Jim Ross Reveals That AEW Commentator Will Be His “Last Gig” In Pro Wrestling
On the latest episode of the Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross talked about AEWs latest pay-per-view, Full Gear. He mentioned that the company did a fantastic job with the show, and believed everyone brought their best. Ross also said knowing multiple matches could have closed the show reitorates how fantastic the card was.
“I love the effort by everybody; everybody brought their A game,” Ross said. “I don’t think we had any bad matches.There’s matches that one could argue might have been too long for their spot, but that’s not unusual for any PPV show. I thought the show was excellent. I thought the talent worked hard and they were focused.
“You know a card is good when you read a lot of feedback that says ‘This match could have closed the show, this match should have closed the show’. That tells you the show all around is going to be pretty damn good that multiple matches some fans could believe could’ve closed the show.”
Ross also talked about his announce team in AEW with Tony Schiavone and Excalibur. He continued to say that he loves working with both Schiavone and Excalibur, and emphasized that Excalibur is the future of announcing.
“It’s great to have Tony back in the game,” Ross said. “I really enjoy working with him. It’s just good to be around him. I believe Tony makes me better, and I hope both of us make Excalibur better because he’s kind of the new kid on the block. He’s had a good first year; he’s a very smart guy.
“We all have a preference and our roles seem to change. I don’t care who does the play-by-play, doesn’t matter to me. If I’m in my groove and it’s my time, then I will, but it’s not something I’m trying to force myself into. All of us do our role and seem to be fairly content doing our role. I enjoy working with those dudes. It’s been a really good experience.”
JR continued to talk about AEW owner Tony Khan, who has embraced writing wrestling. He said that Khan has been doing this his entire life and finally has gotten the chance to show what he’s loved on a national stage.
“Tony Khan has done a really good job writing [AEW Dynamite],” Ross said. “He embraces the opportunity to write wrestling. He was telling me the other day that he’s been writing TV shows since he was 10 or 12 years old – that’s been his love. Now he can do it on an official and real basis.”
Darby Allin defeated Cody at Full Gear to become the new TNT Champion and the first-ever AEW homegrown talent to win a major championship. Ross talked about Allin’s big win at Full Gear and how proud he was. He also talked about Kenny Omega and Adam Page starting off the show, saying that if the house was full, that match would’ve stole the show.
“I thought Darby Allin beating Cody was smart booking,” Ross said. “Darby is really the first guy who’s homegrown in AEW that’s ascended to a championship level. Everybody else has had a title, a previous run somewhere else, primarily WWE. Darby never went to WWE, he’s our guy. So Darby being able to win a title as an AEW homegrown guy is a smart move.
“We started off with Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page – they killed it. They set the table. If we had been in an area with 10,000 people, the crowd would have gone crazy because it was a great wrestling match.”
Overall, Ross talked about his entire experience so far with AEW. He also mentioned that this experience with AEW will be his last in the wrestling business.
“It’s been a great experience,” Ross mentioned regarding his time with AEW. “I’ve been very lucky to get this gig. It will be my last gig in pro wrestling – I can promise you that. But I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon.
Finally, Ross mentioned that, one day, AEW could add an additional hour of wrestling to TNT. He said he’s not sure about the details, but feels its coming and we can expect an announcement soon.
“I would be shocked if AEW doesn’t add another hour of television,” Ross said. “Not piggybacked on Dynamite; I think it will always stay for 2 hours. Somewhere along the way, there will be another hour of television in some form with our partner on TNT. Don’t know when, what day, how it’s going to be formatted, I just feel that’s the next thing with AEW and TNT.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.