WWE Taken To Task For Ignoring Jim Ross Illness

Jim Ross is facing another serious health problem and with AEW wishing their star announcer all the best, WWE has not mentioned it.

On May 15, Jim Ross announced that he’d been diagnosed with colon cancer and would soon be undergoing surgery.

The legendary announcer has dealt with numerous serious health problems in recent years, including a battle with skin cancer, although he was later given the all-clear. Ross famously defied doctors’ orders to fly to Greensboro, North Carolina, to call Sting’s last match in early 2024.

Jim Ross began his career in wrestling back in 1974, working as a referee before making his mark as an announcer. JR went on to earn a reputation as arguably the greatest play-by-play commentator in wrestling history and is still best known for his role in WWE, where he was the voice of the Attitude Era. As the company’s head of talent relations, Ross was also responsible for signing the likes of Mick Foley, Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar, among countless other major stars.

WWE Ignoring Jim Ross Due To AEW Job?

Given his history in the company, the fact that WWE has not publicly wished Jim Ross well in his latest health battle has not gone down well with everyone.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted AEW spent much of their recent broadcast wishing Ross well while taking WWE to task for ignoring their legendary Hall of Famer:

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.

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