WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross spoke with the Wrestling Observer this week to promote his first show calling New Japan Pro Wrestling, which airs this Friday night on AXS TV.
When asked about what led him back to calling pro wrestling, JR said he never stopped loving the sport. He also never stopped loving being a broadcaster. He’s had several opportunities come along but nothing really fit what he was looking for. He called himself an “in-ring snob.” If he’s going to call wrestling, it needs to be a product he truly enjoys. After calling WrestleKingdom 9 last January, he got hooked on New Japan.
Jim Ross now calls NJPW while former NJPW English announcer Mauro Ranallo calls WWE SmackDown. JR said,
“It’s coincidental isn’t it? It’s very ironic that’s how its worked out, but I think we’ve both got wins. Mauro’s living a dream of finally working in WWE, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, and so that’s good for him. He’s allowed to continue to do his MMA and boxing, so he came out on the other side really well. I think that I did as well. I think I found my gig, I found my home that I hope is in place for years to come.”
He added that he and Josh Barnett are hell-bent on building the NJPW brand in the United States. AXS TV’s upper management team loves the product and would get involved in a larger capacity if they could.
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