AEW’s Jim Ross Confirms Surgery Date, If He Plans To Retire
Jim Ross is an AEW original who is away from television due to a serious health issue.
The legendary WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross announced that he’d been diagnosed with colon cancer on May 15th. The 73-year-old Ross has battled numerous health issues throughout his life, but he continues to have a positive attitude about it.
It was over 50 years ago, in 1974, when Ross started in pro wrestling as a referee. He eventually became an announcer, became known in WCW in the early 1990s, and then went on to have an incredible run in WWE as perhaps the best play-by-play announcer in pro wrestling history.
When AEW launched in January 2019, JR was one of their first signings, as WWE wasn’t utilizing him effectively. His presence immediately gave AEW credibility.
As the years passed, Ross was utilized sparingly by AEW for a few pay-per-view matches to lend his expertise as a wrestling legend.
While speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross updated fans by letting them know he’s going to have surgery to remove colon cancer on Tuesday, May 27th. Ross would go on to thank AEW’s Tony Khan and his family.
“The Khan family has done an amazing job at taking care of JR since I signed with the company. He’s very talent friendly.”
Later on his livestream podcast, Jim Ross said he doesn’t plan to retire.
“It’s crazy to say but I don’t plan on retiring.”
As he continued, Ross said he’ll be hospitalized for a few days after surgery, but he plans to podcast again when he’s home. Ross also made it clear he had a desire to be announcing against AEW All In Texas on July 12th in Dallas.
WWE Criticized For Not Mentioning Jim Ross On Air
Even though Jim Ross has been an AEW figure for the past six years, his legacy in pro wrestling will forever be tied to WWE, as he spent over 20 years there. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer thinks WWE not mentioning Jim Ross is a mistake on their part.
“He’s undergoing surgery soon. I really do think, very strongly on this one, that because they haven’t done it yet, they could have done it on Friday, they could have done it tonight, WWE announcers should [send Jim Ross their best wishes].
I know there’s an incredible level of tribalism that goes on and there’s a wrestling war going on but this is above a wrestling war and Jim Ross is every bit as big a name to WWE fans as he is to AEW fans. He’s actually more a part of WWE history than AEW history even though he works for AEW right now. But he worked for WWE for decades and I felt it was a real slight that they didn’t mention him on Friday, I felt it again on Saturday.”
It’s possible that WWE could be waiting for Michael Cole to mention JR on Raw since Cole worked with Ross for so many years. If not, then, as Meltzer says, WWE will likely be criticized for not talking about JR’s health issues.
Everybody here at TJRWrestlign wishes the legendary Jim Ross all the best and good health for his upcoming surgery, as well as his fight against cancer. Thank you, Jim Ross, for being the voice of wrestling for so many of us.