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James Ross

James William Ross is an American professional wrestling commentator and talent relations executive, currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as a play-by-play commentator for the WWE. He is known affectionately as JR or Good Ol' JR. He's been labeled as the greatest wrestling commentator of all time. After years of working various jobs in the professional wrestling industry, Ross became the primary play-by-play announcer for Mid-South Wrestling in the early 1980s. He went on to do commentary for the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling, before jumping to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), making his first appearance for the promotion at WrestleMania IX in 1993. During his tenure with WWE, Ross was widely regarded as the voice of the company, particularly during The Attitude Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was also the lead announcer for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on AXS TV from 2015 to 2018 and occasionally does play-by-play for boxing and mixed martial arts. He has been inducted into the WWE, NWA and Wrestling Observer Newsletter halls of fame, and has been honored by the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame twice. Outside of wrestling, Ross is known for his barbecue sauce and beef jerky brand, J.R.'s Family BBQ. He also hosts his own weekly podcast, Grilling JR.


Aliases
  • Jim Ross
  • JR
  • Jim Woods
  • Good Ol' JR
English

WWE Raw

1993
as Jim Ross

WWE SmackDown

1999
as Jim Ross

WWE Backlash 2004

2004
as Jim Ross

WWF No Mercy 2001

2001
as Jim Ross

AEW All Out 2023

2023
as Jim Ross

WWF Backlash 1999

1999
as Jim Ross

WWF No Mercy 2000

2000
as Jim Ross

WWE Backlash 2005

2005
as Jim Ross

WWF No Mercy 1999

1999
as Jim Ross

WWF Backlash 2000

2000
as Jim Ross

WWF Backlash 2001

2001
as Jim Ross

WWE Superstars

2009
as Jim Ross

The Funks

2016
as Jim Ross

WWE Backlash 2006

2006
as Jim Ross

WWE Backlash 2007

2007
as Jim Ross

WWF Invasion 2001

2001
as Jim Ross

WWF Backlash 2002

2002
as Jim Ross

AEW All Out 2024

2024
as Jim Ross

Man on the Moon

1999
as Wrestling Commentator

WWE Backlash 2008

2008
as Jim Ross

WWE Bad Blood 2003

2003
as Jim Ross

The Sheik

2014
as Himself

AEW All Out 2020

2020
as Jim Ross

WWE Bad Blood 2004

2004
as Jim Ross

AEW All Out 2021

2021
as Jim Ross

WWE Backlash 2009

2009
as Jim Ross

WWE The Bash 2009

2009
as Jim Ross

WWE: Angle

2023
as Jim Ross

AEW Full Gear 2021

2021
as Jim Ross

Five Bold Women

1960
as Jim Downs - aka The Missouri Kid

WWE No Mercy 2008

2008
as Jim Ross

AEW Full Gear 2024

2024
as Jim Ross

AEW Dynasty 2024

2024
as Jim Ross

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

2015
as Himself (Commentary)

WWE No Mercy 2007

2007
as Jim Ross

WWE No Mercy 2002

2002
as Jim Ross

Sable Unleashed

1998
as Jim Ross

WWF Breakdown 1998

1998
as Jim Ross

Director

Movie Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me 2020

Writer

Movie The Importance of Being Russell 2006

Host

Movie AEW Revolution 2020 2020

Producer

Movie NWA The Great American Bash '89: The Glory Days 1989
Movie WCW SuperBrawl II 1992
Movie WCW Capital Combat: The Return of RoboCop 1990
Movie WCW Clash of the Champions XXII 1993
Movie WCW Clash of The Champions XXI 1992
Movie WCW WrestleWar 1991 1991
Movie WCW The Great American Bash 1991 1991
Movie WCW Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA 1991
Movie Five Bold Women 1960

Crew

Movie WCW Clash of The Champions XIX 1992
Movie AEW All Out 2022 2022
Movie WCW Starrcade 1992 1992
Movie AEW Full Gear 2022 2022
Movie WCW Halloween Havoc 1992 1992
Movie WCW The Great American Bash 1992 1992
Movie WCW Beach Blast 1992 1992

Guest Star

Episode ECW on Sci Fi
A Grisly Night on Sci Fi
2006
Episode The Steve Austin Show Unleashed!
Jim Ross
2013
Episode The Steve Austin Show Unleashed!
Jim Ross (part 2)
2013
Episode WWE This is Awesome
Most Awesome WrestleMania Moments
2023
Episode AEW Unrestricted
Jim Ross
2020