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Jim Ross praises Tony Khan after ‘absolute genius’ week for AEW

Posted: Sep 18th 2026 By: Joseph Currier

Jim Ross had very kind words for his boss Tony Khan after what was an emotional stretch for AEW.

On back-to-back television shows last week, AEW celebrated Rebel (Tanea Brooks) amid her battle with ALS and honored The Butcher (Andy Williams) after his sudden passing. Ross, who has bonded with Rebel over their shared Oklahoma roots, was thrilled to see her get this moment on the Rebel Heart Dynamite. Praising Tony Khan, Ross said the show was “absolute genius.”

“I thought what Tony Khan put together on Wednesday night, the Rebel Heart celebration, was genius — was absolute genius,” the 74-year-old Ross said on Grilling JR. “And the reason I believe that, I felt it when I watched it. I got emotional a couple times, and I’m sitting here by myself in my chair watching ‘rasslin like I’m 12 years old again.”

Ross called Williams a multi-talented performer and a “sweetheart of a guy.” Though Williams wasn’t at the top of the card, Ross viewed him as the type of wrestler every promotion needs to have on its roster.

Because Khan has so much on his plate, Ross was especially impressed that AEW was able to stage two emotionally heavy shows like this in such a short time period.

“Tony did a good job there. And think about these projects that we’re discussing are dumped into one person’s lap,” Ross said. “He doesn’t have a booking committee. I’m not a big proponent of booking committees in general, quite frankly, and I got my own reasons. But he steers pretty much a solo ship. Some of the things he’s been doing lately, how they’ve been formatting the show, has really impressed me — really impressed me. And I’ll say this, they’re building a hell of a talent roster.”

Jim Ross’ AEW status —

Health issues, including an August brain surgery, have kept Ross away from his commentary role on AEW pay-per-views, but he is hoping to return as soon as possible. His AEW contract was slated to expire at some point in August. While there’s been no official announcement of a new deal, it appears the situation has been resolved in some fashion with Ross remaining with AEW.