Jim Ross James William " Jim " Ross ( January 3 , 1952 ) is a professional wrestling commentator , referee , restaurateur , occasional wrestler , currently signed to WWE , where he works as a commentator and worled as a talent relations consultant . Ross was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest announcers in wrestling history . He is known affectionately by wrestling fans as " Good Ol ' JR " . Outside of professional wrestling , Ross has developed his own brand of barbecue sauces and cookbooks . Early career . While attending Westville High School , Ross was the first baseman on the Westville baseball team . Ross was a two - time all - conference football player for the Westville Yellowjackets in 1968 – 69 . His maternal grandparents owned a general store in Westville , Oklahoma and his paternal grandfather Dee Ross owned an off - sale beer store and was a carpenter . Ross was also President of the Student Body , a 4 - year letterman in basketball , and State Vice President of the Future Farmers of America where he was State Speech Champion in 1968 . Ross was also named Honorable Mention on the 1969 High School All State Football team by the Tulsa World as a center . During his time in college , Ross had spent some time commentating on college radio . With this experience , Ross was given a chance to be a sideline commentator when an announcer in one territory was unable to show up one night . Jim first worked in the NWA Mid - South area as a referee in 1974 . He stayed as a referee there until 1977 . Shortly after Bill Watts bought out the Mid - South territory on 1982 , Ross returned to work there , becoming their lead play - by - play man in 1986 . The first World Title match he called was between Ric Flair and Ted DiBiase . When Jim Crockett , Jr . bought the Mid - South ( since renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation ) and merged it with his Jim Crockett Promotions group , Ross joined the new company and teamed up doing color commentary with David Crockett and Tony Schiavone as lead play - by - play man for the National Wrestling Alliance . Ross continued to hone his skills and build his legacy as Jim Crockett Promotions became NWA World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) . In 1991 the promotion left the NWA and became WCW . Jim was teamed with long - time NWA / Crockett broadcaster Bob Caudle for a couple of years . In 1992 , he also spent one season as a commentator on Atlanta Falcons radio broadcasts . Ross worked his way up the ladder , yet along the way had a contentious relationship with WCW ' s newest commentator ( and future WCW executive ) Eric Bischoff . According to Ross , Bischoff , who reported to him , did a really good job of " selling himself " to executives of WCW ' s owner Turner Broadcasting . According to Bischoff , Ross mistreated him and others ( mostly in deference to Ross ' then - supervisor Bill Watts ) , and when Eric was promoted to executive producer in 1993 , Ross demanded , and received , his release . Ross had a three - year contract with Turner Broadcasting , but he took an immediate buy - out for fear that he would not get work elsewhere if he was taken off television for a long period of time . Mick Foley claims that Ross resigned from WCW ' s booking committee . Ross left WCW after being taken off the air by Eric Bischoff . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE ( 1993 - present ) . Early Career in WWF ( 1993 – 2002 ) . Ross was hired by the World Wrestling Federation ( later known as World Wrestling Entertainment and eventually shortened to WWE ) . He made his on - screen debut at WrestleMania IX and taking over for Gorilla Monsoon on " WWF Wrestling Challenge " the next weekend . Ross worked alongside Bobby Heenan on that show until Heenan left the WWF in December 1993 . Ross was originally the main voice of the WWF ' s pay - per - view events when he was first brought in , calling both WrestleMania IX and the King of the Ring with Heenan and Randy Savage in 1993 . Vince McMahon took his position at pay - per - views starting with SummerSlam 1993 . Ross was then made host of Radio WWF , alongside Gorilla Monsoon ( the man he replaced at WrestleMania ) , which lasted under a year . In this role , Ross was joined by co - hosts such as Johnny Polo , and talked to various WWF Superstars and fans . Ross and Monsoon called SummerSlam and the Survivor Series at the end of 1993 and the Royal Rumble for Radio WWF . Ross was fired by WWF on February 11 , 1994 two weeks after suffering his first attack of Bell ' s palsy . He subsequently became an announcer for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons ( the second time he was with the Falcons as an announcer ) . In Smoky Mountain Wrestling , Ross was reunited with former NWA / WCW announcer Bob Caudle . The promotion was owned by longtime NWA Manager Jim Cornette and featured many former NWA / WCW wrestlers such as The Rock and Roll Express , Eddie Gilbert and Steve " Dr . Death " Williams . When Vince McMahon was indicted by the United States federal government in 1994 , he was unable to continue commentating on " Monday Night Raw " . After a few weeks of Gorilla Monsoon on play - by - play , the WWF rehired Ross to fill in for McMahon alongside Randy Savage throughout that summer . When McMahon was acquitted , Ross was let go by the WWF again . Ross returned to Smoky Mountain Wrestling . The WWF rehired him in early 1995 in time for WrestleMania XI . Relocated to the syndicated WWF programming for the majority of the next two years , Ross would rejoin the primary announce team in the summer of 1996 . In September 1996 , Ross turned heel in WWF storylines for the first time in his career . Following Diesel and Razor Ramon leaving the WWF for World Championship Wrestling and debuting there as The Outsiders , Ross began to proclaim on television that he was still in touch with " Diesel " and " Razor " and claimed that he would be bringing them back to the WWF soon . Other announcers were skeptical , and WWF President Monsoon said that Hall and Nash were under contract with " another organization " , and ordered Ross to cease and desist mentioning them on the air . On the September 23 , 1996 episode of " Monday Night Raw " , Ross delivered a worked - shoot promo during which he ran down WWF Chairman Vince McMahon ( outing him as chairman and not just a commentator for the first time in WWF storylines ) and debuted his " new " Diesel and Razor , claiming that while working in the WWF " front office " he had been the man responsible for so many people leaving the company as part of his " revenge " against the WWF for how they treated him in the past . While he was kept on the air by McMahon , Ross portrayed himself to be bitter and spiteful , with repeated potshots at McMahon . However , the " New Diesel - New Razor " storyline was poorly received by fans , and Ross ' heel turn was quickly dropped . After this angle , Ross went on to host various WWF programs such as " Superstars " , " Action Zone " , " Raw Is War " , and " Shotgun Saturday Night " . Ross again became the main voice of the WWF beginning at the 1997 Survivor Series . At the end of 1998 , Ross took a break from " Raw Is War " , due to another attack of Bell ' s palsy which came the day after the death of his mother . He eventually returned to " Raw Is War " as part of a storyline alleging that Vince fired him because of his condition , but that he would not go down quietly and enlisted the services of " Dr . Death " Steve Williams as his personal " enforcer . " The storyline went as far as to have Jim Ross set up his own announce table in front of the official announce table labeled " JR Is War . " Shortly after that , Jim Ross confronted his replacement , Michael Cole , in the ring . After minutes of Cole trying to convince that he was not trying to steal Ross ' job , Ross kicked Cole in the crotch and left the ring . The storyline was soon dropped as the attempt to turn Ross heel failed ( the fans ended up cheering Ross and booing Cole ) and he took his seat back as " official " commentator of " Raw Is War " starting with the main event of WrestleMania XV . Ross ' Bell ' s palsy proved fodder for ridicule by WWF ' s competitor , World Championship Wrestling , in late 1999 . Ed Ferrara parodied Ross , including doing a full impression including mockery of his modified voice due to his medical condition . This was received negatively by fans and wrestlers alike , with Jim Cornette threatening legitimate physical harm against Ferrara . Ferrara ceased mocking the medical condition after the first week . The angle was soon dropped by WCW , but not before " Oklahoma " , Ferrara ' s parody of JR , won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship , even defending it on Pay - Per - View , at WCW Souled Out in 2000 against female Wrestler , Madusa . Raw ( 2002 - 2008 ) . Ross was the " voice of " Raw Is War " " throughout the Monday Night Wars alongside Jerry Lawler and cemented his legacy as one of the great wrestling commentators as WWE became the sole major wrestling promotion in North America . After the WWE Brand Extension , Ross worked exclusively for the Raw brand , cutting down to doing play - by - play on " Raw " - only pay - per - views , while " SmackDown ! " - only pay - per - views were announced by " SmackDown ! " ' s announce team . For most of the next six years Ross was involved in very few storylines . Also during this time , Ross served as an Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for the WWF / WWE , a codified extension of his long - time role as a member of management backstage in charge of hiring new talent . By 2005 , Ross had stepped down from his executive and management roles . According to repeated statements on his official blog , the move away from management proved beneficial in terms of decreased work - load , giving him more time to focus on his health , his family , and his entrepreneurial endeavors . Still working as the voice of " Raw " , Ross was again " fired " ( kayfabe ) from his play - by - play job by Vince and Linda McMahon on October 10 , 2005 . Doctors had discovered a serious issue with Ross ' s colon , and his storyline termination provided an explanation for his absence . While recovering from his colon surgery , Joey Styles ( best known for his commentary work for Extreme Championship Wrestling ) called the weekly " Raw " . After recovering , Ross helped produce the " Raw " announcers from backstage , and was brought back for " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " in 2006 , then the Raw - brand matches at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago , before taking back his play - by - play job on " Raw " on May 8 , 2006 , after Styles quit " Raw " in the storyline , declaring his hatred for " sports entertainment " . Ross ' contract with WWE expired in October 2006 . At that point , neither side had signed a new contract and instead worked week to week under the terms of the expired contract . In November 2006 , Jim Ross stated on his official blog that he had signed a new one - year contract with WWE and would continue to work year - to - year . On March 31 , 2007 , Ross was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Stone Cold Steve Austin . SmackDown ( 2008 - 2010 ) . On June 23 , 2008 during the 2008 WWE Draft , Ross was drafted from Raw to the SmackDown brand while Michael Cole was drafted from SmackDown to Raw , trading positions as commentators on each brand . This ended Ross ' position as " Monday Night Raw " ' s play - by - play commentator after a nearly 12 - year run . The following day Ross posted a blog on his official website saying initially he was not happy with the move and considered quitting the company since he was not told beforehand about the move , but that he will work " to make Smackdown the best program the WWE produces " . On September 23 , 2008 edition of " ECW " , Ross made an appearance on the ECW brand filling in for a sick Todd Grisham alongside Matt Striker . On April 5 , 2009 , WrestleMania XXV , Ross commented on Rey Mysterio ' s mask which had been made to represent Heath Ledger ' s role as The Joker . His comment was , ' I think Rey ' s career is alive and well King ' . Jim Ross has apologized on his JR ' s BBQ website explaining that , " it was the wrong choice of words to use and on live television mistakes can happen . " On April 8 , 2009 , Ross announced on his WWE Universe blog that with the departure of Tazz from World Wrestling Entertainment , he would assume the role of " SmackDown " ' s color analyst , with ECW announcer Todd Grisham moving over to the brand as the play - by - play announcer . At Backlash , Santina Marella , Santino ' s " twin sister " revealed that she loves Ross rather than The Great Khali . Ross was not told about the joke but posted in his blog " Let bygones be bygones " . October 6 , 2009 was his last broadcasting as a full - time announcer for the WWE . Ross missed the " SmackDown " tapings on October 13 , 2009 , as he asked for a day off due to an anniversary . This was the first time he ever asked for a day off . Seven days later , on October 20 , Ross suffered his third Bell ' s palsy episode en route to Columbia , South Carolina for a " SmackDown " taping . After initially planning on working the tapings and reuniting with Lawler , Ross instead flew back to Oklahoma , missing the show — Lawler and Cole commentated SmackDown — and leaving his plans for WWE Bragging Rights in the air . On October 21 , 2009 , Jim Ross announced that he would not be commentating the WWE Bragging Rights pay - per - view , but Grisham mentioned that SmackDown would give Ross the Bragging Rights trophy as a " get well " gift . According to Ross in his personal blog , he will be out of action , recovering from his current bout with Bell ' s palsy . On March 31 , 2010 , Jim Ross confirmed on his Twitter page that his health is in good order . On May 1 , 2010 , his talent contract with WWE expired but recently has had his contract renewed . He still works for the WWE and is a consultant for the Talent Relations department dealing with talent payroll , scouting and talent development . Return To Raw and Feud with Michael Cole ( 2011 - present ) . On the November 15 , 2010 , live three hour special " Old School Raw " from the Giant Center in Hershey , Pennsylvania , Ross made a guest appearance on commentary with Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole , calling a match between Daniel Bryan and Jack Swagger . This was Ross ' first television appearance in over one year . Cole would insult Ross throughout the match , which resulted in Ross hitting Cole over the head with his hat after the match had finished . On the March 14 , 2011 episode of " Raw " from the Scottrade Center in St . Louis , Missouri , Ross made another guest appearance , trying to talk some sense into Cole , who over the last few months began a feud with Jerry ' The King ' Lawler . Ross would get insulted some more by Cole , which made Ross challenge Cole to a fight , only for Jack Swagger to come out and attack both Lawler and Ross . Ross came back at WrestleMania XXVII to call the final four matches on the card , including the Cole / Lawler match . He also made an appearance on the following night ' s RAW program , alongside Jerry Lawler , whom he called the last three Matches of WrestleMania with the night previous . He left Raw later that night after Cole squirted him with his BBQ sauce , which legitimately got in his eye and caused Ross to need one of his eyes flushed by the Medical Trainers backstage . Since returning to the Announce Table the night after WrestleMania on RAW , Ross once again became an unofficial Raw commentator , reuniting with Jerry Lawler , then the next week , managing Lawler in his re - rematch with Jack Swagger . Following the Match , which King won , thus gaining the right to pick the type of Match and stipulation for a rematch between him and Michael Cole at Extreme Rules , he chose a Tag Team Match , where he and JR would face Michael Cole and the man Cole pushed , poked and slapped after losing to King that night , Jack Swagger . JR then called the rest of the show with Lawler and Josh Mathews , serving in the role he portrayed when he was last a full - time commentator on WWE programming providing a mix of both color and play - by - play commentary . On the April 18 , 2011 episode of RAW eminating from the United Kingdom , during Michael Cole knighting ceremony , Ross was forced to kiss Cole ' s fungus - infected foot and miss the remaining two Matches that night after also , once again , receiving an Ankle Lock from Jack Swagger . The next week on RAW , the 2011 WWE Draft version of the show , Ross faced Michael Cole in the only Match of the night not worth a Draft pick for a Brand . The Match was almost five minutes long , most of which was Cole taunting Ross , most notably with the Kamala belly pat and wearing JR ' s hat , only to take it off and step on it in the Ring and kick it out of the Ring . Ross legitimately broke his hand , as well as cut himself on his right knuckle and bust Cole ' s lip , causing Cole to bleed from inside his mouth . Ross won the Match by Disqualification when Swagger came in and attacked him . Jerry Lawler , who was at Ringside with Ross to counteract Swagger ' s being at Ringside for Cole , got in after also being attacked by Swagger on the outside of the Ring earlier and took out Swagger after Cole whipped Ross ' back with his Belt , which Swagger took off of him before putting him in the Ankle Lock . Lawler whipped Cole on his behind with the same Belt , which prompted the Anonymous RAW General Manager to make the Tag Match between the four at that Sunday ' s Extreme Rules a Country Whippin ' Match , the second of Ross ' career . Cole ran off holding his behind as JR showed Lawler his busted knuckle , as well as the blood on his right cheek . Lawler & Ross ended up losing at Extreme Rules , when Cole pinned Ross with a roll - up . At Over the Limit on May 22 , Ross showed up to gain revenge on Cole for squirting him with his own barbecue sauce a couple of months before on Raw . JR brought his own bottle of sauce to the ring with him and proceeded to pour it all out over Cole ' s face , hair and clothes . Things only got worse from there for Cole , as Bret Hart made a surprise appearance and locked in the Sharpshooter , while Lawler made Cole kiss his foot . After that , he joined the announcer ' s table alongside Josh Mathews and Booker T to call the " I Quit Match " of John Cena and The Miz . Brief return to Raw ( 2011 ) . On July 25 , 2011 , the new COO of WWE , Triple H re - hired Ross to a full - time commentating position on " Monday Night Raw " to reform the partnership between himself and Jerry Lawler ( alongside Michael Cole ) . On September 19 , Jim Ross interviewed Mark Henry on winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton at Night of Champions , but only to be attacked by him . Jerry Lawler tried to stop him but he received a World ' s Strongest Slam . Ross and Lawler were replaced by Josh Mathews for the rest of the night . On the October 10 episode of " Raw " , Ross was fired by the new Raw Interim General Manager , John Laurinaitis , for walking out on Triple H the week before . Ross later revealed that he was given no prior notification that he was to be publicly fired like he was . On the October 17 episode of " Raw " , Ross returned in a tag team match with John Cena in a win over Michael Cole and Alberto Del Rio . A week later , Cole would challenge Ross to a " Michael Cole Challenge " match , where if Cole would lose , he would quit . Despite this , on the Halloween special episode of " Raw " , Ross " no - showed " the " Michael Cole Challenge " due to inflammatory bowel disease . The Michael Cole challenge was rescheduled for the following week , but again was cancelled . The challenge was yet again scheduled for the November 14 episode , and was slated to kick off that night ' s episode . In the episode Ross won two of the three challenges which were arm wrestling and dancing but lost the final challenge which was who weighed less . Subsequently , he was " fired " again . On the 12 / 12 / 2011 edition of RAW at the Slammy Awards , JR won the slammy award for " tell me I just did not see that " . He then got in a rap battle against Michael Cole which JR won . He then celebrated by doing the Spinnaroonie . On April 1 , 2012 , at WrestleMania XXVIII , Ross , sporting a new beard , returned to call the ' End of an Era ' Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and The Undertaker per Undertaker ' s request behind the scenes . it should also be noted that he ended his long time feud with Michael Cole as the 2 shook hands healing any old wounds they had between them . Ross also made an appearance at the 1 , 000th episode of " Raw " on July 23 , 2012 , commentating the opening match . On the September 17th and October 8 episodes of Raw , Jim Ross joined Michael Cole & JBL at commentary filling in for Jerry Lawler . NXT & Substituting for Jerry Lawler ( 2012 ) . On June 20 , 2012 , Ross took over as a commentator on the revamped " NXT " alongside Byron Saxton and William Regal . Following Jerry Lawler ' s heart attack on September 10 , Ross returned to " Raw " to work as an interim commentator while Lawler recovered . Ross was honored on the October 1 edition of " Raw " as it was dedicated " JR Appreciation Night " and was held in his hometown of Oklahoma City . While CM Punk interrupted the segment as it aired , Ross was acknowledged by Vince McMahon and Triple H as well as local wrestling legends Bill Watts and Danny Hodge after " Raw " went off the air . Periodic Appearances on Raw and Smackdown , Retirement ( 2013 ) . On December 17 , 2012 , during the WWE Raw , Jim Ross appeared alongside Gene Okerlund and Ricky " The Dragon " Steamboat to announce the winner of the Slammy Award for Match of the Year . Ross also returned on the 20th Anniversary edition of " Raw " on January 14 , 2013 , where he called the steel cage main event between John Cena and Dolph Ziggler . Michael Cole allowed Ross to replace him to call the match alongside JBL and Jerry Lawler . On March 1 , 2013 , Jim Ross made a return to Friday Night SmackDown to interview his long - time friend Jack Swagger , and Swagger ' s advocate , Zeb Colter . Swagger began provoking Ross , saying he wasn ' t a " real American " . Alberto Del Rio ran down the ramp and into the ring and gave Jim Ross his cowboy hat back , which Jack Swagger originally knocked off . Del Rio then said to his WrestleMania XXIX opponent that he wasn ' t a Jack Swagger , but a jackass , and then Ross left the ring . On April 7 , Jim Ross appeared to host the WrestleMania 29 pre - show and post show alongside Dusty Rhodes , Kofi Kingston and Scott Stanford . In 2012 when Paul Levesque ( Triple H ) took control of Talent Relations he hired Jim Ross to work as an Advisor and Scout within the department . In 2013 Jim Ross also began to coach and produce new announcers at the WWE Performance Center in Florida . He announced his retirement from WWE on September 11 , 2013 to pursue his personal business endeavors . New Japan Pro Wrestling ( 2015 , 2016 - present ) . On January 4 , 2015 , Ross and Matt Striker served as the English language commentators for Global Force Wrestling ' s presentation of New Japan Pro Wrestling ' s Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome pay - per - view . On January 19 , 2016 , it was announced that Ross had signed to become the new lead announcer for NJPW ' s weekly program on AXS TV . Wrestling career . Although Ross ' career has predominantly been as a commentator Ross has participated in matches , with some notable success , including a victory over Triple H in a no - DQ match ( albeit with help from Batista ) . Ross ' most notable wrestling appearance was in a tag team match with broadcast partner Jerry " The King " Lawler against Al Snow and Jonathan Coachman at the 2003 Unforgiven pay - per - view , with their Raw broadcast jobs on the line . They lost the contest to Snow and Coachman due to interference by Chris Jericho , however two weeks later Ross and Lawler regained their jobs when Ross defeated Coachman in a Country Whippin ' match , using a stunner finishing maneuver . Ross has participated in more contests alongside Lawler and has appeared in a few extreme stipulation matches . Ross competed against Michael Cole on the April 25th edition of Raw , where he defeated Cole by disqualification after Cole ' s manager for the match , Jack Swagger , attacked Ross while he had Cole mounted and was landing punches on him . Jim Ross has been involved in multiple conflicts as well with superstars such as Triple H , Val Venis , Jack Swagger , Vladimir Kozlov , Mankind , Stone Cold Steve Austin , bloodied in a Match by then - RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff , and was even set on fire by Kane . Ross even main - evented the WWF ' s first - ever show from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta , GA , an edition of " Raw is War " that took place on October 11 , 1999 . Ross teamed with Stone Cold Steve Austin to take on WWF Champion Triple H and his partner Chyna . As part of storylines , Ross has been regularly targeted by Vince McMahon in rather harsh circumstances throughout his time with WWE : most notably in 2005 when Vince McMahon ' s character , Mr . McMahon , featured in a series of segments which made fun of Ross ' legitimate colon surgery . In 2011 , after his firing as an announcer by John Laurinaitis , he returned to team up with John Cena to face Michael Cole and Alberto Del Rio in a tag team match on " Raw " in a winning effort . Personal life . Ross was married to his wife Jan and has two daughters ( from a previous marriage ) and two granddaughters . He suffers from Bell ' s palsy , which sometimes results in temporary paralysis of Ross ' facial muscles . In late 1998 , following the death of his mother , Ross took a break from " Raw " as the effects of his grief reportedly worsened his Bell ' s palsy , and Michael Cole filled in for Ross . Despite his condition , Ross has established himself as one of the all - time greatest wrestling commentators , often compared to Gordon Solie . In 2007 , spurred on by sales of his line of barbecue sauces and beef products , Ross opened up J . R . ' s Family Bar - B - Q , a barbecue restaurant in Norman , Oklahoma . The restaurant was closed as of May 2010 . He is an avid Oklahoma Sooners sports fan and is a regular football season - ticket holder . This is reflected in his entrance music which is the Boomer Sooner fight song . He was spotted on the Sooner sideline during their November 27 , 2010 win over in - state rival Oklahoma State 47 - 41 , as well as the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game between Oklahoma and Nebraska . On March 20 , 2017 , Ross ' s wife was involved in a vehicle accident while riding a Vespa and suffered serious head injuries . Two days later , Ross announced on Twitter that his wife died from her injuries .