Jim Ross On His Relationship with Vince McMahon Today, Says He Texted McMahon After WrestleMania 36

Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, AEW announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross weighed in on what his relationship with Vince McMahon is like today, and how he still considers McMahon a friend, noting that he texted him a congratulatory text after WrestleMania 36. Highlights are below.

On how he and Vince McMahon are friends today: “Vince and I are friends today, we were friends 25 years ago. I was with him for over a quarter of a century. You don’t dissolve a friendship simply because you lose the employ of one. I wanted to get back on the air, and the WWE at that time did not have a place for me to get back on the air on a regular basis.”

“Look we don’t communicate regularly, when we do it’s normally by text, but I have great respect for Vince McMahon, and for 25 years, he gave me a lot of money to do my job, and some days are better than others, I’ll just say that. But all it was was a microcosm of life, some days are simply better than others.”

On how he has no animosity towards WWE: “I didn’t leave WWE with any animosity, I didn’t leave there mad, that’s so childish, it’s Mickey Mouse, rinky-dink, bullshit. That was not going to be me. So my book is very honest, my book is very, very pointed as far as what I’m talking about. I can’t go on there and say, ‘Well, Vince McMahon was the worst person I ever worked with.’ That’d be so stupid, because he wasn’t.”

On how people get the real Vince McMahon mixed up with the Mr. McMahon character: “People misunderstand Mr. McMahon and Vince McMahon. It’s a lot easier to bitch at somebody and knock them as Mr. McMahon than understand the human being that is Vince McMahon. Does he have faults? Hell yes. And so do you, and so do I, and so does the next guy you’re going to talk to. But that’s just the way we’re built.”

On how he texted Vince after WrestleMania 36: So I still have a great respect for Vince, I texted him my congratulations on the success of WrestleMania, because I thought it was, by in large, an artistic miracle that they were able to do what they did in the environment that they were operating in.”

In the full interview, JR discusses his new memoir Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond (you can check out our review of the book here), leaving WWE and going to AEW, why Steve Austin turning heel at WrestleMania X-Seven was a mistake, AEW and WWE holding shows during the COVID-19 pandemic, his thoughts on the cinematic matches at WrestleMania 36, the Revival’s WWE release and how they would fit in AEW, finding the balance between in-ring product and entertainment aspects of wrestling plus much more.

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0:00: Introduction
0:41: On writing his new memoir Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond and what the book covers
3:06: On when the process of writing the book began
4:06: On his relationship with Vince McMahon, staying friends even with his going to AEW and why he left WWE
6:35: On his memories of WrestleMania X-Seven, Steve Austin turning heel and how Undertaker vs. Triple H was booked
8:53: On if Austin’s heel turn falling short influenced WWE to keep John Cena & Roman Reigns as babyfaces, why Cena stayed babyface
12:46: On when he first met with Tony Khan, why he came joined AEW, misconceptions of why he left WWE and people confusing Vince McMahon with Mr. McMahon
16:59: On AEW and WWE continuing to hold shows amid COVID-19 pandemic, both companies having broadcast commitments, looking forward to calling Jon Moxley vs. Jake Hager
18:56: On AEW changing their setup to deal with the empty arenas, what to expect from the Moxley vs. Hager match
20:34: On what he thought of WrestleMania’s Boneyard Match and adding preproduced elements to matches in the current situation, how AEW is handling it
22:55: On finding the right balance between in-ring product and entertainment content, talent needing to create their own content
25:16: On the positives and negatives of talent using social media, why people should avoid going negative
27:18: On The Revival’s WWE release, being a fan of them and how they would fit into AEW
30:04: On where to find him online, where to get Under the Black Hat
31:59: On his advice for people during the pandemic

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