WWE legend says he had heat with Vince McMahon before leaving in 2013

Vince McMahon once told Steve Austin on the WWE-produced Stone Cold Podcast that he had no issues with Jim Ross after the commentator's 2013 departure. Almost a decade on, Ross says he and McMahon definitely had real-life heat due to the circumstances surrounding his WWE exit.

Ross worked for WWE in various roles between 1993 and 2013, including on-screen commentator and behind-the-scenes executive. McMahon opted not to renew the 71-year-old's contract after he hosted a chaotic panel discussion to promote WWE 2K14.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross admitted he did not expect McMahon to play down their strained relationship when he appeared on Austin's show:

"I was surprised a little bit. There was heat, and Vince knew there was heat just because of the situation. I had become a very integral part of the management team in WWE, and that talent roster that we built wasn't done by accident. We didn't back into success. We prepared for success." [1:34:49 – 1:35:12]

McMahon spoke to Austin on the first edition of The Stone Cold Podcast. The episode aired on December 1, 2014, a year on from Ross' WWE exit after two decades with the company.

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Jim Ross on Vince McMahon trusting his judgment

The video game symposium began with Jim Ross mocking the script he had been given to introduce the star-studded panel. The hour-long discussion was dominated by Ric Flair, who had been drinking before the event. Ross later admitted to the audience that he had just hosted a "trainwreck."

Although Vince McMahon expressed disappointment with his hosting performance that day, Ross believes WWE's Executive Chairman always admired his eye for talent:

"Look at all the millionaires, the Hall of Famers, that our talent relations department produced. It's astonishing. I think that never had been forgotten. Vince has always admired my talent acumen, my judgment on certain talents. When I signed John Cena, Vince never even heard of John Cena. He never saw him. He didn't know who he was. He didn't know what he looked like. Stuff like that. He trusted me." [1:35:23 – 1:36:02]

Ross also spoke about the unfortunate reason why he and Flair now have a "strained" relationship after being friends for many decades.

Do you think Jim Ross is the best commentator Vince McMahon ever had? Let us know in the comments section below.

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