Jim Ross recently gave an interview with ESPN where he spoke about joining AEW, leaving WWE, the Double or Nothing PPV and more.
Speaking in the interview, the WWE Hall of Famer was asked about getting a fresh start with a new promotion. Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m very excited about where it’s going to go because it’s a new journey for me. I want to go into it with a little chip on my shoulder because I’m sure there are some internet fans out there who were never exposed to my work in the NWA or Mid South or any of those companies. It was just before their time. And then the WWE stopped using me to any significant degree around 2008 or 2009 and I went from being a starter to a relief pitcher. Then I went from being a relief pitcher to a closer. I had two bookings last year. I sat home. I went to Saudi Arabia then I went to New York for Raw 25. I can’t live that way. I’m not ready to retire. I don’t play golf, I don’t fish, I don’t hunt. When it’s not OU football season, I’m looking for something to do.”
On negotiating with Vince McMahon:
“I’ve tried to represent our business in an admirable and honorable way since 1974. I got taken out of the game by the coaches and the team’s decision, of which I didn’t agree with. So what do you do? Well, you can b—- all year, or you can do what you’re signed to do and when the opportunity comes, like I did here, my contract expired and he and I agreed we’re not even going to negotiate to extend it. To negotiate to do the same thing I’d been doing is something I could not live with.”
To read the full interview, click here.