Following a storied pro wrestling career that began in the early ’70s, Jim Ross leaped away from WWE in 2019 to sign on with a new, renegade, upstart promotion known as All Elite Wrestling. Ross’ iconic voice immediately led credibility to the action in the ring, and many fans were delighted to see him alongside another legendary commentator, Tony Schiavone, who signed a few months later.
Ross was one of the full-time voices for AEW: Dynamite until June 2022, when he was moved to AEW Rampage in a swap with fellow commentator Taz. Ross was set to join the AEW Collision broadcast booth to provide “expert analysis” but sadly suffered a fall the morning of the show, resulting in a big black eye. The WWE Hall of Famer was able to call the main event on the debut episode but has been off AEW TV ever since as he recovers.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Grilling JR, Ross noted that he does plan on coming back to work and that he is still under an AEW contract. Interestingly, he also said that there is not much time left on his deal but is not concerned about it coming up. Whether AEW decides to retain the veteran or not does not seem to bother him; however, he would like to remain with the promotion if he can. He wants to help guide many of the young wrestlers as they continue on their journies and suggested he would be open to a “talent relations-type situation.”
If Ross were to become a free agent, it is possible that he could wind up back in the WWE fold, where he spent the majority of his career. While it doesn’t appear Ross left on bad terms with the promotion, he noted in the past that he exited when his contract came up because he didn’t feel like the company was using him as much as he wanted to be. If he does stay with AEW, it is possible he will return to the Collision desk when he is healthy, which was the plan.