Jim Ross is the reason behind AEW finally hiring top veteran
Good Ol' JR is one of the most iconic commentators in the wrestling world today. Jim Ross had been a major part of the attitude era and remained with WWE as a commentator for a long time, even after the end of the attitude era.
JR is now part of the AEW commentary team which also includes Excalibur and Tony Schiavone. In a recent interview with Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch, JR revealed that he was a major role in AEW hiring Schiavone and that he had 'pushed really, really hard' for the former WCW announcer to be oped in by the company.
“I think we’re on a journey, Richard. I don’t think we’re there yet. I like what we do. I pushed really, really aggressively to hire Tony Schiavone to join our team because it was inevitable that for whatever reason, and I can’t think of a good one, but the trend in pro wrestling has been three-man teams by and large. There are exceptions to the rule. I get that.
But the three-man teams is kind of the traditional, the trendy thing. So, seeing that we were inevitable to do the three-man team, I just thought that Tony would be an amazing addition because his knowledge, his product knowledge — you can’t buy product knowledge. You got to develop it. You got to earn it and experience it. And he’s a bright guy, and he loves the product.”
(H/T: 411Mania)
Jim Ross also stated that one of the reasons why he wanted Schiavone on board was that there isn't anything that Schiavone can't do convincingly well when it comes to delivering on the mic. Be it a play-by-play role, a color role, a studio role, or an in-ring interview role.
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