Jim Ross says he won't be on the March 17 episode of AEW Rampage, as he has the week off.
Ross previously called the action on AEW Dynamite on a weekly basis. In recent months, he has mostly shifted over AEW Rampage, though he is still part of the broadcast team for AEW pay-per-views. He also occasionally interviews wrestlers on AEW TV.
Speaking on his podcast, Grilling JR, Ross revealed that he will not be on the March 17 episode of AEW Rampage, as he did not make the trip to Winnipeg. He noted that the recent stretch of shows in California took a toll on his body, as the long flights hurt his ankle. Ross has been dealing with a lesion on his ankle, and he described how the flights were challenging because he's trying to get the wound to close.
"We had a lot of travel last couple of weeks. You and I were talking off-air that I was gone… ten days. Living here in Florida, part-time anyway, Florida to California is a haul. People can say what they want, but that’s a long-ass trip, and with my ankle as it is, the more I fly, the more painful it gets because it’s like any other flight, any other human, your feet swell, your hands swell, it’s just normal flying shit. But when you got a bad ankle, you’re trying to get this wound to close and not open, it’s challenging. So we don’t have any more of those bad trips right now. I did not make [Winnipeg], so therefore I won’t be on Rampage this Friday night. I’m enjoying this week off, so to speak," Ross said.
The WWE Hall of Famer subsequently emphasized that the long flights were tiring. He stated that it's hard for people to understand how grueling the travel is for wrestlers and other people involved in the business unless they also have a job where they have to travel for work.
“I want to enjoy this week. It was tiring, I gotta tell you. Those were long-ass flights, and there were no directs, not any. The direct I got was from Atlanta to Jacksonville, and that took about an hour. So it’s tough, man. I don’t understand how some of these guys, I don’t understand how I did it back in the day, when I was just getting in the business, making no money and driving everywhere. That’s a part of the business I don’t think some people will ever fully understand the challenges thereof, unless you have a job where you’re driving for a living in some shape form or fashion, you’re in your vehicle going to work," Ross said.
Ross previously stated that he had a conversation with John Laurinaitis ahead of the February 22 episode of AEW Dynamite when they happened to meet up at the hotel. Check out his comments here.
Check out the card for the March 15 episode of AEW Dynamite here. Fightful will have live coverage as the show airs at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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