Jim Ross gives his wishlist.
On a recent episode of Grilling JR, Jim Ross answered fan questions on a variety of subjects. A common subject was the current state of the All Elite Wrestling roster and who JR would like to see added.
Ross was specifically asked about Lance Archer, who is coming off a well-received run in the NJPW G1 Climax tournament.
"I like his upside. His maturity level is marketable," said Ross. "Size, you can't coach size, he's got that. He's athletic for a big man. I'd love to call some more of his matches, hinting that I wish he was a member of AEW at some point in time. I don't know if that's possible, contractually or philosophically. I'm not hiring talent. But I could see worse hires being made going forward than a 6'7" athletic heavyweight. We don't have a lot of those types in AEW. I always hold out hope that Lance can join the team, but that's not my call. He's a keeper."
Later in the episode, Ross was asked to give names of those who appeal to him for AEW. Ross specified that he would name wrestlers who are considered free agents.
"I like Jack Swagger," commented Ross. "He would be on my imaginary wishlist to come to AEW because he has a lot of skills, size, and background. He's been around long enough that he knows the right way and wrong way of doing things. He hasn't touched the surface on how good he can be. He needs coaching. Jack was getting better when he was working so close with Dutch Mantel because Dutch is old school, good coach. Jack had a personal tutor on the road, which I thought helped him a lot."
Ross then added, "I like Harry Smith, Davey Boy Jr. I'm not so wild about the name. I'm sure he's proud of his father, I am too, but don't try to replicate or go back. Harry Smith, to me, has a great upside. All he needed to do was continue to develop his entertainment side, personality side. He's doing that."
It should be noted that Davey Boy Smith Jr. signed a multi-year deal with MLW in January. Swagger currently competes for Bellator MMA.
JR finished by saying, "I like those bruisers. Big, physical guys who add that balance to what we're trying to do in AEW. Having size, and athleticism with that size, always interests me. Our shortcomings are size and villains. All three of those guys could fill the bill."
Cody Rhodes recently revealed that AEW has only announced about 40% of its current roster. You can view the current AEW roster by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Fightful.
