Jim Ross is once again taking time away from AEW to heal.
Back in June, it was announced that Jim Ross would serve as part of the commentary team for AEW Collision. The WWE Hall of Famer suffered a bad fall ahead of Collision’s June 17th debut, and despite traveling to Chicago for the show, he announced an extended hiatus to heal immediately after the broadcast.
After returning in August, Jim Ross has regularly been featured on Collision, but on the most recent episode of Grilling JR, he announced that he was once again stepping away to take time to heal his ongoing wounds stemming from his battle with skin cancer.
“I’m gonna take some time off, starting this week. I’m not gonna be in [Oakland]. But my doctor believes that if I take a few weeks off, I’m not sure how many, we’ll see, it’s gotta heal, that being off an airplane for a few weeks will be good for my leg to heal, so what’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna take a few weeks off. I’m not gonna be on TV for a while until I can navigate the waters a little bit and get in that deep water.
“I love what I’m doing. We have a unique roster. There’s so many guys that we need to help as much as possible get over, but that goes for any wrestling TV show. That’s their objective. You have one goal when you’re on television in pro wrestling. Get the talent over. So I love doing that. I love that role, I love helping these young kids who ask questions. ‘Did you watch my match’ or ‘Would you watch my match’ or ‘What do you think about this?’
“So I’m gonna take some time off to get my leg to heal. I’ve been suffering with this shit for almost two years. How much good barbecue can a country boy eat? So somewhere along the way, I gotta turn the corner and get better. I’m not in a great deal of pain except when I get to the city I’m flying to, my leg swells up like a cantaloupe, and it hurts like hell. So I want to try to not travel, see how that affects me, and go from there.
“So I’ll be missing for a couple weeks. I’ll keep everybody posted here. I’m feeling good, I feel strong. I feel motivated. I feel like I’m lucky that I’m working for TK. He’s the one that brought up the fact that we want you healthy for the long run. So he’s been taking very good care of me. I really do appreciate what he’s doing for me and that he’s paying attention.”
“I’m Not Looking To Go Anywhere” – Jim Ross On AEW Contract Status
Continuing, Jim Ross addressed his AEW contract, saying that he has a few months left on his current deal. According to the star, Tony Khan has told him personally that he’d like for JR to stay, but he knows that travel is having adverse affects on his ongoing issues with his leg.
“I have a contract that’s in place, I tend to honor it. It’s still got a few months left, and Tony Khan has indicated to me, as early as this week, at least to my representative Barry Bloom, that he’d like for me to stay.
“I’m not looking to go anywhere. It’s just that I need to heal. That’s all. Simplistically as that. My leg needs to heal, and the good news is that the wound is getting much better, so I am healing. I just gotta get better. It’s not a matter of pain tolerance. The pain comes when I get to the city I’m flying to. Flying is the enemy right now. So if I can heal a little bit more, then flying becomes less of an issue.
“With this job, I can’t do it without flying. So flying is a necessary evil, if you want to use that term, and that’s kind of how I’m approaching it. So I have no plans on leaving AEW. I like working for Tony. Tony’s been good to me, he’s taken great care of me. We just have a very unique relationship. I’m not high maintenance, even with a bad leg and stuff. I don’t want to be high maintenance.”
In a new update, Jim Ross has revealed when he will consider a return to AEW TV.
h/t Fightful