Add as a preferred source on Google WWE has a roster full of big names, but in Jim Ross’s view, the company doesn’t currently have a single wrestler who can drive fan interest on his own.
On a recent episode of Grilling JR, the WWE Hall of Famer looked at the lower-than-expected ticket sales for SummerSlam and pointed to the lack of a top attraction as WWE’s main problem.
“I would say that WWE doesn’t have any one wrestler that’s just white hot. You got to have somebody hot. Somebody that people are talking about, and they don’t have that right now. They got a lot of great talents. I’m not saying that, but it’s always been a matter of how they’re utilized. They got to do a better job of utilizing their talent and seeing where that takes them. You got to get somebody hot.”
Ross made it clear that the criticism isn’t aimed at the wrestlers themselves, but at how they’re currently being booked.
The Hall of Famer also named Roman Reigns, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes as big stars, though he doesn’t see any of them as an attraction capable of carrying the business the way the biggest stars in company history have.
The discussion comes amid concern behind the scenes in WWE. According to WrestleVotes, ticket sales for SummerSlam have been treated internally as a problem for weeks. Data from WrestleTix showed 22,069 tickets distributed for the first night and 23,809 for the second. SummerSlam will take place on August 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.