• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Former WWE Announcer Jim Ross Rules out Going to TNA

Posted: Sep 26th 2013 By: mikeiles

In a Q&A session over at his official blog, former WWE announcer Jim Ross has firmly ruled out going to TNA.

When asked by one fan if he would ever consider joining America's No. 2 promotion as a commentator or backstage official, Ross simply replied, "No interest whatsoever at this time. Moving on to other things."

The remark comes after weeks of speculation about Ross's future in wrestling. Many fans had wondered whether Ross, now a free agent, could potentially be open to going to TNA and announcing for flagship show iMPACT.

In an interview with British newspaper The Daily Star last week, current TNA World Heavyweight champion Bully Ray spoke admirably about the announcer, telling writer Patrick Lennon, "I would love to see Jim Ross in TNA. I think TNA could benefit hugely from Jim. He is a straight shooter, a man?s man."

Of course, looking at the situation, Ross's reluctance to work for Dixie Carer right now isn't truly a surprise. For one thing, the star probably doesn't want to severe ties with WWE and jeopardize any future deals.

And if the long talked-about WWE Network ever does come to fruition, Ross will inevitably be called on to do intros or additional commentary for old footage.

Besides, who would want to work for TNA right now? Even the most diehard fans of America's No. 2 promotion would have to admit the place has seen better days.

As WrestleZone mentions, the company has been dropping wrestlers left and right due to budget issues, with the considerable expenses of going on the road taking its toll.

The company took a major PR hit when it released Jesse Sorensen from his production job in July (Sorensen suffered a broken neck wrestling for the company in February of 2012).

Things got even worse when Sorensen confessed in a shoot interview soon after his departure that the company had refused to pay for his medical expenses following the incident, leaving his mother with the astronomical bills. Per the wrestler, she later went bankrupt trying to cope with it all.

As you can imagine, this revelation got the company some of its worst press to date, with news sites and bloggers lashing out at Sorensen's treatment.

Creatively, the company is stuck in a rut, too, with iMPACT being burdened by the dreadful Aces & Eights angle. There are other problems: The company's once-thriving Knockouts division has been reduced to about four women, the midcard is lifeless and let's not even get started on what on earth is supposed to be going on with Chris Sabin's character right now.

Hilariously, A. J. Styles is now being booked to openly lambaste the company and its failings on-air.

OK, so TNA is probably going nowhere, but is it really a good idea to emphasis this on its television show? Isn't that counterproductive?

With all this in mind, who can blame Ross for passing on TNA?