12 Things We Learned From Jim Ross: Under The Black Hat
2. The Sincere Goodbye
As mentioned earlier, the relationship between Jim Ross and Vince McMahon was far from an entirely negative one. Sure, when it was bad, it was horrid, but there were plenty of positive moments shared between the two. And one such moment, was J.R.'s farewell from WWE in 2013.
That final goodbye famously came as a result of the WWE 2K14 Symposium.
Said 2K public event saw Jim head-up a panel of wrestling stars of today and yesteryear. And while it was an event that brought in a large online audience and proved to be entertaining, it was one for which J.R. was punished.
Several variables came together to make this a wild roller coaster of a ride, with a grieving, alcohol-fuelled Ric Flair pushing the envelope a little too far, and the image of Jim Ross on stage with a cocktail in his hand one that the WWE Chairman was not impressed by.
When Vince summoned J.R. to his office, Ross knew what was coming. But rather than a bitter, aggressive firing, this proved to be a sincere and heartfelt parting of the ways between two long-standing friends.
As Jim pens in Under the Black Hat, "We hugged and, again, it felt different than it had in the past. It wasn’t a back-slapping, manly affair. It was genuine. 'You could have done this over the phone,' I said in our embrace. 'I respect you too much not to do it face-to-face,' he replied. We separated; both of us had tears in our eyes. My bridge with Vince and WWE was charred but not burned down completely. 'So long, J.R.,' he said. I tipped my hat and left."
Jim Ross would eventually make it back to WWE, with him returning to the fold for WrestleMania 33.