12 Things We Learned From Jim Ross: Under The Black Hat

1. The Importance Of Jan Ross

Jim Ross Under the Black Hat
Jim Ross

Of course, many wrestling fans know just how pivotal a role his wife Jan played in the life and career of Jim Ross. And Jan's tragic passing in 2017 is a heartbreaking moment that clearly will affect anyone. But what Under the Black Hat does, is this book really highlights just how important a person Jan was to Jim and to so many others.

It feels almost redundant to say that a man's wife was a vital part of his life, but with Under the Black Hat we see how Jan was there at every turn, at every twist, and at every moment of need. In a business that's notoriously tough on the partners of those involved in pro wrestling, Jan was the rock who was forever there for Jim to lean on.

Even Vince McMahon himself has labelled Jim Ross as the hardest working man in the business, and there were times when he was having to spin so many plates - from Talent Relations, to the Raw commentary booth, to PPVs, to being holed up in WWE's Stamford HQ for days on end, to the constant travel - yet in this book we see how Jan was always understanding of her husband's plight.

Under the Black Hat not only serves as an all-time great read that highlights the latter half of J.R.'s life and career, it more importantly serves as a love letter to his wife.

There have been wrestling books filled with emotional moments over the years, yet Under the Black Hat is arguably the most emotional, poignant read that we've seen to date from the world of professional wrestling.

Jim Ross: Under The Black Hat is available now from Amazon and other book retailers.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.