Professional wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross who is currently working as a color commentator in WWE recently talked about Battle Royal matches in professional wrestling and explained why he did not like such kind of matches.
The history of the Battle Royal matches in professional wrestling is very old. The exact history of the Battle Royal is still unknown but it is believed that the origin of the Battle Royal dates back to early 18th century. The rules have changed throughout the years and what we see as a modern day Battle Royal has been introduced to the world of professional wrestling in the 20th century.
Jim Ross Explains Why He Does Not Like Battle Royal Matches
Battle Royals have been a fun format of wrestling matches, where multiple wrestlers start a match together, the number can be 5 to 10 to even 50 or more. Once a wrestler is thrown out of the ring over the ropes gets eliminated. The last man standing in the ring wins whole thing.
The most famous and popular format of Battle Royal is the Royal Rumble match which was introduced in 1988 and the idea was pitched by professional wrestling legend Pat Patterson. WWE organizes this format of Battle Royal once a year and the craze of the fans about it is always very high. Jim Ross may not like the format but it will always be remembered as one of the most fan favourite match types ever.
Jim Ross who is currently working as a color commentator in WWE recently spoke on his Grillin JR Podcast where he talked about Battle Royal matches in professional wrestling and explained why he did not like such kind of matches. He said;
“My issue has always been, in this respect, I’ve never been a fan of battle royals. I’ve [seen] so many of them, and it’s almost sometimes to be embarrassed to be in the ring with guys that were just half-assing it. Sometimes a battle royal is a lazy night, for some talents. They only get good at the very end.
“I’m just not a big fan… it’s like the Royal Rumble. It’s gotta be good all the way through, and you gotta have peaks and valleys, and you gotta load it up and unload it. That’s how you get guys quote-on-quote over, as they come in and they’re devastating and they do great things. But you just can’t maintain that for an hour. You gotta have peaks and valleys. There’s gonna be slow spots.
“There’s dead spots in these matches because it’s inevitable. So we’ll see. The booking of a Royal Rumble is really challenging, and it was Pat Patterson’s idea to have the Royal Rumble, he created the concept, which is a tribute to Pat. He’ll always be remembered for it, as he should.
“It’ll be interesting to see how that works out. But there’s a lot of interesting things to evaluate and to watch, if you’re gonna watch the Royal Rumble. How it’s laid out, you should have two good runs before you get to the final four or five guys. Patterson was brilliant at that. Michael Hayes started helping, and Michael is brilliant in that regard. He’s a real creative mind. It’s hard to lay out, it’s hard to book. Like any great booking, you start at the end. Who do you want to win? Then work backwards.”
H/T and transcribed by Fightful