Jim Ross On Hulk Hogan’s 2003 WWE Return, Why Raven Struggled In the Company

On a recent episode of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed WWE No Way Out 2003. JR talked about opposition towards Hulk Hogan returning in 2003, his thoughts on Hogan vs. Vince at WrestleMania XIX and why Raven struggled in his WWE run leading to his release. Some highlights are below.

On opposition to Hulk Hogan returning in 2003: “Well, a lot of top guys were not interested in it because they knew it was going to create competition for that spot or those spots. And there’s not enough spots to go around to cover everybody’s bases and needs and so forth. I remember telling some talents, ‘Why are you worried about it?’ He’s an older guy with multiple back surgeries. He’s very limited on what he can do physically. So, I don’t understand your angst. I don’t understand your paranoia. It sounds like you’re worried about competition and knowing your abilities, talking about the talent, I don’t know what you have to worry about. Just go do your thing. Go do your thing and have the best match you could possibly have, and then stick your chest out when you walk back to the gorilla position and say something to the effect of ‘Follow that boys.’ I had no issues. I just wanted whatever was going to be good for the company to enhance my paycheck.”

On being in favor of Hogan vs. McMahon at WrestleMania 19: “I had no problem with it whatsoever, to be honest with you. I think it was something fans wanted to see. Vince badmouthing Hogan, Hogan badmouth Vince and all that stuff had grown, and now we’re getting more into the social media age where information is being, you know, established and distributed in a very unique way.

“It wasn’t going to be the main event. It was never going to be the main event, even though I thought it had great interest. It’s just the paranoia of wrestlers and actors and singers. Any entertainment-type person is looking for that next hit and the promoters are looking for that next big payday. I know that this pay-per-view did well and Vince and everybody involved made good money, because I did the payoffs. And that’s not because of me, the money was there. I always looked at the payroll like a big pie. The bigger the pie that is baked the better off you are.”

On why Raven struggled in WWE: “Sometimes Vince has selective hearing and selective memory like all of us. So, Scotty just never fulfilled his potential there in WWE. Talented guy, a good mind for the business. But there was questions at the time about his reliability. Is he down a rabbit hole a little bit with this extracurricular actions, I don’t know. I don’t recall him flunking a drug test, but he might have. He just never fit well. He didn’t fit well enough for Vince to let all that slide by and keep rolling with this push because we all know that the push is everything.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.