Jim Ross Discusses Why Vince McMahon Was Not Initially Sold On Chris Jericho, How Jericho Had To Wear Lifts in His Shoes During His Early WWE Years

On the latest edition of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed Vince McMahon not being sold on Chris Jericho early on in his WWE career and how he felt Jericho was too short to be a main eventer. Highlights are below.

On Vince McMahon not being sold on Chris Jericho: “Vince always thought, he was not as sold on Chris as I was. There’s a big part of my book, Under The Black Hat, that we talk about signing Jericho and write about it and the recruiting of it and negotiating with Vince. I had to negotiate with Vince, basically, to get Chris on the radar, because of his fucking height. That was it.”

On how Jericho had it all: “What would you dislike? What would be your bad box checkmarks for Chris Jericho? He can’t work? No, he’s a real good worker. Oh he can’t talk, can he? No, he’s a real good talker. Is he injury free? No, he hasn’t been injured, he’s about as durable as anybody we’ve ever hired. So what is it? His blue eyes? Fact he’s from Winnipeg?”

On how Jericho wore lifts in his shoes during his early years in WWE: “In Vince’s eyes he’s short. That’s why Jericho wore lifts in his shoes in those early days in WWE, so he could get another inch or two.”

On how Vince didn’t feel Jericho was a WrestleMania main eventer: “He wasn’t hard to get along with, he worked his ass off, he was talented, he was highly skilled, great skillset. He was not the ideal height to be in the main event of WrestleMania, in Vince’s view.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Grilling JR with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.