During the latest edition of his podcast Grilling JR, AEW announcer Jim Ross immediately addressed the plastic bag incident involving Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson at All Out.
"I'm not a big plastic bag aficionado. I understand why they did it. I get it, but it's not my cup of tea," said Ross.
Earlier this month at AEW's All Out in Chicago, Bryan Danielson defeated Jack Perry to retain the AEW World Championship. Afterward, he was attacked by members of the Blackpool Combat Club, minus Wheeler Yuta. During the assault, Jon Moxley choked Danielson out using a plastic bag.
The controversial angle coincided with the 35th anniversary of WCW's eighth Clash of the Champions, where Terry Funk attempted to suffocate Ric Flair with a plastic bag. Ross, who called the action that night for WCW, remains opposed to such extremes. Continuing his thoughts on the AEW redux, Ross said, "It seemed to be a little bit uncomfortable because that's a dangerous thing. And you don't want kids trying it, somebody getting an idea, 'Hey, I can do that.'"
Ross' co-host, Conrad Thompson, didn't challenge Ross' worries about kids imitating the stunt. However, just days before his conversation with Ross, Thompson appeared on 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff. There, he pushed back on similar concerns he saw expressed by others. Said Thompson, "The plastic bag talk is fake outrage."
For those like Thompson, the argument of "Will someone please think of the children?" may seem overblown, especially with regard to pro wrestling. Maybe a better question might be, "Will someone please think of the parents?"
As parents play a role in shaping their children's interests, they control the family budget and can choose which shows and events to support or avoid. If they think seeing extreme violence -- like suffocating someone with a bag -- in pro wrestling could harm their kids, they might stop supporting promotions like AEW, which could negatively impact the company's success.