During a special live episode of Grilling JR, WWE Hall of Famer and AEW broadcaster Jim Ross talked on returning to the commentary table at Wednesday’s Dynamite in Tulsa, OK, D’Von Dudley’s racism allegations, Andrade’s second return to AEW and if it would hurt the company, should Jericho sign elsewhere.
On returning to commentary Wednesday night – (He also noting he thinks that he will be back helping call matches at the January 21 episode of Dynamite at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida):
“Oh, it was great. I had a great time. My kids were there, a couple of my grandkids were there. So, it was good. I had a great time, and the team, the AEW team welcomed me back. They were glad to see me, and almost as glad as I was to see them. So, it was good. It was good. Working in Tulsa brings back a lot of memories. That’s where I got my start, in Tulsa, working for ‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk. It was a feel-good moment, quite frankly. I think it took a minute to get settled in. It was good, it was good. I didn’t know what to expect to be honest with you but, my natural instincts took over, and I had a lot of fun. That was the key thing. That’s the key thing about doing commentary. If you don’t have fun doing it, it’s not gonna work for you, so, it’s all good man...I got a text this morning at 1:30 from Tony Khan saying what a great job he thought I did on the show, and those kind of things make you feel good to be honest with you. So, he gave me a chance to come back and I asked him earlier in the day what I was going to do… I was originally gonna do two main events, which I’d been doing. But, Mike Mansury, the director, said, ‘Let’s use J.R., he’s here. Let’s use him for all the show,’ and I think there was some concerns about my stamina, because I have been sick but I feel great now and it’s just rebuilding. Rebuilding that energy and so forth so, I just had a great time. It was a fun, fun day… Saw a lot of talents, got the chance to talk to a lot of talents. They seek me out for information or feedback or, ‘Did you see this? What you’d think of that?’ So, I’m very blessed to still be a part of the AEW family, and working for Tony Khan is absolutely a blessing, without question...I think I’m gonna be in Orlando in two weeks, according to T.K., Tony Khan. He’s using me judiciously. He’s very concerned about my health and I tried to convince him I’m good. I did a two-hour show last night. I don’t know when the last time I did a two-hour show. It’s been a while, but I felt like — we’re obviously getting positive reviews. But, I’m very happy of how it worked out, and maybe I convinced Tony Khan I can go out and do a two-hour show… But I think my next assignment’s gonna be in Orlando. We’re gonna be doing Dynamite in Orlando in two weeks.”
On D’Von Dudley’s racism accusations again him (Ross):
“No problem! I’m happy to do it! I’m just not gonna put it on tape and make a TV show out of it. Period…How many times do I gotta address it to satisfy everybody? I am not a racist. I have never been a racist. Ask some of the African-American athletes that I’ve been around and worked with in my 50-year career. They’ll say the same thing, and like I said before, when you and I first talked about this, I don’t remember the first cross word I had with D-Von (Dudley). The boisterous one was Bubba (Ray Dudley). But not in a bad way. He just had no problem expressing himself and Bubba had a lot of ideas. He was a throwback. A main event guy that wanted to be involved into booking his angle, and I loved that. If more guys would do that — and today, they just wait for someone to tell ‘em what they’re gonna do tonight, and that’s the wrong approach in my opinion. But, I’d have no problem reconnecting with D-Von… I’ve never gotten mad at him. I was bewildered about how this could happen. Because like I said, I don’t remember any negative exchanges with him, and what I was allegedly said would damn sure be negative….I am interested in reconnecting with D-Von, because I like D-Von.”
Ross had no idea Andrade was in the BOK Center on Wednesday night:
“I didn’t know he was even in the building, so, they kept him hid. He’s a good addition, he’s a player. He can work and he can work with anybody, and he looks good, classy-looking guy, and if he’s gonna be with Don Callis, that’ll help both of ‘em.”
On if Chris Jericho leaving AEW would hurt the company:
“He’s such a valuable member to AEW. Him leaving would hurt the brand to a degree. No doubt. You can’t lose a talent like Chris Jericho and say that, ‘Oh well, we’ll just move on, it doesn’t matter. We got other guys that are ready to step up,’ and I hope that’s true. But, bottom line of it is that he’s got options, and that’s a smart guy.”
Quotes are courtesy of Fightful.