Real Reason AEW Changed Jim Ross' Commentary Role
Here's why AEW opted to changed things up with Jim Ross in the announce booth.
Recent changes to Jim Ross' announcing role in AEW were implemented to give Dynamite and Rampage "a boost", says the legendary commentator himself.
Ross revealed as much during a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast. No longer announcing entire episodes of Dynamite, the 70-year-old has switched to coming out halfway through the show, allowing him to make a big entrance during the broadcast rather than prior to it. Per Jim, this decision came from Tony Khan - and the fans' reception has been positive.
Said Ross (h/t Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer):-
"That was a Tony Khan decision. I was coming out before the show and I was doing all of Dynamite and the reception was humbling. Fans are glad to see me and they express themselves and the reception has been really good."
Where once Ross would be in the Dynamite booth from beginning to end but not on Rampage at all, he now has a presence on each show. On the reasons behind the change, JR stated that he has become AEW's "booster":-
"So, he thought the show in the middle of the show, speaking of Dynamite, needed a boost so JR became the booster. So, I come out in the middle of the show, still going to call the main event or main events. Then we all take a bathroom break with the crew and so forth and then we go right into taping Rampage."
Jim feels that the change helps keep him "fresh and special", while also lifting AEW's main television products:-
"I didn't have any issues with it at all. I said, now I'm Mariano Rivera, I'm going in for long relief and we're going to get some results for you. That's the deal there, just keeping me fresh and 'special' and trying to give Rampage a little boost commentary-wise, selling-wise. So, we need to obviously get the ratings up which I think we are and that's the reason for that. No problem with me whatsoever, I get more exposure now than I did before because I wasn't on Rampage."
Dave Meltzer reported a fortnight ago that AEW was "experimenting" with its announce teams following 26 June's Forbidden Door pay-per-view. The average episode of Dynamite now starts with Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz in the booth, before JR's arrival switches things up.