The truth about WWE stars' strike threat revealed by Jim Ross

Jim Ross worked as a WWE commentator in 1995 when morale within the company was reportedly at an all-time low. In a recent podcast episode, the Hall of Famer recalled how former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon dealt with a serious situation at a live event.

At the time, PW Torch reported that members of the backstage group The Kliq "essentially threatened to strike." It was also claimed that other wrestlers were prepared to walk out due to The Kliq's preferential behind-the-scenes treatment.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said wrestlers' issues stemmed from WWE lacking an authority figure during live event tours. As a result, McMahon took the unusual step of traveling to non-televised shows to stop the situation from getting out of control.

"Leadership was missing on the road, and I think that speaks for itself," Ross stated. "Leadership is important. Communication is even more important, so that was highly irregular for Vince to hop on his plane and go to these events. It was time. It had to happen. It happened, and it seemed to work. Any time you can communicate better with your talent, and your talent can respond in a positive way, you win. You win the scenario." [47:37 – 48:17]

According to PW Torch, the backstage issues allegedly escalated following a difference of opinion over a finish between Scott Hall and Sycho Sid. Hall, aka Razor Ramon, was part of The Kliq alongside Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H.

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Jim Ross was "anxious" about a strike before Vince McMahon intervened

WWE's attendance figures and ticket prices decreased in late 1995, meaning wrestlers were forced to take pay cuts.

Jim Ross did not know how the problem was going to play out until Vince McMahon left WWE headquarters to solve the matter in person:

"I was anxious to see how that was gonna work out because it was unprecedented that the head honcho of a major company, like Vince McMahon, was gonna walk away from the office for a few days and go to the arenas and see how things were in reality, so I thought it was a smart move by Vince, and it seemed to make sense. And, at the end of the day, because of the results, it did make sense." [48:20 – 48:51]

In the same episode, Ross explained why he stopped watching RAW when the show moved to Netflix.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Jim Ross' quotes from this article.