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Jim Ross – Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond Review
Image Credit: Simon & Schuster
Loading...Written by: Jim Ross & Paul O’Brian
Published By: Tiller Press
Release Date: March 31st, 2020
Length: 320 pages
It’s no exaggeration to say that Jim Ross is one of the greatest performers in wrestling history. Not in the ring, of course. There, his resume is somewhat less than legendary, as he would readily agree to. But every iconic match needs a great announcer calling the action and selling the story taking place in the ring. And few names have as many of those iconic matches under their belt (or hat, as the case may be) as Jim Ross. Mankind vs. The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25. I could go on to make this just a list of all the great matches that J.R. has called, but the point has been made.
Ross’ lengthy (and on-and-off) career at WWE wasn’t just about his calling matches, though. As most wrestling fans know, the announcer also worked in the WWE office where he wore various hats at different times, most notably as the head of Talent Relations in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ross became one of Vince McMahon’s most trusted men in WWE, resulting in a long and sometimes strained relationship between the WWE Chairman and the announcer/executive.
All of this becomes fertile ground to harvest for Under the Black Hat My Life in the WWE and Beyond. Ross’ second memoir follows up on his successful first book about his life, Slobberknocker, to chart his course through the weird and wonderful – but also brutal and sometimes heartless – world of pro wrestling as seen through Ross’ eyes.
Under the Black Hat picks up directly where Slobberknocker left off, at WrestleMania XV in 1999. Ross takes an anecdotal approach to the nearly 20 years that follow, telling individual stories of significant events in his personal and professional life that lace together to chart his life up until the end of his WWE contract in April of 2018. Throughout Ross talks about his struggles with his place in WWE and his relationship with Vince McMahon, which becomes extremely complicated and fraught as more executives and writers come into the company to bend Vince’s ear. Ross recounts many of the more humiliating storylines he went through and his reactions to them, crediting his late wife Jan for keeping him balanced as much as he was able to be.
The episodic style also runs through some of the more infamous points in Ross’ career that he was witness to or part of, including the infamous “Plane Ride From Hell” that saw Scott Hall and Curt Hennig lose their jobs and the J.R.-moderated WWE 2K14 promotional event that turned into a bit of a fiasco and led to one of Ross’ many departures from the company during the time chronicled in the book.
But at its core, Under the Hat is really about Ross’ relationship with McMahon and with Jan. Many of the McMahon stories – and the other ones – have been discussed by Ross at other times whether on his podcast with Conrad Thompson or during interviews and speaking tours. But the way Ross relates them in the book is on a very different level. With the exception of the Michael Cole/Jim Ross feud, there’s not a lot of snark going on here. Ross is more interested in conveying how he actually felt, what thoughts were going through his mind.
And as a professional storyteller for the last 40-plus years, that’s where Ross shines. It’s hard not to laugh at how he describes McMahon’s eccentricities or get emotional when he recounts some of the darkest days of the last two decades like Jan’s tragic passing, or touching moments like Shawn Michaels and Undertaker helping lift his spirits after a major professional disappointment in 2010. While the book covers a lot of ground in 320 pages, it’s a breezy read that doesn’t lack for those emotional touches, which all feel authentic and heartfelt.
For those fans who want dive into this book in the hopes that they’ll find plenty of juicy scandals, there’s certainly enough of that. Ross confirms things like how Jeff Jarrett’s departure to WCW went down and the rise of frustration among talent as storylines bogged down under the yoke of creative weight. He’s isn’t afraid to be critical of WWE and/or McMahon about the likes of the Invasion, the Kiss My Ass club and such; his reaction to the legendarily awful “Mr. Heinie” segment is difficult to read. But he also very much stands up for McMahon and the company at several points when he could have easily taken a shot. The end result is a book that feels far more authentic than not; at worst it’s skewed by perspective, which is natural to even the best of us.
Ross only lightly touches on his move to AEW in the book, so people looking for details on that jump will be disappointed. (On the other hand, his meeting with the Carters about TNA is told in detail.) But that feels right; a story like this is still evolving and growing, perhaps better told in bits on his podcasts for now.
Under the Black Hat sees Ross more interested in recounting the toll that his experiences 2000s and 2010s experiences in WWE weighed on him, and the people who were there who pulled him up and gave him the strength to shoulder or escape that weight. In some cases, that often includes the very people who put the weight on him in the first place. Above all, it reads like a story that (correctly) isn’t over yet, one which says that despite the frustrations, anger, tragedy and pain, he’s come through the other side. That’s as much a reason to cheer for this story as anything else.
