Jim Ross blames Vince McMahon for controversial WWE incident

Jim Ross believes Vince McMahon is partly to blame for the Curtain Call incident that happened in WWE in 1996. The WWE Hall of Famer has stated that the incident could have been avoided if McMahon hadn't let it "slip by".

The Curtain Call incident, in a way, changed the pro wrestling landscape as four WWE Superstars made a big error of judgment following a match. Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Triple H hugged in the ring when they were rivals, breaking kayfabe and shocking the audience.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross criticized Vince McMahon, stating that there was a "lack of institutional control" which led to that incident.

“They are so indebted to each other and such great friends, I wonder how often they talk now? My point is, was it really that big of a deal? Or was it just for them to show their defiance and that they could do what they wanted when they wanted because of who they were. You have to blame Vince for a lot of it because he let a lot of that s--t slip by,” said Jim Ross. (H/T WrestlingInc)

Ross opined that the four superstars shouldn't have hugged in the ring, but stated that they liked each other and had to say goodbye.

Vince McMahon's reaction to the Curtain Call incident

.@ShawnMichaels, #Diesel, @SCOTTHALLNWO and @TripleH change sports-entertainment forever with the infamous "Curtain Call." pic.twitter.com/VslZdd47QM

— WWE (@WWE) May 20, 2018

Vince McMahon, as many would assume, was not happy about the incident and was surprised it happened. Erik Watts, who was backstage when it happened, revealed Vince McMahon's reaction, in a recent interview with Sportskeeda.

"Vince [McMahon] was right next to us and let me tell you, he was just as surprised as I was. I remember thinking, 'Vince is not going to really think this is good' and I look at him and I go, 'I don't need to think about it, I can tell on his face, he doesn't think it's good,'" said Erik Watts.

The only superstar to be severely affected by that incident was Triple H, whose push in WWE was paused. He was set to win the King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Stone Cold Steve Austin, which was the beginning of his iconic character.

Tuesday TriviaDid you know that if Triple H wasn't being punished for the "MSG Incident"/"The Curtain Call" then the Austin 3:16 promo at King of the Ring may have never happened?#TuesdayTrivia #FunFact #Wrestling #WWE #TripleH #SteveAustin #MSGIncident #CurtainCall #KOTR pic.twitter.com/TYhn0Q56xZ

— The Burning Truth (@wresling4thwall) June 22, 2021