AEW veteran confirms he is still friends with Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon has made friends with lots of wrestlers and behind-the-scenes personnel throughout his four decades in charge of WWE. Jim Ross, a key member of McMahon's backstage team in the 1990s and 2000s, recently discussed his friendship with the WWE Executive Chairman.
Ross worked for WWE for a combined 23 years between 1993 and 2019. Although he is best known as a commentator, the AEW announcer also played a huge part in assembling WWE's talent roster.
On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross addressed whether he still considers McMahon a friend:
"Absolutely. Vince did a lot of great things for me. He was very pro-family. He and Jan [Ross' late wife] had a good relationship. She went to the gym every day, so if you go to the gym at Titan Towers [WWE headquarters] every day you're bound to see Vince at some point in time." [1:44:51 – 1:45:14]
Ross also spoke on this week's podcast about the time Vince McMahon informed him of his release from WWE in 2013.
Jim Ross wishes Vince McMahon all the best
Although Jim Ross did not always agree with Vince McMahon's perspective on wrestling, he respects how successful his former boss went on to become.
Ross added that the money McMahon paid him in WWE set him up for the rest of his life:
"Vince is a friend, and you can't not consider a guy a friend. I mean, he made me a lot of money, Conrad [Grilling JR host Conrad Thompson]. When I left, I was set. I had stock, I had options. I didn't even understand a lot of it, but I got versed on it, for sure. But no, he's still a friend in that regard. I wish him nothing but the best." [1:45:37 – 1:46:03]
Ross clarified that he and McMahon no longer speak, but he does not think their lack of contact has affected their long-time friendship.
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Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.