AEW star on the heartfelt letter he sent Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon oversaw the hiring and firing of WWE talents during his four decades in charge of the company. In a recent podcast episode, Jim Ross opened up about his reaction to being let go by his former boss earlier in his career.

Ross left WWE in 1994 after working with the company as a commentator for almost a year. Shortly after his departure, the current AEW announcer asked McMahon in a letter if he could have access to WWE's magazine subscription mailing list. At the time, he wanted to respond to fans via audio cassettes as part of a new mail-order-based home business.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said he sent the heartfelt letter because he was concerned about his financial situation after leaving WWE:

"I remember I spilled my guts. I needed a favor. I needed help. I had what I thought was a decent idea and a solution to the conundrum of less income coming in. I think that letter gave Vince the idea, 'Well, you know, maybe I could use a guy with 23 years' experience, name identity, et cetera, and that would work out just fine.' At least that's what I hoped." [47:47 – 48:18]

Ross also clarified in the letter that speculation about his lack of loyalty to WWE was false. It had been reported that his ego was "out of control" and he was "not a team player" behind the scenes.

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Why Vince McMahon rehired Jim Ross

In the same letter, Jim Ross made it clear he would happily return to WWE in any capacity. Vince McMahon eventually rehired the popular announcer, partly because his own commentary role had become available due to the steroid scandal.

Looking back, Ross thinks he contacted McMahon at the perfect time:

"That did work out, because he [Vince McMahon] saw that there was opportunity there. He was in a tough spot with the feds and all that stuff, so I don't know if it's right place at the right time, but my instincts told me that this is what I should do, so I went with my instincts and it seemed to work out fine." [48:19 – 48:39]

Ross became a talent relations executive and WWE's lead announcer throughout the Attitude Era in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Do you think Vince McMahon was wrong to let Jim Ross leave in the first place? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.