Jim Ross Talks AEW, Not Listening To Vince In WWE

Nobody can deny that Good Ol' JR, Jim Ross is one of the all-time greatest commentators in professional wrestling history. His voice is recognizable and match-calling skills are unparalleled. He and Jerry "The King" Lawler formed an epic partnership every Monday Night Raw during the attitude era. As his time at the commentary booth in WWE began to dwindle, many fans started to feel that the WWE they grew up on was slowly slipping away.

Today, JR is back where he belongs: calling all the in-ring action with such passion and grit that only he can deliver. This time, however, he isn't in WWE. He's a full-time play-by-play announcer for All Elite Wrestling.

Ahead of Fight for the Fallen, JR sat down with entertainment reporter and wrestling fan Chris Van Vliet to discuss his time in WWE, and how AEW revived his love for commentating again.

"My WWE contract ended at the end of March of this year," said Ross. "I knew I wasn't going to renew it because I was inactive, and players want to play. I wasn't being utilized. For example, in 2018, I worked twice. I went to Saudi Arabia for about eight hours. Then I went to New York City to do Raw 25. Apparently, some of the powers that be there perceived I was too old or I couldn't get my job done any longer. So I knew that I didn't have a home there in that respect. I'm not the kind of guy that would sit at home and take my money. That is not my style."

Chris brought up the recounted stories of Vince McMahon being in the ear of commentators, yelling at them during live episodes of Raw and SmackDown. Ross said that there is nobody in his ear in AEW the way Vince was in WWE. He recalls an episode of Raw where such an instance took place.

"Lawler and I were out there broadcasting. Vince tells me to say something and it was ridiculous. He was telling me to say it and I was holding out on him. He was screaming like crazy. Bottom line is that I didn't say it."

Ross recounted that during a commercial break, Vince came onto his headset asking if Ross had heard what he wanted him to say. Ross said that he did, to which Vince replied: "Well it's a !*$% good thing you didn't because it would have been wrong."

He also discussed suggestions that AEW will put WWE out of business.

"Are you crazy? That's ludicrous! That's not even remotely feasible," said Ross. "That's like saying the XFL is going to supplant the NFL as America's football league. They're not, but they don't have to to make a profit. The AEW brand doesn't have to do anything with WWE or be affected by it one way the other. All we have to worry about is ourselves. We have to get better."

Ross also spoke about the origin of "Slobberknocker", Chris Benoit, and how long he plans to continue his career as a commentator.

Click here to watch the full interview.