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Jim Ross gets back off the mat after loss of wife

Posted: Oct 23rd 2017 By: Adam Kemp - NewsOK.com

Jim Ross is no quitter.

In Los Angeles this week doing voiceover work for a show and appearing on Fox's Colin Cowherd show and ESPN, Ross was still able to keep his popular blog updated while also producing a podcast listened to weekly by thousands.

Ross, 65, is busier than ever. His drive to provide the best commentary and behind the curtain looks at the world of professional wrestling is only matched by his own enthusiasm for it.

“I still have that Oklahoma work ethic,” Ross says. “I wasn't ready to hang up my jersey and so I've dived deeper in.”

Ever since he made his mark as the main ringside commentator for World Wrestling Entertainment in the early ‘90s, the Oklahoma native and Norman resident has endeared himself to fans the world over with his over-the-top southern enthusiasm and his Okie flavored shouts of “Bah Gahd” and “Slobberknocker.”

But it's in the busy work that Ross hides his grief.

In March, Ross' wife of 24 years, Jan, was killed in a car wreck in Norman as she was riding her scooter home from the store. She was struck by a car as she turned into their neighborhood.

“I lost my guardian angel and my best friend,” Ross said. “She was steadfast with me my whole career in the entertainment business. That's a rare thing nowadays.”

Ross, who suffers from Bell's Palsy and has partial face paralysis, said it was his wife and his passion for wrestling that kept him going through years of depression.

Ross has chronicled his journey through his life in the entertainment business, the world of wrestling, and the loss of his wife in his new book “Slobberknocker.” He will be signing copies Sunday at Barnes and Noble at 13800 N. May Avenue starting around 2 p.m.

Ross said when you become a widower, people come out of the woodwork to give you advice on how to grieve.

But Ross found his own path. He jumped back into calling matches after semi-retiring from it a few years ago

“Stay busy is a great defense mechanism,” he said. “I put up a steely facade. I try to be John Wayne. The busier I stay the easier it is to take my mind off her.”