During the latest edition of his “Grilling JR” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented on how The Undertaker played a role in WWE signing Kronik, what Vince McMahon originally wanted to do with Kronik, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On The Undertaker’s role in WWE signing Kronik: “I’m sure to some degree, yes. It’s much like when I hired Mick Foley to go around the house shows looking to get one run out of him because I needed an opponent for the Undertaker. I patterned that after the old NBA West when people were trying to defend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, they were trying to find a center that could match up with him. I think that’s kind of what we were looking for with Undertaker. We needed somebody to match up with him and give him a new opponent until others got ready. Little did we know Mick was gonna become such a great star. I think that’s where we were here. Undertaker and Kane as a team – very imposing, to say the least. Size, reputation, ring style – very heavy-handed and very physical. They needed opponents. I think Taker probably went to Vince and said, ‘Hey look, I’ve got an idea.’ Vince is really good about the top guys….we talked about Austin turning heel, and Vince said we owed it to him to try it. That’s kind of what we did. We went along with Taker’s suggestion and hired both of those guys. Unfortunately, they just didn’t have the “it” thing. You can’t smell it, touch it – you can feel it. Both of those guys were decent guys and there’s nothing wrong with them on a human level. Just working with two of our biggest stars – literally and figurately – didn’t have the sizzle it was gonna take to turn heads and draw money on a consistent basis in this particular marriage. Taker did have something to do with it, and to his credit, he believed in those guys. They just didn’t close the deal, and it’s unfortunate.”
On Vince McMahon wanting to send Kronik to development and their feud with the Undertaker and Kane: “I think Vince saw their matches and saw the same thing you did, and the same thing I did. As a team, they weren’t at that level. Now, if they had gone down and could work three or four days a week as a team and they concentrated on getting better as a unit so they could come back and have matches with two 7-foot babyfaces – Undertaker and Kane – then so be it. But if you’re a guy in their position and it’s a little unsettling, you can look at it two ways – ‘I’m offended because I’m a veteran and you want me to go back down.’ We wanted you to go back down because we wanted you to work on your skill set as a tag team. But at the end of the day, they had not done themselves any favors in any previous matches. Even Undertaker’s influence was not gonna be able to save them. The performance wasn’t there. To be honest, that took a lot of heat off of the Undertaker because at the end of the day, at least from my point of view, that new heel team was not doing Undertaker and Kane any favors. So, you’ve gotta protect Undertaker and Kane. That’s what we were trying to do. So, you’ve either gotta get along or move along. I think that’s where we were on that deal. It was logical they were gonna have their feathers ruffled, and they didn’t like my information I was giving them. ‘I’m just telling you guys what Vince wants, and he wants you guys to work on your tag team stuff so you can come back and make some money.’ They thought they were fine and didn’t need it. That’s just ego.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
