WWE legend "didn't understand" Vince McMahon's dislike of certain match type

Vince McMahon oversaw WWE's creative direction for four decades before his son-in-law Triple H took over in 2022. In a recent podcast episode, Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross gave his take on McMahon's dislike of tag team wrestling.

In the early 2000s, the WWE roster contained several legendary duos. Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz enhanced their reputations after facing off in grueling TLC matches. The APA, The Brothers of Destruction, and The New Age Outlaws also held tag titles during that time.

The latest episode of Grilling JR revolved around Christian. Discussing the current AEW star's WWE partnership with Edge, Ross confirmed McMahon was not a fan of tag team storylines:

"I didn't understand that because Vince's biggest influencer in that era, in any era, was [former WWE producer] Pat Patterson, and Pat Patterson built his reputation on being a tag team partner with Ray Stevens. They were considered the best, by far, tag team in pro wrestling, period, anywhere. I thought we could have got more out of that division." [26:15 – 26:43]

Christian wrestled for WWE between 1998-2005 and 2009-2014. After being forced to retire due to concussion issues, he made his in-ring return in the 2021 Royal Rumble match before joining AEW.

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Jim Ross on how Vince McMahon viewed tag teams

In the 1990s and 2000s, Jim Ross was responsible for assembling WWE's talent roster. He recruited several big names for the company, including Brock Lesnar and John Cena.

According to the legendary announcer, Vince McMahon wanted WWE tag teams to dress like old-school duos did in the 1980s:

"Vince was never a big fan of tag teams," Ross continued. "He still thought that tag teams should dress alike, be alike. You [host Conrad Thompson] talked about The Steiners, their matching attire, Midnight Express, Rock 'n' Roll Express, all those guys had that attire thing going, and that was the old way of presenting a tag team." [26:50 – 27:12]

Ross added that Booker T and Goldust were among the first tag teams to succeed in WWE despite having little in common. The unlikely duo won the World Tag Team Championship in 2002.

What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon's view of tag team wrestling? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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