On May 15, WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW commentator Jim Ross announced the following:
“Diagnosed this week with colon cancer. Surgery being scheduled in the next week or two. I appreciate your concern and support.”
In 2021, Good Ol’ JR was diagnosed with skin cancer and successfully beat it.
AEW issued the following statement:
“All Elite Wrestling joins fans around the world in sending love and support to Jim Ross as he battles colon cancer. J.R. is a valued member of the AEW family, and we stand beside him during his journey toward recovery.”
In an update, Jim Ross will be undergoing surgery tomorrow. On his podcast, JR thanked AEW President Tony Khan:
“The Khan family has done an amazing job at taking care of JR since I signed with the company. He’s very talent friendly.”
JR also noted that he doesn’t plan on retiring and wants to call the AEW All In: Texas PPV on July 12.
Speaking of JR’s health, Dave Meltzer isn’t happy about WWE ignoring Jim’s cancer news. Here’s what Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio:
“He’s undergoing surgery soon. I really do think, very strongly on this one, that because they haven’t done it yet, they could have done it on Friday (on SmackDown), they could have done it [on Saturday Night’s Main Event], WWE announcers should [send their best wishes to Jim Ross].
I know there’s an incredible level of tribalism that goes on and there’s a wrestling war going on but this is above a wrestling war and Jim Ross is every bit as big a name to WWE fans as he is to AEW fans.
He’s actually more a part of WWE history than AEW history even though he works for AEW right now. But he worked for WWE for decades and I felt it was a real slight that they didn’t mention him on Friday, I felt it again on Saturday.”
Also Read: Tony Khan Sends A Message To WWE For Counter-Programming AEW PPVs
