Wrestling

Jim Ross Gives Thoughts On AEW Signing Sting and Paul Wight, Talks Calling Tonight’s Deathmatch and more

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AEW commentator and senior advisor Jim Ross recently spoke with TV Insider to hype up this evening’s Revolution pay per view and give his thoughts on the card, as well as what he thinks of the promotion signing Sting and Paul Wight. Highlights from the interview can be found below.

On shooting all AEW events from Daily’s Place due to COVID:

Being able to do my work from one location adds stability. You avoid the airports, more COVID exposure. I’m 69 and in the high-risk group, even though I get tested virtually every week. I’m really happy we are based in Jacksonville—so much I bought a home here. When we’re ready to go back on the road, I’ll be ready to go. But I grew up on a 160-acre farm in eastern Oklahoma. We had plenty of creeks and ponds, but no beach. I miss my family, but this has been a dream come true to live where I can look out my window and see nothing but sand and the Atlantic Ocean.

On his second book:

It’s not a typical pro wrestling book. I don’t analyze headlocks or evaluate body slams. I just tell the story of my life and journey. Unfortunately, when we were finishing the book, my wife Jan got killed in a vehicle accident in 2017. That added a different level of emotion. I wanted to show through the writing how important your significant other can be and should be in your life. For many years, I took that for granted as a career guy and workaholic. A lot of people said, “I didn’t know you wrote a love story,” they expressed they couldn’t get through it without crying. That was not my intent. It was to tell a true story from my heart that more people could identify with.

On the three-man commentary team:

Any time you have a three-man team, it takes time to get your rhythm together. All three of us have play-by-play backgrounds, so we had to adjust our timing. I think we’ve done really well. I try to play to everyone’s strengths. The nice thing is we all like each other. I think 2021 is where we really define this three-man team.

On the signing of Sting and Paul Wight:

I’ve known Sting since the 1980s. Any time you can reconnect with a friend, that’s a good thing. Paul Wight I signed for WWE back in the day. I’ve got a history with them. Sting wants to go out on his own terms, like a lot of performers and athletes do. When people bring up the age thing, that’s not a great attitude. What we do is performance art, so these guys just have to adjust their act, so to speak. I’m fully confident in our owner Tony Khan’s selection of talent and how he chooses to use them.

On calling the exploding barbed wire deathmatch:

The exploding barbed-wire death match is a match I’ve never called. I’ve never seen one in person! Thank goodness for YouTube. This is a car wreck waiting to happen. Having real barbed wire around the ring ropes is daunting. I’ll prepare by watching Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and Onita, a Japanese star who really created this match. The performers provide the music, and we as broadcasters provide the lyrics. The less I know, the better off I am. I love the surprises.

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