Professional wrestling fans are well versed with longtime WWE play-by-play man turned All Elite Wrestling broadcaster Jim Ross. But on Thursday night, NFL fans will get a glimpse of Ross during the Week 14 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.
Ross has been a commentator and senior advisor at AEW since 2019. But this is only the tip of the iceberg in his legendary broadcasting career.
Since 1974, Ross has been one of the leading voices in all of pro wrestling, entertaining fans of all ages across numerous wrestling companies. Those include WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, and the NWA, plus countless other promotions on the independent circuit.
Earlier this year, Ross admitted that this year could potentially be his last as a broadcaster at AEW, which certainly makes sense considering he is 72 years of age with over four decades of time spent in the wrestling business.
It’s unclear whether Ross would seek other media opportunities outside of wrestling should he indeed decide to leave AEW. But on Wednesday, he did announce a venture with the NFL, specifically with Amazon Prime Video, for a cold-open voice over ahead of Thursday’s Lions-Packers matchup. (Though he did mistake the day the game was being held briefly before correcting himself.)
“If you’re watching Prime Video tonight for the Lions vs Packers showdown, check out the cold open that I voiced over this morning,” wrote Ross in a post on X.
If you’re watching @PrimeVideo tonight for the @Lions vs @packers showdown check out the cold open that I voiced over this morning. 🤠
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 4, 2024
Oops….i meant Thursday night.
My bad. 🤠 https://t.co/oo1mdI1BWT— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 4, 2024
This is not the first time that Ross has dipped his toe into media opportunities around football. He notably served as one of the original lead announcers of the original XFL in 2001 alongside Jerry Lawler and Jesse Ventura. On top of that, he was once a radio broadcaster for the Atlanta Falcons for one-year stints in 1992 and 1994.
Perhaps we could see more Ross do more of these one-off voice over spots for the NFL moving forward if he does indeed step away from professional wrestling broadcasting at the end of this calendar year. But regardless, it should be a treat to hear one of the true legends of sports broadcasting ahead of what should be a great Thursday Night Football game on paper.
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.