Jim Ross on What His Role in AEW Means to Him, Recalls First Meeting Tony Khan

Jim Ross spoke with Forbes for a profile recently about AEW, talking about the company’s content focuses and what the company means to him. You can see some highlights below:

On AEW’s focus on storylines: “Storytelling is the steak. The whistles and bells – the pyro, the graphics, the technical things – that’s the sizzle. It’s all about the steak. What is the reality of these individuals? Who are they? I think that’s kind of what we’re looking at here in this deal – we want to deliver more steak than the others in the same field or genre. And I think that’s what we’re doing.”

On the company’s focus on its fanbase: “You have to listen to your consumer base. You have to have product knowledge. And part of having product knowledge is knowing how to recognize and find your target audience. Simple marketing: Marketing 101. Identifying your audience is imperative for any marketer. Who is my audience? Who am I going to sell to? Who is going to buy my product? Where are they? How do I communicate with them? And that’s kind of where we are: we have a blast and we listen to the audience.”

On Tony Khan: “I met him several years ago – long before he came up with this idea – and was just amazed at his recall and his history and respect for the business. It was as if he had been in it all his life. And I guess he had in a certain way – he had been in it as a fan. He’s the difference in what we’re doing and how well we’re doing it as much as anybody on the team. Tony is the guy. He’s the old proverbial straw that stirs the drink. Because he’s young – and everybody feeds off him.”

On what his role in AEW means to him: “I’m loving it. I can’t tell you what it’s meant to my life. I was an empty guy. I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself wondering, ‘Why me?’ I had a big void I needed to fill and Tony Khan came along and did that for me. And I will always be indebted. It’s so much fun to be around. The talent’s young and they’re wide-eyed. They’re enthusiastic. They love to learn and most of them are lifelong fans. So it’s really a cool thing for me. I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in.”