WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently spoke to Justin Barrasso for Sports Illustrated Extra Mustard‘s review of Wrestlemania 32.
Ross rates Wrestlemania 32, including the three main event matches, Roman Reigns’ position as a champion and babyface, and more:
Jim Ross grades Wrestlemania 32:
JR weighs in on the Brock Lesnar / Dean Ambrose street fight:
“When you advertise a street fight, people expect blood. It is hard to have a bloodless street fight that creates angst and drama. I am not advocating that blood should return, but you put yourself in a corner when you book a match like this without including blood.
But it took thirteen suplexes and an F5 on a stack of steel chairs for Brock Lesnar to beat Dean Ambrose. When you put it in that context, Ambrose didn’t fair so badly.”
JR talks about Roman Reigns’ win:
“The WWE kept believing their machine could make Roman Reigns a fan favorite by WrestleMania, and it didn’t happen. That’s a matter of how he was booked. WWE has cast Reigns as a hero, but viewers do not accept him in that role.
“People gravitate to attitude. Austin’s attitude still holds up. Reigns became that defiant, anti-establishment guy, so people naturally compare him to the last anti-establishment guy, and that is Stone Cold. Those are awfully big shoes to fill.”
Which two matches impressed Jim Ross the most this weekend?
“I can make an argument that the best two matches I saw all weekend were the two women’s matches,” said Ross. “There were no better two damn matches than Asuka and Bayley at NXT and then Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch in the triple threat match at WrestleMania. They were well laid-out, well executed, and the stories made sense.”
