Jim Ross On Pushing For Steve Austin In WCW, Why He Didn’t Like WCW’s Portrayal Of Johnny B. Badd Character

In a recent edition of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed pushing for Steve Austin in WCW, the issues with the Johnny B. Badd character, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Jim Ross on pushing for Steve Austin in WCW: “Well, he hit my radar in Dallas. I said, ‘That kid’s a star. He’s gonna be a star. Just look at him.’ The way he moved, and his instincts were great. Very athletic, looked good, and looked believable. Looked like a tough guy. So, he was on my radar then. Then when we all got to Atlanta, the booking committee I was involved in – Steve was one of the guys we really pushed on. I pushed on him and Mick Foley and Brian Pillman – those three guys especially, I recall. Bring them in and let’s get them going. He was a star, and you knew he was gonna be a star. I don’t know if the other guys did or not. When you have people on the booking committee that are decision-makers and they’re active participants, they don’t see some of those things as quickly as some of us that have no dog in that hunt. In other words, Steve was not wanting my spot. When you’re on the booking committee, you’re always protective of your spot. Your spot is more important than the success of the company. That’s the ego-centric way that it was perceived back in those days. He was a star from the get-go and I thought he was gonna be great. It seemed like it worked out that way.”

On why he wasn’t a fan of the Johnny B. Badd character in WCW: “Johnny B. Badd was a Dusty creation. Dusty spent a lot of time with Marc Mero developing that character. Like we’ve said here many times, when the booker creates a character, they’re gonna do all they can to make sure that character gets over. I think that was kind of the situation with Johnny B. Badd. He needed vignettes, and he needed about six or eight weeks of TV and then it might have been more acceptable to establish heel or babyface. If you’re just gonna build your angle on a gay character and basically he’s gonna be a heel, in some way, you’re not treating the homosexual component with any respect. So, if you’re gay, you’re heel. How fucking objective is that? Would that fly today? Of course it wouldn’t. It shouldn’t have flown then.”

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