Jim Ross on AEW return: ‘It was a feel-good moment’
Posted: Jan 9th 2026 By: Joseph Currier
Jim Ross had a great time in his return to the AEW announce desk last night.
After some time away amid health issues, Ross made his AEW return on Wednesday night in his home state of Oklahoma. He reflected on the Dynamite episode on his Grilling JR podcast, saying it was a feel-good moment for him with his family in the building.
“Oh, it was great. I had a great time. My kids were there, a couple of my grandkids were there. So it was good, man. I had a great time,” Ross said. “The AEW team welcomed me back. They were glad to see me — almost as glad as I was to see them. So it was good, man. It was good. Working in Tulsa brings back a lot of memories. That’s where I got my start, in Tulsa, working for ‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk. It was a feel-good moment, quite frankly.”
Ross said his grandchildren are only “moderate” wrestling fans but came to the show to see their grandfather. It was one of the first wrestling events they’ve been to.
Commentary comes natural to Ross at this point, but the 74 year old said it did take him a minute to get used to being back.
“I think it took a minute to get settled in,” Ross said. “It was good. I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you. My natural instincts took over. I had a lot of fun. That was the key thing. That’s the key thing about doing commentary. If you don’t have fun doing it, it’s not going to work for you. So it’s all good, man.”
Ross has been with AEW since 2019 and is currently under a deal where his role is to provide commentary at pay-per-view events. Dynamite last night was a rare TV appearance for him.
Earlier in the day yesterday, D-Von Dudley posted a video elaborating on the racism allegation he’s made against Ross, which stems from two incidents Dudley says occurred during the Attitude Era. Ross has denied that this occurred.
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