Jim Ross Confirms He's In Talks With AEW
Could All Elite Wrestling be set to bag a legendary announcer?
Jim Ross' name has been linked with All Elite Wrestling since the project was first hinted as a Chris Jericho/Bullet Club collaboration last fall, with the talk intensifying when it was announced that the Oklahoman would leave WWE at the end of March, as reported a few weeks ago.
Now, 'Good Ol' J.R.' himself has confirmed that he's been in discussions with the up-and-coming promotion.
Ross said the followed when asked about the matter directly during yesterday's interview with ESPN's Outside The Lines:-
As transcribed by Cageside Seats:-
“I don’t know. We’re talking. We’re talking. I just haven’t signed anything yet. My people and their people are doing their thing. The only agent I grew up knowing was a State Farm agent in Oklahoma. I got a real agent now man! So, they’re working on it...”
Given Ross' name value, acquiring him feels like a no-brainer. He isn't the announcer he used to be, but he'll always be somebody that people associate with wrestling's most successful (and, in some cases, creatively fulfilling) era, and he'd likely be a significant pull for lapsed fans in particular.
AEW are also yet to confirm their full-time broadcast team. ALL IN announcer Ian Riccaboni has signed full-time with Ring Of Honor, so they're at least one play-by-play option down. They need to start getting signatures on paper.
We'll bring you more on this situation as it develops, though Ross signing with AEW looks increasingly like a certainty.