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WWE Hall Of Famer Says He Got One Of The Biggest Paydays Of His Career In Saudi Arabia For Greatest Royal Rumble

Jim Ross

• Old School WWF Legend Celebrates His Birthday

Old School WWF Legend “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff celebrates his 69th birthday today.

Pretty much every Wrestling Fan, young or old, will remember Orndorff for main eventing the first ever WrestleMania.

In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his former manager Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL ORNDORFF!

• WWE Hall Of Famer Says He Got One Of The Biggest Paydays Of His Career In Saudi Arabia For Greatest Royal Rumble

During a recent edition of the Jim Ross Report podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross talked about the Saudi Arabia controversy and WWE sticking with their decision of doing the WWE Crown Jewel PPV.

Below are the highlights:

On WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia:

“It is a hot button issue right now. The thing that cannot be compromised is putting any talent, or any WWE personnel, or any fans in jeopardy. If everyone feels completely comfortable with the safety, that’s the problem for me, then you should do it. I’m not going to get into all the politics, and the oppression, and all these things. I know I’m not read on it. It’s not something that I’m going to read on.

I know what’s right and I know what’s wrong. I know ever person no matter their color or gender should be treated equally. That’s what I believe. I don’t care what their nationality is, what party they’re in, what side of the aisle they sit on. So I think if you’ve got a guy on the card that needs a payday because WWE got massive rights fees coming, that doesn’t go in everybody’s pocket.”

On his massive payday for the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia earlier this year:

“One of my biggest paydays in my history of working for Vince [McMahon] was making a trip to Saudi Arabia. I got paid very, very well. And much more than a former guy doing the payoffs than I would have paid myself. And if it affected me in that regard, how many other people that were there, some of them for days and weeks, even more, how many of them did it affect in a positive way?

So I’m not going to be the guy to get up and talk about things that I don’t quite understand. I know what I believe, but I also don’t want to take any money out of a wrestler’s pocket and takes care of their family. That [has] always been my pet peeve. Take care of the talent and if the talent don’t want to go, they shouldn’t go and they won’t have to go. That’s what I think about this Saudi thing.

There’s no right answer, guys. There really isn’t, I don’t think. I’ve heard both sides of the argument and both sides can make very good points that I can say, ‘yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I can see that too.’ But I don’t have the right answer apparently. But I have an answer for me.

My answer is, if it’s safe and the talents can go earn money that they need. Look, Christmas is coming! Think of these things as simple as it may be. ‘Oh, listen, J.R. had this reason that WWE should go to Saudi because it’s near Christmas. What an idiot! What an idiot!’ Okay, maybe I am an idiot, but the bottom line is I would move cautiously, WWE.

I would try to make sure that everything is as safe as it humanly possibly could be. Nobody would go if they didn’t want to go and I would divvy that money up like you did before, in a very fair, equitable way because it’s new money. It’s significant new money. It’s not like running a house show in Muskogee next week.

This is big time money for a lot of guys, some of them are looking at it like they have less paydays left than they have earned previously. So that’s my thoughts on Saudi.”


        
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