jim ross
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jim Ross Compares Wrestling To Stand-Up Comedy: We Need To Slow Down, Let The Audience Process It

Jim Ross has been in the world of professional wrestling for a long time, and his knowledge is invaluable for the new generation of talent he calls matches for weekly on AEW Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling‘s Jim Ross was a guest this morning on Busted Open Radio with Dave LeGreca, Mark Henry, and Thunder Rosa to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked by Thunder Rosa about how things are currently changing in the business today, Ross spoke about being able to slow things down a bit to let the audience process things, comparing the role of a professional wrestler to a stand-up comedian.

“Well, I think we need to just slow down in the ring so that the audience has time to process what they just saw,” Jim Ross said. “It’s like a stand-up comedian. I tell the talents this all the time. I said your role is akin to a stand-up comedian. If you go out and tell a great joke, you want to listen for the laughter. You want the audience to process what you just said as a stand-up. If you go into your second joke before your first joke sets in, you’re cheating yourself, and you’re cheating the talent. So I think sometimes our talents and in the business, in general, get a little bit of a hurry and need to slow down a little bit so we can process the wonderful things they’re doing. And put it over correctly.”

LeGreca agreed with Jim Ross’ comparison and said he enjoyed the pacing of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite because they slowed things down compared to what they’ve done in weeks past. Ross agreed and said the great things you see on weekly television shouldn’t be quickly thrown away.

“Build on it. Yeah, go back and retrieve it. Bring it forward,” Jim Ross said. “Don’t forget great things you’ve seen in the match your calling, without going back and bringing it forward. Just don’t throw it away. And sometimes there’s so many great things that things get inadvertently thrown away, and that’s not good in my opinion.”

READ MORE: Jim Ross Explains Decision To Change His AEW Commentary Role, Compares Himself To Mariano Rivera

What do you make of Jim Ross’ comments? Do you understand where he’s coming from? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Busted Open Radio with a link back to this article for the transcription.

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