Jim Ross Talks Telling Vince McMahon And Triple H About What Talents He Liked In New Japan, More
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will never be hurting for work. Considered by many to be the greatest wrestling announcer of all time, Jim Ross has found his groove working alongside Josh Barnett on NJPW on AXS. The show returns with new episodes next week.
This isn't Ross' first round with New Japan Pro Wrestling, however. The legendary Ross also called Wrestle Kingdom 9 in January 2015, as Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling helped to promote the event. Ross told me that after he called the show, he spoke with WWE's Vince McMahon and Triple H and mentioned several stars that impressed him.
"I was going to Florida, and I have a great friendship with William Regal, who does a lot of the scouting for NXT — one of the unsung heroes there. When I got back from Japan, I talked to Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque, and I keep in regular touch with William Regal. I said it was a great experience, had a lot of fun calling wrestling again, fun to watch the show live. By the way, New Japan has some hellacious talent," Ross said.
Ross singled out two talents in particular. In what may or may not be a coincidence, both of those talents were signed to the WWE a year later. Ross has high hopes for them in the WWE, as long as WWE doesn't tinker with their personas.
"One of those guys we talked about was AJ Styles, who I always thought was a player even when he was in TNA. Seeing Nakamura in person was really memorable for me. I think he could be really big for WWE, he has a really big opportunity," Ross explained. "I just told WWE who I saw and what I like. All of a sudden, whether I had anything to do with it or not, Nakamura, AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are signed by the WWE. I'm happy for all those guys. It's a new start, it's good. As long as they're allowed to be themselves, I think WWE's onto something big with those guys."
We'll have our full interview with Jim Ross coming to Wrestling Inc. soon. New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS returns on May 27 with all new episodes.