Jim Ross

James William Ross
Jim Ross 2007
Data
Ring name	Jim Ross J.R.
Additions to names	Good Ol 'JR
birth	January 3, 1952 Fort Bragg , California
Announced from	Westville , Oklahoma
debut	1974 as a sports presenter 1999 as a "wrestler"
Website	JRsBarBQ.com

James William "Jim" Ross (born January 3, 1952 in Fort Bragg , California ), also known by his nickname JR , is a retired ring commentator, interviewer, referee and official in the wrestling business . He was initially for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and moved to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the mid-1990s . There he became known for his unique style of moderation and is one of the audience favorites. From 2013 he only worked sporadically for the WWE and was a regular member of the American team of commentators for the shows of New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2015 to 2018 . In April 2019 Ross signed a three-year contract as a commentator and consultant for the newly founded wrestling league All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Life

Jim Ross began his career as a referee at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference . In 1975 he graduated from Bill Kinnamons Umpire School. He then became a moderator for college football and later for the Atlanta Falcons . In the latter position, he was also a co-host on the Jerry Glanville Show.

Shortly thereafter, he began as a wrestling commentator in several independent leagues including Bill Watts Universal Wrestling Federation . There he initially worked as a ring announcer and as an interviewer. From 1986 he became a moderator. Among other things, he moderated a title fight between Ric Flair and Ted DiBiase . With the purchase of the UWF by Jim Crockett Promotions , he finally came to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which later took the name World Championship Wrestling (WCW). There he worked with Tony Schiavone and Jesse "The Body" Ventura , among others . He was also a radio host for the NFL team Atlanta Falcons . When Eric Bischoff took the reins at WCW in March 1993 and Ross withdrew from his role as main presenter, Ross and WCW separated.

In 1993 Ross joined what was then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE). He made his debut at the most important pay-per-view promotion: Wrestlemania IX. First he commented here on the side of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan . When he left the WWF Vince McMahon took over his post.

In February 1994, Ross was released shortly after his characteristic facial paralysis first appeared. Jim Ross wasn't happy with his character, which was rewritten from a reputable presenter to a heel-friendly one . he also always had to wear a cowboy hat (which later became one of his trademarks). He then worked as a commentator for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and again for the Atlanta Falcons. A return to the WCW failed because of the contract negotiations. This culminated in a shoot interview in Wade Keller's newsletter Pro Wrestling Torch. However, he returned briefly in July 1994, but only took part in a few WWE Raw , WWE Superstars and WWE Challenge tapings, as Vince McMahon was not satisfied with Gorilla Monsoon's performance as a presenter. He left WWF in August after renewed contract negotiations failed. Negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) also failed .

In January 1995 he finally returned to the WWF, but initially only as part of the creative team. He worked as a production assistant for Vince Mc Mahon and was part of the booking team. He then took over the moderation of WWF Action Zone , a short-lived show that was later continued as a magazine. On September 24, 1995 he was finally part of the moderation team again with Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler , but only for a short time. He then presented as a heel manager "Fake Diesel" ( Glenn Jacobs , later known as Kane) and "Fake Razor Ramon" ( Rick Bogner ) in a desperate attempt by the WWF on the popularity of exchanged for WCW wrestlers Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to benefit. The segment failed and Jim Ross returned as part of the moderation team. He was moderating at the time of the famous Monday Night Wars , when the two biggest promotions with their two main shows Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro were in a neck-and-neck race.

At the 1997 Royal Rumble , Jim Ross received his cowboy hat, which he still wears as a presenter today. On November 8, 1997, the day of the Montreal Screwjob , Jim Ross became WWF's main presenter, replacing Vince McMahon, who was no longer credible as the face presenter after the Montreal incident when the script was deviated from Brett Hart 's title could occur. In December 1998, after another facial paralysis, he was briefly replaced by Michael Cole , but returned in March 1999, but initially not as the main presenter, as Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara , the main writers at the time, intrigued against him. This was short-lived, however, as Steve Austin and The Rock insisted on him during their match at Wrestlemania XV.

In 1999 there was also a serious incident between him, Vince McMahon and Jeff Jarrett . Jim Ross, who was responsible for booking at the time, overlooked the expiry of Jeff Jarrett's contract, who then blackmailed Vince McMahon out of a six-figure buzzer in which he threatened to switch to the WCW with the WWE Intercontinental Championship . In 1999 he starred in the comedy The Moon Man on the side of Jim Carrey . The film is about the life of comedian Andy Kaufman , who also appeared as a wrestler. Ross plays a wrestling commentator there. He also made his wrestling debut in 1999 when he took on Triple H and Chyna in a tag team match with Steve Austin . Overall, he should compete in eight more, more or less gimmick matches against other wrestlers and his fellow moderators.

In 2001 he became the presenter of the short-lived American football league XFL .

Ross was also actively involved in several storylines . In 2001 the Undertaker forced him to join Vince McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club", an angle where Vince McMahon was able to present himself as the main villain of the league. He also had a long feud with Jonathan Coachman , which even resulted in several wrestling matches between the two. When Ross had to undergo bowel surgery in 2005, he was released from an Angle by Vince and Linda McMahon . After testing Jonathan Coachman and Joey Styles as replacements unsuccessfully, Ross returned after the surgery in 2006 due to the negative fan reaction for the replacement team. Not before McMahon made fun of his operation in one segment.

In 2000 and 2003 he wrote two wrestling cookbooks for World Wrestling Entertainment. He also wrote several guest chapters for Steve Austin's biography The Stone Cold Truth .

During a line-up change in June 2008, Ross was transferred to SmackDown and took over from Michael Cole , who from then on commented on RAW , alongside Mick Foley . In October 2009 he left the WWE for health reasons.

In 2011 he returned to the side of Jerry Lawler in his feud against Michael Cole. He actively got into the ring himself and briefly commented on RAW again. From July 25, 2011 to October 10, 2011, Ross was again a permanent commentator on RAW and heard before he was fired in a storyline .

Since June 2012, Ross has been commenting on the show WWE NXT alongside Byron Saxton and William Regal . On September 11, 2013, Ross announced his professional retirement from WWE. However, since then he has been commenting on matches in the Japanese league New Japan Pro Wrestling . Occasionally he continues to guest- comment on WWE , such as Wrestlemania 2017 , where he commented on Undertaker's fight against Roman Reigns, the WWE United Kingdom Championship Special 2017, and NXT TakeOver: Chicago .

His autobiography Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling was published in October 2017.

He currently works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

meaning

Jerry Lawler (left) and Jim Ross (right) on WWE Raw

For decades, Jim Ross was considered the most famous presenter of the WWE. In particular, his distinctive southern accent and his grounded, but also emotional narrative style made him popular with fans of wrestling. On March 31, 2007, Ross was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of WrestleMania 23 . The speech was given by Steve Austin . In addition to his membership in the WWE Hall of Fame, Ross has also been in the Wrestling Observer newsletter since 1999 . From the same Ross received in the years 1988–1993, 1998–2001, 2006 and 2007 the award as Best Wrestling Commentator . He also received the Stan Weston Award from Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2002 , which recognizes his life's work as a personality in wrestling. Probably his most famous performance as a presenter happened in a match between Mankind and The Undertaker, in which Mankind fell from the ceiling of a cage. There he spoke the sentences that later became winged words in wrestling: “Good god almighty, good god almighty, that killed him! As god is my witness, he is broken in half! ”(For example:“ Great God, Great God, that killed him! By God, I swear, he just broke ”) and“ Enough is enough! Would somebody stop the damn match! ”(Such as:“ Enough is enough! Would someone please stop the damn fight? ”). Mick Foley later referred to these sentences in his autobiography.

The collaboration between Jim Ross and WWE has not always been smooth. Jim Ross was fired several times. He was also often forced to act in storylines that he didn't like. However, it was brought back many times due to fan reactions and is now considered the voice of WWE in the 1990s and 2000s.

Private life

Jim Ross had been married since 1993. His wife Jan, who was ten years his junior, was introduced to him by Ric Flair . The couple have two daughters and an equal number of granddaughters. Jan Ross died on March 22, 2017 as a result of a serious accident that she suffered while driving a Vespa .

Jim Ross suffers from Bell's palsy , a special form of facial paralysis that occurs like a seizure and leads to permanent paralysis. He had a total of three such seizures: in 1994, 1998 after the death of his mother and 2010. As a result, his facial expressions and his field of vision are impaired.

Ross is known for his love of barbecue . He wrote two cookbooks for WWE and runs a mail order business for barbeque sauces. He also ran JR's Family Bar-BQ in Norman , Oklahoma from 2007 to 2010 .

Works

• Can you take the heat? The WWF is Cooking . William Morrow 2000. ISBN 978-0-06-039378-6
• JR's Cookbook: True Ringside Tales, BBQ, and Down-Home Recipies . World Wrestling Entertainment 2003. ISBN 978-0-7434-6504-5
• The Stone Cold Truth . Together with Steve Austin and Dennis Brent. World Wrestling Entertainment 2004. ISBN 978-0-7434-8267-7

Feature films and documentaries

Only feature films and documentaries are shown, no mere moderation activities.

• 2016: World of Sport Wrestling (documentary)
• 2016: I Never Quit: The Magnum TA Story (documentary)
• 2016: The Funks (documentary)
• 2015: What Now (feature film)
• 2015: Owen: Hart of Gold (documentary)
• 2015: Sting: Into the Light (documentary)
• 2015: It's Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story (documentary)
• 2015: The Ressurrection of Jake The Snake Roberts (documentary)
• 2014: The Sheik (documentary)
• 2014: The Monday Night War: WWE vs. WCW (documentary series)
• 2014–2017: 30 for 30 (documentary series)
• 2013: The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment (documentary)
• 2013: Legends of the Mid-South Wrestling (documentary)
• 2013: WWE: Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden (documentary)
• 2013: WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (documentary)
• 2013: WWE for All Mankind: Life & Career of Mick Foley (documentary)
• 2012: The Top 100 Moments in Raw History (Documentary)
• 2012: Attitude Era (documentary)
• 2012: WWE: CM Punk - Best in the World
• 2012: The 50 Greatest Finishing Moves in WWE History (Documentary)
• 2012: The Epic Journey of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (documentary)
• 2011: Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time (documentary)
• 2011: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (documentary)
• 2011: WWE: OMG! - The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History
• 2009: Jeff Hardy: My Life, My Rules (documentary)
• 2009: Starcade: The Essential Collection (documentary)
• 2009: Dinner: Impossible (1 episode, reality show)
• 2009: WWE: Batista - I Walk Alone (documentary)
• 2009: WWE: The Rise and Fall of WCW (documentary)
• 2009: WWE: Greatest Stars of the '90s (documentary)
• 2008: The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect (documentary)
• 2008: Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection (documentary)
• 2008: WWE: Twist of Fate - The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story (documentary)
• 2007: WWE: John Cena - My Life (documentary)
• 2007: Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen (documentary)
• 2007: WWE: The New & Improved DX (documentary)
• 2007: The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak and Triumph (documentary)
• 2006–2012: WWE Legends of Wrestling (documentary series)
• 2006: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology (Documentary)
• 2006: WWE vs. ECW: Head to Head (documentary)
• 2006: The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers (documentary)
• 2006: Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story (documentary)
• 2005: The Bret Hart Story: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be (documentary)
• 2005: The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior (documentary)
• 2005: Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag Team
• 2003: WWE: Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain (documentary)
• 2002: WWE: Austin vs. McMahon - The Whole True Story
• 2001: WWE: Undertaker - This Is My Yard (documentary)
• 2001: Lita: It Just Feels Right (documentary)
• 2000: Lovers Lane - Date with Death (feature film)
• 1999: Beyond the Mat
• 1999: The Moon Man (feature film)
• 1998: Three Faces of Foley (documentary)
• 1996: WWF Fab 4 (documentary)
• 1996: Bret 'Hit Man' Hart (documentary)
• 1993: The Undertaker: His Gravest Matches (documentary)
• 1990: Family Feud : Wrestler Family Feud Special III

Moderation activities

• 2017: Mae Young Classic
• 2017: NXT TakeOver: Chicago
• 2017: WWE United Kingdom Championship Special
• since 2015: NJPW
• 2016: NXT TakeOver: Dallas
• 2012: WWE NXT
• 2011: Hell in a Cell
• 2009: WWE Superstars
• 2009: WWE: The Bash
• 2009, 2011: WWE: Extreme Rules
• 2007: WWE Draft Special
• 2007: WWE One Night Stand
• 2006–2007: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
• 2006–2008: WWE Cyber ​​Sunday
• 2005, 2007: WWE Great American Bash
• 2005: WWE AM Raw
• 2005: WWE Byte This!
• 2005-2007: WWE New Year's Revolution
• 2004: WWE Taboo Tuesday
• 2003-2004: WWE Bad Blood
• 2002: WWE Tough Enough
• 2001-2002, 2004-2006: WWF Vengeance
• 2001–2008: WWF Unforgiven
• 2001: invasion
• 2001–2002: WWF Insurrextion
• 2001: XFL
• 2000: Fully Loaded
• 2000-2002, 2008: WWF No Mercy
• 1999–2000, 2002–2003, 2005, 2008: WWF Armageddon
• 1999–2001: WWF Rebellion
• 1999–2000, 2002, 2004–2007, 2009: WWF Backlash
• 1999–2009: WWE SmackDown Live
• 1998: WWF Capital Carnage
• 1998, 2000–2003, 2007, 2009: WWF Judgment Day
• 1998: WWF Breakdown: In Your House
• 1998-1999: Fully Loaded
• 1998-2001: Sunday Night Heat
• 1998: WWF Mayhem in Manchester
• 1998: Over the Edge
• 1998, 2001-2002, 2008-2009: No Way Out
• 1997–1998: WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
• 1997: WWF in Your House: Badd Blood
• 1997: WWF One Night Only
• 1997: WWF in Your House: Ground Zero
• 1997: WWF in Your House 16: Canadian Stampede
• 1997: WWF in Your House: Revenge of the Taker
• 1997: WWF Slammy Awards 1997
• 1997: WWF In Your House: Final Four
• 1997: WWF Friday Night's Main Event
• 1996: WWF In Your House: It's Time
• 1996: WWF In Your House: Mind Games
• 1996, 1998-1999, 2001-2009: Summerslam
• 1996–1997: WWF Superstars of Wrestling
• 1995-2004, 2008: Survivor Series
• 1995: WWF In Your House 4
• 1995: Smoky Mountain Wrestling
• 1994, 2005-2007, 2009, 2013-2014: WWE Hall of Fame
• 1994-2013: WWE Monday Night Raw
• 1994: WWF Action Zone
• 1994: SMW: Night of the Legends
• 1994-1995, 1997-1998, 2000-2009: Royal Rumble
• 1993-2002: King of the Ring
• 1993–1995: WWF Wrestling Challenge
• 1993: Bashed in the USA
• 1993: Invasion of the Bodyslammers
• 1993: WWF: UK Rampage 93
• 1993, 1995–2009, 2011–2012, 2017: Wrestlemania
• 1992: WCW Beach Blast
• 1991: WCW Super Brawl I.
• 1990-1991: Halloween Havoc
• 1989-1992: WCW / NWA Wrestlewar
• 1988-1992: The Great American Bash
• 1988: WCW Main Event
• 1989–1991: World Championship Wrestling
• 1989: World Wide Wrestling
• 1988-1993: Clash of the Champions
• 1987-1988, 1990-1991: Starcade

Computer games

Unless otherwise stated, his voice could be heard there. Jim Ross was also featured as a playable character in some of the computer and video games.

• 2013: WWE 2k14
• 2012: WWE '13
• 2011: WWE '12 (also playable character)
• 2011: WWE All Stars
• 2009: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2010
• 2009: WWE Legends of WrestleMania
• 2008: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2009
• 2007: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008
• 2006: WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007
• 2004: WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW
• 2002: WWE Triple H: The Game
• 2002: WWE SmackDown! Shut your mouth
• 2000: WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role
• 2000: WWF No Mercy (playable character only)
• 1999: Wrestlemania 2000 (playable character only)
• 1998: WWF War Zone

Web links

Commons : Jim Ross  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• WWE Hall of Fame Profile
• WWE Hall of Fame Profile (German)
• Profile on Cagematch.de
• Profile on Neckbruch.com
• Ross' internet blog

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Blog entry on www.jrsbarbq.com from January 5, 2008
2. ^ John Pollock: Jim Ross signs three-year contract with AEW as Senior Advisor. In: POST Wrestling | WWE NXT NJPW AEW UFC Podcasts, News & Reviews. April 3, 2019, Retrieved July 25, 2019 (American English). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Profiles. (No longer available online.) World Wrestling Entertainment, archived from the original on Nov. 27, 2004 ; Retrieved August 19, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Keith Harris: The many highs and lows of Jim Ross's checkered WWE career. Cagesideseats.com, September 16, 2013, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Jim Ross. Online World of Wrestling, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Jim Ross to retire. WWE.com, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Jim Ross Biography Coming In 2017. Powyeah.com, May 27, 2016, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
8. ↑ ^{a b} Accident Drama: Jim Ross' wife dead. Sport1 , March 23, 2017, accessed on August 19, 2017 . 
9. ↑ Mick Foley : Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks . HarperCollins 2000. p. 657. ISBN 0-06-103101-1 .
10. ↑ JR suffers third Bell's palsy attack. WWE.com, December 31, 2010, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
11. ↑ JR's Restaurant Closes… On Line Business is Strong and Will Continue… More Focus to be made on Grocery Stores. jrsbarbq.com, May 16, 2010, accessed August 19, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Cameron Michael Paul: Top 15 Stupid Playable Characters in Wrestling Video Games. TheSportster, April 27, 2016, accessed August 19, 2017 .