"Taker liked him" - Jim Ross feels close friendship with The Undertaker helped a former star in WWE

The latest episode of Jim Ross' 'Grilling JR' podcast on AdFreeShows.com revolved around SummerSlam 1996. During the show, the WWE Hall of Famer also discussed the WWE career of Brian Adams.

Adams wrestled under the ring name Crush during his multiple stints in the WWE in the 90s. He was particularly close to The Undertaker in real life.

Adams arrived from WCW with a lot of promise. While he captured the tag team titles on one occasion, he couldn't cement his position in the top half of the card in WWE.

Undertaker with his friend, the late-great "Crush" Brian Adams (RIP) pic.twitter.com/Gjt7KpZJ4A

— Pro Wrestling Stories (@pws_official) May 12, 2021

Jim Ross felt that Adams might have gotten an 'extra look' in the WWE due to his friendship with The Undertaker. JR noted that The Undertaker liked Adams and the wrestlers were good friends who traveled together between shows.

Here's what Jim Ross had to say about The Undertaker's relationship with Brian Adams:

"I'm sure 'Taker had plenty of talks with him. They were good buddies. They traveled together. So, you know that Brian's going to get the extra look simply because Taker liked him. If Taker likes you, that means you get a match with him or two or 10, whatever may be. So that was Brian's issue. I just really didn't know what the formula was to unlock his motivational brain to get him to be."

We didn't find the combination to get him to the next level: Jim Ross on former WWE star Brian Adams

Jim Ross added that Vince McMahon was a fan of Brian Adams as the former WCW star possessed the perfect look at the time. Adams was tall, physically robust, and incredibly agile in the ring, but according to Ross, WWE officials couldn't find a way to push him.

Ross explained that Adams had a tendency to drop phenomenal performances but lacked consistency.

"Well, Vince and Taker both really liked Brian," JR continued, "But let's not forget, Brian is what Vince looked for. He was 6'5, 6'6, a lean 280-300, very athletic. I think Brian's issue was even though he had that massive frame; he didn't have a V8 brain. He relied so much on his size and his athleticism, and we couldn't figure out how to push him."

"Because I've seen him being jaw-droppingly good, but there was just no consistency. Bruce (Prichard) is friends with him too. We didn't find the combination to get him to the next level. And that was frustrating at times because he had everything that he would need. He just didn't have the motivation to get to that level," added Ross.

Brian Adams was one of the few people I can call a true brother in professional wrestling. I miss him every day.#RIPBrian #BrianAdams #Crush #WWE #WCW pic.twitter.com/57cvxhlj7u

— Stevie Ray (@RealStevieRay) August 13, 2019

Brian Adams sadly passed away in 2007 due to combined drug intoxication. He was just 43 years old at the time of his death. Formerly known as Kona Crush, Adams had three stints in the WWE and even pursued boxing during the tail end of his wrestling career in 2002.

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