WRESTLING NEWS
Vince McMahon's federal indictment helped Jim Ross get rehired by WWF
By ROBERT GUNIER
Jim Ross' journey from commentary booth to commentary booth would have looked a lot different if not for the infamous federal drug trafficking prosecution of former WWE CEO Vince McMahon. While the trial was going on, McMahon's duties were taken over by Gorilla Monsoon, but when his commentary was found lacking, WWF hired Jim Ross to take over.
Ross filled in for McMahon alongside Randy Savage throughout the summer until a jury acquitted McMahon on July 23, 1994. Once McMahon returned to his duties, Jim Ross was fired from his position for reportedly leaking information to journalist Wade Keller of PWTorch during the trial.
During a 2019 episode of his "Grillin' J.R." podcast, he recalled that the interview didn't seem "inflammatory" at the time. He was rehired by the company in December 1994, serving as an announcer for syndicated WWF programming before returning to the main announcer team in 1996, where he would stay until 2013.