AEW Announcer Jim Ross Talks About His Relationship With WWE's Cody Rhodes

If you're getting tired of the wrestling world celebrating Cody Rhodes' finishing his story and capturing the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, it won't stop anytime soon. Rhodes has wrestling ties that go back several generations, and AEW announcer Jim Ross is on that list. On the latest episode of "Grilling JR," Ross was asked by co-host Conrad Thompson how he felt about Rhodes' crowning achievement, and "Good Ol' JR" was more than candid in his response, drawing back to the origin of their relationship, when Rhodes would tag along with his father Dusty on occasion at wrestling events across several promotions.

"I love that kid," Ross stated bluntly. "God almighty, his ornery little a** was always [as] Mama Rhodes would allow him to; he'd come with Dusty to TV and things of that nature. Good kid, love the kid. He's got a heart of gold, and he worked his a** off to get to that point [on WrestleMania 40 Night Two] to have the match."

Of course, Rhodes and Ross reconnected on a professional level upon the inception of AEW. Rhodes was an Executive Vice President and at least partially responsible for bringing Ross on board in the early days of the promotion. Ross didn't forget that and echoed his appreciation. "He came out to my house in Oklahoma," said Ross, "to do some vignettes. He took it seriously, hiring JR, and I really appreciated that."

As for Rhodes' second WrestleMania 40 main event, Ross thought the match told a great story, in his opinion. He went on further to make a point lost on many in the wrestling world these days in that just because an end result may be a bit predictable doesn't mean that is necessarily a bad thing, especially when it's giving the people what the majority of them seem to want

"I was expecting what the end was going to be," Ross explained. "They were booked into a corner. They had to switch the title or it would have upset a lot of apple carts.

Ross then put on his fatherly hat for a minute to offer Rhodes some unsolicited advice now that he finds himself atop the WWE mountain. "He's gonna make a lot of money," said Ross. "If I were him, if he hasn't done it already, [I'd] hire a certified financial planner, cause that way, [they] can help keep you up on your quarterly taxes."

Speaking of hats, Ross closed out his thoughts on Rhodes' win by hearkening back to an old nickname given to him by Cody, account of his trademark headwear, in the context of a congratulatory conversation they had when "The American Nightmare" became champion.

"I sent him a text on Monday morning [after WrestleMania]," Ross detailed. "I just said, 'I'm proud of you, being the leader that WWE needs. I love you.' And his response to me was, 'I did it, Cowboy.' That's what he used to call me — little insider stuff — Cody called be Cowboy because of the f***** hat. I'm so proud for that kid."

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