Jim Ross On Life Lessons Learned From Playing Dominoes With Ernie Ladd, Bill Watts' Racism

Prior to becoming the voice of WCW, WWE, and AEW, Jim Ross plied his trade as an announcer in Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s. During this era, he developed a close friendship with Ernie Ladd, which proved to be an educational experience for Ross.

On a recent episode of "Grilling JR," Ross told co-host Conrad Thompson about some of the lessons Ladd taught him. These ranged from how to act in the locker room to other things that helped Ross in his early career and henceforth.

"I learned a lot about interacting with African-American athletes, and I have been around them that much," Ross said. "Ernie liked me, and I liked Ernie a lot. He was a very strong influence on my career."

According to Ross, he and Ladd often had long conversations during competitive games of dominoes when they were on the road and sharing hotel rooms. Despite the competitive nature of their games, however, Ladd still took the time to teach Ross about a variety of subjects.

"I learned a lot through those dominoes games, Conrad. I heard about the Bible, I heard about Bible verses, I heard about the AFL, the American Football League — you know, Ernie was a powerful influence of that league... Ernie was a good man."

Afterward, Ross said that Ladd was like a brother to Mid-South Wrestling founder "Cowboy" Bill Watts. However, he also shared a story about Watts using racial slurs to insult the wrestling legend, which probably won't shock anyone who's familiar with the Mid-South founder's career.

Bill Watts is no stranger to controversy. He was fired from WCW in the early '90s for using racist and homophobic language during an interview, after all. Several people within the industry have spoken about his alleged racism in the past, and during the aforementioned podcast episode, Jim Ross recalled a time he was offensive toward Ernie Ladd.

"He was like a brother to Cowboy, and sometimes when they talked... I remember Cowboy said to him one time, 'God almighty, Ernie. If you were so smart, you wouldn't be a n. I'm thinking, 'Okay, I'm dying right here. You just called a 6'9, 300-pound, great athlete — big, strong, fearless athlete — the n-word."

According to Ross, Watts' language hurt Ladd's feelings from time to time. However, the AEW announcer said that Ladd gave Watts a pass as he didn't think the Mid-South Wrestling owner meant anything by it. Ross isn't the first person within the industry to highlight Watts' treatment of Ladd. Last year, Jake Roberts called Watts an "ugly, racist bully" who disrespected Ladd by using offensive racial language.

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