Jim Ross is not one to embrace conniving tactics, especially from wrestlers recording private conversations between their peers. For Shawn Stasiak, recording off-the-record conversations put him in a difficult situation, which ultimately led to his firing. Since Stasiak’s first retirement from WWE in 1999, rumors have swirled as to whether the former hardcore champion’s departure stemmed 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. “Toast JR.” “What happens in the locker room should stay there. It doesn’t need to be shared by Vince, JR or anyone else… I thought the term breach of trust was… . perfect. The talent didn’t want to work with him after that. They thought it was… an intrusion into their privacy… And you don’t know where these tapes are going to end up.”
Ross believes that any locker room should be a safe space for any wrestler to prepare and converse discreetly with colleagues about professional and personal matters. What Stasiak did, in Ross’s eyes, was remove the protection of this unwritten rule.
“It was about infiltrating the locker room, which you don’t do,” Ross added. “You have to give them shelter somewhere…the locker room has to be sacred. It has to be protected. I thought he didn’t do a very good job protecting the locker room by recording that crap.” “.
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray also spoke about Stasiak being chewed out for recording conversations, stating that the former three-time WCW World Tag Team Champion took advantage of his personal connection with Steve Blackman and Davey Boy Smith, claiming that recordings of their conversations were a source of inspiration for his promos.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit “Grilling JR” with ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
