Jim Ross says a superstar knew he was going to become WWE Champion before getting signed

Jim Ross and Vince McMahon.
Jim Ross and Vince McMahon.

The latest edition of "Grilling JR" with Jim Ross and Conrad Thompson revolved around WCW's SuperBrawl 1 (1991), which featured Sid Vicious's final match in the company before he signed with WWE/F.

Jim Ross spoke about Sid's jump to WWE. He felt that Sid, aka Sycho Sid, would probably have been given the idea that he would become a WWE Champion before he was signed.

Sid was a big name in wrestling who had a look that Vince McMahon loved, and he was always expected to get a healthy push in the WWE.

Jim Ross explained that Sid couldn't refuse the offer as carrying the most prestigious title in wrestling came with its monetary benefits.

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"That he could be hard to deal with, he had that amazing look that Vince embraced. I think that I'm sure somewhere along the way in those conversations that he was given the idea that he would be the WWE Champion, and so, you know, I think that was attractive to him because A. it's a top title in the business at the time, and with that comes excellent money, more money he'd ever made," JR explained.

Sid was in the business to make money: Jim Ross

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Jim Ross bluntly stated that Sid was in the wrestling business to make money, and Vince McMahon presented the star with an opportunity to rake in the big bucks.

Sid Vicious wasn't one of those wrestlers who was happy being a proud champion, willing to work on a $200 weekly package.

The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion's goal was to maximize his financial gains, and his WCW departure was partly due to an apparent miscommunication at the management level.

Jim Ross, who was with WCW at the time, noted that the decision-making structure in the now-defunct promotion witnessed constant changes.

"Look, Sid was in the business to make money. That's it. I don't think he was living his life-long dream, you know, he wasn't one of those guys that came from the territories, who was happy to make $200 a week if they had a belt to carry around. A lot of guys had that attitude; they are the champs. They got the belt. They got pictures made, and they are making 200 dollars a week or something. But Sid was all about the money, and again, we talked about this; when I'm talking about WCW, the communication between the decision-makers, and that list of folks changes seemingly constantly, was never great," said Jim Ross.

Jim Ross added that effective communication and positive reinforcements were vital while dealing with wrestlers, but that didn't happen in Sid's case.

Sid was earmarked for a WWE Championship push, and Jim Ross said that a showdown with Hulk Hogan would have also been on Viscious's mind.

"You know, communication is the key. Wrestlers need more communication and constant positive feedback than any athlete I've ever been around (with); because you mix athletics and showbiz, you've got a very challenging scenario. So, I think Sid was looking at it as my big break will come when I go to WWE or WWF, and I will eventually, sooner than late, become their champion. He had visions of Hogan dancing in his head. And look, Sid started getting over as a babyface in WWE at one point in time. So, but we looked at him and in Atlanta as the killer heel. But it just didn't work out, but a lot of that was just poor communication, Conrad, and the fact that that's what he wanted to do," concluded Jim Ross.

Weirdly enough, Sid didn't win the WWE Championship during his first stint as he quit the company in 1992 and returned to WCW.

Sid would make a WWE comeback in 1995 after a brief run with USWA, and he finally won the top title during his second tenure.


Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

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Edited by Amar Anand
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