All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross put a scare into wrestling fans last week when he posted on his X account, “Another trip to the ER. Difficulty breathing. Likely an overnight stay. I’ll be ok. Let’s fight!” With the Forbidden Door pay-per-view event coming soon afterwards, fans were concerned Ross would not be able to work on the broadcast team. As it turns out, Ross did make it and talked more about his status with his Grilling JR podcast partner Conrad Thompson for an episode scheduled to drop later this week.
“Are you ok, what’s going on man?” asked Thompson.
“I had a respiratory infection, and you just have to deal with those things. I was short of breath. I got past it.”
Ross, who had been hospitalized last month with influenza A, added, “It’s been a challenging week to say the least. I got back from Oklahoma where I had hospital time, now I’m back in Jacksonville. Things were busy. I like being busy. I think I’m just insecure, I feel like I’m not contributing to the welfare of my cause if I don’t stay busy. It’s all good.”
Ross then told Thompson about his time in New York and being back on the road with the AEW team. “I had a good experience,” Ross said. “I wasn’t sure how much fuel I’d have left in the tank…It was good fellowship. A lot of people were very supportive, and I appreciated that. It was good to have support, friends. It all worked out pretty good.
“…I got lucky. I had enough energy and stamina to pull it off. It’s just funny how an old veteran like me can survive the schedule, the intensity.”
Ross then talked about AEW CEO Tony Khan and his response to having Ross able to work on Forbidden Door.
“I’ve never seen Tony Khan so ecstatic with my work as he was after the show on Sunday night, and I appreciated that. It was timely. I understand the ways of the world in wrestling so that I didn’t go crazy here. Just a good scenario and good situation and I appreciated his kind words, he was very nice to me after the show, so it worked out good.”
Ross, 72, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
