"No warning, no heads-up, no nothing" - Jim Ross was frustrated after getting replaced by his 'number two guy'
AEW commentator Jim Ross has had a long and storied career in different companies, but it seems that he wasn't happy about being replaced by his protege in WWE.
Towards the end of the 20th century, JR was made the Executive Vice-President of Talent Relations for WWE, where he was responsible for scouting a number of performers who would end up becoming huge stars in World Wrestling Entertainment.
However, he was replaced by John Laurinaitis in June 2004, and the idea to have Johnny Ace take over JR's job at some point happened too soon for Jim Ross' liking. Here's what he had to say on his "Grilling JR" podcast:
"I had originally hired Laurinaitis to be my replacement, I just wasn't ready to be replaced at that time. When I got replaced in [the Talent Relations] role, that thought came up prominently, that maybe it's time, maybe this is an omen. I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'Look, you're not invincible. You're not getting any younger.' I had to think about it in some of those terms, because I was pissed off that I got showed the door." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Jim Ross shares his take on released WWE star John Laurinaitis...........
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JR further elaborated by saying that he found out that Laurinaitis was taking over his job the same way everyone else did, which left him feeling very frustrated.
"I wanted him to be my number two guy, Vince liked him, because he was fresh. I wanted to help Johnny get up to speed, and then all of a sudden he supplanted me as the head of Talent Relations. I found out like everybody else. No warning, no heads-up, no nothing. That's what frustrated me." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Jim Ross made his big return to AEW this past week on Collision
Shortly before the debut of AEW Collision on June 17th, it was announced that Jim Ross would be a regular part of the announce team alongside Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly.
However, JR suffered a nasty fall before the premiere episode, which left him with a black eye and a very rough-sounding voice. Following this, he took a break from TV to heal up and make sure he was 100%, and his break came to an end this past week.
However, JR made his triumphant return to the company on the August 5th edition of AEW Collision, where he came out to call the main event between CM Punk and Ricky Starks. Ross also shared a wholesome moment with Ricky Steamboat before the match again as "The Dragon" was acting as the special outside enforcer.
Did you enjoy seeing Jim Ross back on AEW Collision? Let us know in the comments section below!