Legendary wrestling commentator Jim Ross has been regarded as one of the best voices in the business for over four decades. However, he wasn’t exactly on his game during Saturday night’s AEW Collision debut, which is due to a nasty fall that he took before the event.
Ross has been working as a special analyst for AEW during maiitsn events for the past year after previously serving as the full-time play-by-play man.
He took to social media to let fans know ahead of AEW Collision that he took a fall, but would still be working the main event.
“Bad fall this morning,” Ross tweeted. “Still headed to Chicago for Collision! Historic night for AEW on TNT.”
Bad fall this morning.
Still headed to Chicago for Collision!
Historic night for @AEW on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/6lrr3ykCug
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) June 17, 2023
When it came time for the main event, it was apparent that Ross was far from 100%. His voice was nearly inaudible at several moments, and he was overall far below his typical standards, which fans pointed out on social media.
How could they have Jim Ross sounding like that on the mic #AEWCollision
— OKC #FreeAaronWiggins (@victor_okc) June 18, 2023
Respect to Jim Ross for making it tonight but his voice is not in good shape
Poor guy #AEWCollision
— Canadian Assassin (@Jay1Wrestling) June 18, 2023
I get Jim Ross wanting to contribute and I respect what he's done for the business but he sounds bad and is taking away from the matches themselves. #AEWCollision
— Manny (@BeastModeManny) June 18, 2023
Ross clearly understood that his performance was not up to par, issuing an apology on social media after the main event on Saturday. In this apology, he revealed that he will be stepping away from AEW to focus on healing from his injuries.
“I apologize for the way I sounded tonight. Going to step away to heal. Thanks for your support.”
https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/1670271806668787712
This is not the first time that Ross has had to step away from the promotion for health-related issues. He notably took a leave of absence back in 2021 after receiving radiation treatment for skin cancer, later returning in his new role in June of 2022.
It’s obviously unclear at this point how long Ross will be away from AEW this time around, but the wrestling community is certainly hoping he has a speedy recovery.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.