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Jim Ross was partly responsible for assembling WWE's talent roster in the 1990s and 2000s. During a recent podcast episode, the legendary commentator gave his take on why he never rehired Macho Man Randy Savage.
Savage was one of WWE's marquee attractions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many expected him to return to WWE in 2001 following Vince McMahon's purchase of WCW. Though, the popular star never wrestled for the company again.
On Grilling JR, Ross recalled how McMahon presented Savage on the same level as Hulk Hogan at one stage of his career. He also said that the WWE legend could be difficult to deal with behind the scenes:
"I didn't [suggest rehiring Savage] because I didn't enjoy working with him," Ross said. "It wasn't because of his lack of talent. He just was hard to get along with and he second-guessed everything. Was he a star? Oh my God, yes. Absolutely. At one time Vince had Savage as hot as anybody that we had on the roster, including Hulk, and that's hard to say." [1:21:57 – 1:22:24]
On May 20, 2011, Savage passed away at the age of 58 after suffering a heart attack. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
Jim Ross says Randy Savage "wasn't a popular choice"
According to Jim Ross, Randy Savage succeeded in WWE because Vince McMahon allowed him to contribute to his own creative direction in a controlled manner.
Despite his undeniable star power, Ross believes others in WWE management had reservations about Savage coming back to the company:
"He wasn't a popular choice to come back into the locker room and to come back into the team. For whatever reasons they were, he was daunting to work with at times. When you're not hot, the last thing you want is to have a talent come in that you perceive might be negative and might be problematic." [1:22:43 – 1:23:08]
Ross also said on this week's podcast that a former WWE talent "deserved to be used better" in the mid-2000s.
Do you think Randy Savage would have succeeded if he returned to WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Jim Ross' Grilling JR podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
