1. Jim Ross is signed with All Elite Wrestling, where he serves as a commentator as well as an analyst and senior advisor.
84 Facts About Jim Ross
1. 2.
Jim Ross was the lead English-language announcer for New Japan Pro-Wrestling on AXS TV from 2015 to 2018 and has occasionally done play-by-play for boxing and mixed martial arts fights.
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Outside of wrestling, Jim Ross is known for his barbecue sauce and beef jerky brand, JR's Family BBQ.
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James William Jim Ross was born on January 3,1952, in Fort Bragg, California.
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Jim Ross is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, tracing his ancestry to family members who arrived in Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
6.
In 2022, Jim Ross sold land originally allotted to his great-great-grandfather by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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Jim Ross was raised in Westville, Oklahoma, where his maternal grandparents operated a general store.
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At Westville High School, Jim Ross was active in athletics and student leadership.
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Jim Ross played first base for the school's baseball team and was a two-time all-conference football player for the Westville Yellowjackets during the 1968 and 1969 seasons.
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Jim Ross served as student body president and earned four varsity letters in basketball.
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Beyond athletics, Jim Ross was heavily involved in the Future Farmers of America.
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Jim Ross won the Oklahoma FFA Speech Championship in both 1968 and 1969 and placed as runner-up in the national competition in 1969.
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Jim Ross was named honorable mention center on the Tulsa World's 1969 Oklahoma High School All-State Football team.
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Academically, Jim Ross was inducted into the National Honor Society as a sophomore and received recognition for maintaining a 3.6 GPA during his junior year.
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Jim Ross began his career with the promotion in 1974 as a referee, a role he held until 1977 before transitioning to the broadcast team.
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Jim Ross assumed administrative responsibilities as the promotion's Vice President of Marketing.
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Jim Ross worked alongside David Crockett and Tony Schiavone and was promoted to lead play-by-play announcer for the National Wrestling Alliance.
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Jim Ross continued in this role as JCP was rebranded to World Championship Wrestling after its sale to media mogul Ted Turner.
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Around this time, Jim Ross briefly expanded into mainstream sports broadcasting, serving as a commentator for one season of Atlanta Falcons radio coverage in 1992.
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Jim Ross later claimed that Bischoff effectively promoted himself to WCW's leadership, ultimately leading to a shift in internal dynamics.
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Conversely, Bischoff alleged that Jim Ross had shown favoritism under the direction of then-WCW booker Bill Watts.
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In 1993, after Bischoff was promoted to executive producer, Jim Ross requested and was granted a release from his contract.
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Jim Ross officially departed WCW after being removed from television by Bischoff.
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Jim Ross joined the World Wrestling Federation in early 1993 and made his on-screen debut at WrestleMania IX, held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
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Jim Ross replaced Gorilla Monsoon on Wrestling Challenge and worked with Bobby Heenan until Heenan's departure later that year.
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Jim Ross called major pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania IX and King of the Ring, before Vince McMahon resumed lead commentary duties beginning with SummerSlam 1993.
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Jim Ross pitched the idea for Radio WWF, a short-lived radio program where he and Gorilla Monsoon discussed wrestling news and interviewed talent.
28.
In January 1994, Jim Ross suffered his first bout of Bell's palsy.
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Jim Ross was briefly rehired in mid-1994 during Vince McMahon's federal trial, providing commentary on Monday Night Raw alongside Randy Savage while McMahon was absent.
30.
In December 1994, Jim Ross rejoined WWF for a third time.
31.
Jim Ross returned to Raw on March 8,1999, in a storyline where he confronted Michael Cole, his on-air replacement.
32.
In 2001, Jim Ross was assigned to the commentary team for WWF's XFL football league.
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Outside commentary, Jim Ross served as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, where he was key in hiring and developing talent.
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Jim Ross stepped away from his executive roles in 2005, citing health, family, and personal business goals.
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Jim Ross's contract expired in October 2006, but he continued on a week-to-week basis until signing a one-year deal in November.
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Jim Ross was initially unhappy, stating he had not been informed of the decision, but later pledged to help make SmackDown the best show possible.
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Jim Ross made a one-night appearance on ECW in September 2008 and later became SmackDown's color commentator alongside Todd Grisham.
38.
Jim Ross suffered a third Bell's palsy attack later that month and took a leave from broadcasting.
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Jim Ross appeared on the Old School Raw special in 2010 and resumed commentary in early 2011 during Jerry Lawler's feud with Michael Cole.
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Jim Ross appeared at WrestleMania XXVII and other episodes of Raw, but was again "fired" in a storyline by John Laurinaitis.
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Jim Ross later claimed he was not informed in advance about the firing.
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Jim Ross returned briefly for matches and comedy segments through the remainder of 2011.
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At WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012, Ross called the "End of an Era" Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Triple H He contributed to Raw 1000 and began commentating on the revamped NXT, joining Byron Saxton and William Regal.
44.
In 2013, Jim Ross began mentoring new commentators at the WWE Performance Center.
45.
Jim Ross denied being intoxicated, attributing his demeanor to Bell's palsy-related fatigue.
46.
On January 19,2016, it was announced that Jim Ross had signed to become the new lead announcer for NJPW's weekly program on AXS TV along with Josh Barnett.
47.
Jim Ross's contract was directly with AXS TV and not NJPW.
48.
On October 8,2016, Ross, along with Jim Cornette, provided commentary for What Culture Pro Wrestling's first iPPV, Refuse to Lose.
49.
On February 12,2017, Jim Ross returned to WCPW for commentary at the iPPV, True Destiny and for WCPW's Loaded tapings that same month.
50.
Shortly after the event, it was announced that Jim Ross had signed a two-year deal with the company.
51.
Jim Ross's last televised appearance for WWE was part of the pre-show panel for the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27,2018.
52.
Jim Ross left WWE on March 27,2019, after electing not to renew his contract.
53.
Jim Ross stated that the reason for his WWE departure was because, "I had two bookings in 2018 and they weren't using me very much".
54.
Jim Ross initially provided full-time commentary on the broadcast team on AEW Dynamite and occasionally part-time commentary on AEW Rampage.
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In June 2022, Jim Ross switched from full-time commentary on Dynamite to full-time commentary on Rampage in a commentary team rotation swap with Taz.
56.
On June 17,2023, Jim Ross tweeted an image showing a black eye he had suffered due to a fall, he worked at the debut episode of AEW Collision but later announced that he would be stepping away to heal.
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Jim Ross returned on September 7,2024, for the All Out main event and unsanctioned matches.
58.
In 1992, Jim Ross joined the Atlanta Falcons radio broadcast team.
59.
Jim Ross made his debut calling boxing on May 26,2014, for Golden Boy Promotions on Fox Sports 1.
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Jim Ross teamed up with MMA fighter and UFC veteran Chael Sonnen to commentate the Battlegrounds MMA one night tournament PPV on October 3,2014.
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In 2014 Jim Ross began hosting his own podcast The Jim Ross Report for PodcastOne.
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Jim Ross has participated in more matches alongside Lawler, including a few with hardcore stipulations.
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In 2011, Jim Ross competed against Michael Cole on the April 25 episode of Raw, where he defeated Cole by disqualification after Cole's manager for the match, Jack Swagger, attacked Jim Ross while he had Cole mounted and was landing punches on him.
64.
Jim Ross has been involved in numerous other conflicts with other competitors as well such as Triple H, Val Venis, Jack Swagger, Vladimir Kozlov, Mankind, and Steve Austin, Jim Ross has been bloodied in a match by then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, and was even set on fire by Kane.
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Jim Ross even main-evented the WWF's first-ever show from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, an episode of Raw is War that took place on October 11,1999.
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Jim Ross teamed with Steve Austin to take on WWF Champion Triple H and his partner Chyna.
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Jim Ross has two daughters from two previous marriages and two granddaughters.
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Jim Ross cites Steve Austin and Jerry Lawler as his closest friends.
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In late 1998, following the death of his mother, Jim Ross took a break from WWE Raw as the effects of his grief reportedly aggravated his palsy; Michael Cole filled in for him.
70.
In 2007, encouraged by sales of his line of barbecue sauces and beef products, Jim Ross opened up JR's Family Bar-B-Q in Norman, Oklahoma.
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Jim Ross is a fan of Skyline Chili and has mentioned them in connection to Cincinnati numerous times on AEW programming.
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Jim Ross is an avid Oklahoma Sooners fan and a regular football season ticket holder.
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Jim Ross can be spotted at some Sooners home games, and when the Sooners play top teams around the country.
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Jim Ross was put on life support, and she died two days later.
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Jim Ross had an eye operation in 2018 that greatly affected his eyesight in one eye.
76.
On October 23,2021, Jim Ross tweeted that he had skin cancer as he was on his way to AEW Dynamite.
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On December 29,2021, Jim Ross tweeted that he was cancer free.
78.
On February 1,2024, Jim Ross posted that he had undergone successful cancer surgery on his right hip.
79.
Jim Ross has a recurring role on the Amazon Prime Video original Paradise City as Ned.
80.
Jim Ross was one of the original lead announcers of the original XFL in spring 2001.
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Jim Ross has provided his voice for many WWE video games, and is an unlockable character in WWE '12, WWF WrestleMania 2000, WWF No Mercy and many more.
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Jim Ross has created a range of JR's BBQ sauces and mustard which have been inspired by his own culinary knowledge and that of his close family.
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Jim Ross has been labeled as the greatest wrestling commentator of all time.
84.
Jim Ross had a tremendous amount of experience and had seen a lot, but he'd never done it.