vince's lead."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.