Wrestling veteran shares a memorable story with Jim Ross: "He always wanted it to be right" (Exclusive)

Jim Ross will always be synonymous with professional wrestling. The legendary broadcaster has held many hats since 1974, establishing his name in the NWA, JCP, WCW, WWE, NJPW, and most recently, AEW, among many other promotions. As the industry rallies for Ross, one legend is sharing an exclusive story from JR's early days.

Ross has dealt with several health issues in recent years. He announced back in October 2021 that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer, but months later, he declared himself to be cancer-free. However, in February 2024, JR revealed that he had undergone successful cancer surgery on his right hip, but two weeks ago, the 73-year-old revealed that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer. The two-time Hall of Famer underwent surgery this past week.

Good Ol' JR has always been a stickler for accuracy and detail, according to legendary journalist Bill Apter. Sportskeeda Wrestling's Senior Editor recently discussed Ross with co-hosts Teddy Long and Mac Davis on The Wrestling Time Machine.

Davis asked Apter for any JR memories, given their history together. The NWA Hall of Famer recalled Ross providing him with news from Bill Watts when the WWE Hall of Famer was promoting Mid-South.

"Oh, absolutely. I've been around him, of course, since the Bill Watts days, but the most interesting thing is, before there was cable TV and we needed news from Watts' territory in the magazine, Bill put Jim Ross to call me every Monday morning, and Jim would talk for an hour. I could just put the phone down and hit the phone speaker, and he would tell me every, even minutiae details, just so we would get it totally right. He always wanted it to be right, and the other thing is his deep, very close broadcasting style with Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and his deep friendship with Lawler," Bill Apter said. [From 0:23 to 1:15]

Ross continues to record his Grilling JR podcast with Conrad Thompson. The channel, launched on YouTube in May 2020, currently has 113,000 subscribers and 2,283 videos, good for 33,370,724 views.

Jim Ross provides update on cancer battle

Jim Ross has the support of the wrestling world and beyond as he battles cancer. He took to X/Twitter this week with an update following surgery.

"Happy to say that today’s cancer surgery was a success. Now we be begin to rehabilitate," Jim Ross wrote.

Ross remains active on X/Twitter and has throughout his health issues. JR's last Instagram post was made on December 18, 2023.