Since its inception, AEW has transformed from a promotion started by a bunch of independent wrestlers to one of the best in the world. After destroying NXT in the Wednesday Night Wars, Tony Khan and his company are moving onto the next era.
Jim Ross praises Tony Khan
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Despite building the company off the backs of WWE rejects, AEW has mounted a capable challenge as the top promotion in America. A big reason for their success is employee morale, something that WWE’s employees probably won’t relate too.
Jim Ross, one of the most legendary figures in the wrestling industry, has high praise for his new boss. Despite being one of Vince McMahon’s ‘corporate stooges’ and the former Executive President of Talent Relations, JR has made it clear AEW is the place to be.
It's such a simple formula and so rarely used. From the sound of it, @TonyKhan is pretty damn good at this.
— Mike Garr (@mgarr66) April 19, 2021
On Twitter, former WWE superstar, Sean Waltman, formerly known as X-Pac, quoted Jim Ross who claimed on his podcast,
“Keep your talent happy as best as you can!” JR responded to the tweet, claiming Tony Khan is the one who manages talent spectacularly, and he’s thrilled to work with him.
.@TonyKhan manages talent in a positive manner way beyond his years. Proud to work for @AEW and TK https://t.co/1usW8XVAZ2
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) April 19, 2021
JR was one of the initial members of the commentary team. The Elite recruited him alongside Excalibur and Tony Schiavone, and he has been a part of the company since Double or Nothing 2019.
He also acts as a senior advisor in the company, using his years of expertise as WWE’s Executive President of Talent Relations to AEW’s benefit.
JR’s role in WWE
Aside from being the ‘voice of wrestling’ for most of his career, JR played a big hand backstage. He was WWE’s Executive President of Talent Relations from 2002 to 2008. JR always had a hand in hiring new talent, hence transitioning into this role was easy.
The legendary commentator weaved magic backstage as easily as he did at the announcer’s desk. A whiz at hiring talent, industry insiders often refer to the Ruthless Aggression roster as JR’s roster. It began in the 90s when he signed a young man who had all the talent in the world and became the People’s Champion.
Apart from The Rock, JR has signed the likes of Edge, Christian, Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, Brock Lesnar, Jack Swagger [now Jake Hager], Randy Orton and even John Cena. One can’t imagine what WWE would be without JR’s presence, and kudos to AEW for having him on their turf.
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