Jim Ross Says AEW’s Crowds Are “Attitude Era-esque”

The debut of CM Punk in AEW was the talk of the wrestling world this past week, with some in the business comparing it to Hulk Hogan jumping ship to WCW.

On the latest episode of Grilling JR, AEW Commentator Jim Ross discussed the current landscape of AEW and compared their crowds to those in the Attitude Era. Ross mentioned how much fun it's been to call wrestling for the company and believes they have a ton of momentum.

"It's been great, a blessing quite frankly," Ross said. "Takes you back to a different time, different place quite frankly to many of us. It's very Attitude Era-esque. The signs, posters, noise, enthusiasm from start to finish, it's just been glorious.

"Rampage has been received well, people like what they're seeing there. I think they're happy to have a show on Friday nights to cap off the week. It's all good, good momentum and it's all thanks to the fans. We appreciate their support, help build our brand and we'll continue to do that and work hard every week."

The debut of AEW Rampage happened in Pittsburgh, and the AEW Dynamite episode that prior Wednesday emanated from there as well. Ross spoke about going back to Pittsburgh with the company and it being the first time he's been there since the passing of his wife Jan in 2017.

"It's my late wife's hometown," Ross said. "Jan grew up there in Pittsburgh, she was a big Steelers fan and all things Pittsburgh. I think I've only been back there one time since she died in March of 2017 so it was emotional but it was good to see all the fans and their feedback and their response. Two great days there in Pittsburgh and I'm just hoping for more to come obviously."

On Wednesday's episode of Dynamite, Punk teased Daniel Bryan joining the company soon. Ross spoke about how exciting a time it is for wrestling fans, saying he's happy that younger fans will be able to experience a dose of what it was like back in the day with WWE and WCW.

"Everyday of my life is a good day to be a wrestling fan but especially right now," Ross mentioned. "Especially for a lot of the younger fans who were too young to experience on a regular basis the Monday Night Wars as they were happening and Monday Night RAW's success in the Attitude Era and so forth. It feels good, it feels right right now. Hopefully we'll continue to grow our young talents and our homegrown talents will continue to grow and mature and get better at what they do. Then you add a few of these great veterans to the mix to help us in front of the camera but behind the camera as well. I think Tony Khan is building a great foundation for our brand. We're not nearly through growing, so it's all good. The TV ratings have been good, I've been very blessed to see that happen so it's a great time to be a wrestling fan. You should be a fan of everything but we really appreciate the fans who like what we do in AEW."

"I just think it's good for the fans. Select what you want to watch and if you're not going to watch something, you don't need to cut promos on social media about why you're not watching. Just leave it alone and support everything. It's just so much easier to promote what we all love and not take a political stance."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.