Jim Ross To Take A Break From AEW

Jim Ross is taking a few weeks away from AEW.

Speaking on a recent episode of Grilling JR, the legendary announcer confirmed he’s planning to take some time off in the coming weeks. Ross has encountered a number of health struggles in recent years, including being diagnosed with skin cancer.

Although the WWE Hall of Famer later announced he was cancer-free, his treatment has continued. Jim Ross also suffered a fall in June, causing him to miss several weeks, but he’s remained a regular at the announce desk since returning to work.

During the episode of his popular podcast, Ross said he was taking time off to heal.

“I’m gonna take some time off, starting this week. I’m not gonna be in [Oakland]. But my doctor believes that if I take a few weeks off, I’m not sure how many, we’ll see, it’s gotta heal, that being off an airplane for a few weeks will be good for my leg to heal, so what’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna take a few weeks off. I’m not gonna be on TV for a while until I can navigate the waters a little bit and get in that deep water.

I love what I’m doing. We have a unique roster. There’s so many guys that we need to help as much as possible get over, but that goes for any wrestling TV show. That’s their objective. You have one goal when you’re on television in pro wrestling. Get the talent over. So I love doing that. I love that role, I love helping these young kids who ask questions. ‘Did you watch my match’ or ‘Would you watch my match’ or ‘What do you think about this?’

So I’m gonna take some time off to get my leg to heal. I’ve been suffering with this shit for almost two years. How much good barbecue can a country boy eat? So somewhere along the way, I gotta turn the corner and get better. I’m not in a great deal of pain except when I get to the city I’m flying to, my leg swells up like a cantaloupe, and it hurts like hell. So I want to try to not travel, see how that affects me, and go from there. So I’ll be missing for a couple weeks.

I’ll keep everybody posted here. I’m feeling good, I feel strong. I feel motivated. I feel like I’m lucky that I’m working for TK. He’s the one that brought up the fact that we want you healthy for the long run. So he’s been taking very good care of me. I really do appreciate what he’s doing for me and that he’s paying attention,”

Is Jim Ross Leaving AEW?

Despite speculation around his AEW future, Ross said he’s got a “few months” left on his deal before praising AEW boss Tony Khan.

“I have a contract that’s in place, I tend to honor it. It’s still got a few months left, and Tony Khan has indicated to me, as early as this week, at least to my representative Barry Bloom, that he’d like for me to stay. I’m not looking to go anywhere. It’s just that I need to heal. That’s all. Simplistically as that.

My leg needs to heal, and the good news is that the wound is getting much better, so I am healing. I just gotta get better. It’s not a matter of pain tolerance. The pain comes when I get to the city I’m flying to. Flying is the enemy right now. So if I can heal a little bit more, then flying becomes less of an issue. With this job, I can’t do it without flying. So flying is a necessary evil, if you want to use that term, and that’s kind of how I’m approaching it.

So I have no plans on leaving AEW. I like working for Tony. Tony’s been good to me, he’s taken great care of me. We just have a very unique relationship. I’m not high maintenance, even with a bad leg and stuff. I don’t want to be high maintenance,”

Jim Ross began his career back in 1974, working first as a referee before becoming an announcer. His Hall of Fame career has seen him call some of the most famous moments in the history of the industry while working for Jim Crockett Promotions, Mid-South Wrestling, WCW, WWE and NJPW.

H/t to Fightful