Jim Ross Says He's In Talks With Tony Khan About Return To AEW Collision Commentary

Jim Ross has been sidelined from his AEW announcing duties since suffering a fall prior to the debut episode of "AEW Collision" on June 17. Following the incident, Ross said that he likely suffered a concussion from the fall, announcing that he would be taking time off to make a full recovery. On the latest "Grilling JR," the WWE Hall of Famer provided an encouraging update on his health, noting that a chiropractor has been visiting him regularly as he inches closer to his AEW return. 

"Tony Khan and I have talked about what I'm going to do going forward, and it looks like I'll have a shot at getting back on Collision on Saturdays," Ross said while stressing that "nothing was official" just yet. "That seems to be my destination, but that could change. I just know that it's going to be a huge lifestyle change for me because those shows are live on Saturday nights."

Ross admitted he was "going to make the ultimate sacrifice" by calling wrestling on Saturday nights when his beloved Oklahoma Sooners would be battling it out in NCAA football starting next month. "I'm gonna have to DVR my games," Ross rued. "It's going to restrict how many games I go to live. I've even thought about using Jacksonville as my secondary home, which it hasn't been because of my doctors down there. Instead, I've had to come back to Oklahoma, and they've got good doctors here."

Despite being pulled away from Sooners games, Ross is excited to return to work and feels "very, very grateful" toward AEW management for supporting him through his health struggles. "I actually think Collision fits my skill set. If I could have called that CM Punk – Samoa Joe match, I'd have been happy as a three-peckered goat." 

Over the past few weeks, Nigel McGuinness and Ian Riccaboni have been calling the action for AEW's new Saturday night show, with the latter replacing Kevin Kelly, who is currently in Japan for NJPW's G1 Climax 33. While some wrestling podcasters and pundits have urged AEW to stick to a two-man team, AEW's original plan was to have the trio of JR, McGuinness, and Kelly in the "Collision" announce booth.