Jim Ross isn’t stressing about his AEW future, as Good Ol’ JR revealed his contract is set to expire in August this year.
While speaking on the Grilling JR podcast, Ross revealed that his AEW contract is expected to expire sometime in August. He said he is content with where things stand and would gladly do more if AEW asked him to.
“I’m pretty content, Conrad, to be honest with you. Would I accept more responsibility and do more work? Of course. If asked to perform in that world, I’m happy to do it.”
Ross then praised Tony Khan and said he knows he has a strong deal with AEW. He acknowledged online talk about his contract but said he feels like he is in a good place. Ross explained that he recently spoke with his agent Barry Bloom in New York about his status, but he is not forcing the issue. Instead, he plans to let the situation play out.
“Tony Khan’s been really good to me and I see it written about online from time to time, you know, ‘Ross has a hell of a deal’ and all that. And I do have a hell of a deal. I’ve got a — I’m in a good spot. But I don’t have much more time left on my contract. I talked to Barry Bloom, my agent. He was in New York and we chatted about my status and I’m just gonna let it play out.”
Ross said the decision is ultimately up to Tony Khan. If AEW wants to keep him, he believes Khan will make that happen. If not, Ross seems at peace with that as well. He added that he believes his deal is up sometime in August, though he joked that he is not focused enough on the contract to know every detail off the top of his head.
“I don’t know what — when — if Tony Khan wants to keep me, well, if he does, he will. If he doesn’t, then he won’t. But I’ll keep everybody posted when I’m gonna — my deal is up, I think sometime in August. I believe that’s true. That’s how focused I am on my contract.”
Ross said he has moved past worrying about the situation because stressing over contracts takes the fun out of the work. He also admitted that after the summer, he is not completely sure what his future will look like, though he hopes to remain with AEW.
“I just passed the worry-about-it stage and all that. I’m just not gonna do it. It takes the fun out of things. And now that my schedule’s changing because after this summer, I’m not sure what my future holds, you know, where the AEW — I hope it’s I stay with them.”
Ross once again praised Tony Khan and said AEW currently has a strong group of people around him on the wrestling side. He also stated that AEW’s current support staff may be the strongest the company has ever had.
“And I enjoy the hell out of Tony Khan. And he’s got a good staff. He’s got some good people around him now too on the wrestling side. I think he’s got its strongest — I believe that presently AEW has their strongest support staff assembled as they’ve ever had.”
This comes after Ross previously said he had signed a one-year AEW deal that ran through the summer of 2026. At the time, he made it clear that he had no plans to return to WWE and liked the reduced schedule AEW gave him.
“I saw somewhere online where it said I was in negotiations with WWE to go back. I hadn’t heard that one. I haven’t talked to them, no plans to go back. It’s just not the right time for me to get more involved in the business. I just signed a new contract for a year. Got that done before I left. I’m with AEW for one year, until next summer, next August I think it is. I’ve got fewer dates, and I like that. So I have a deal that’s very desirable, to be honest with you.”
For now, Ross is not treating his expiring AEW deal like a crisis. He sounds grateful, calm, and ready to let Tony Khan decide what happens next. After five decades in wrestling, Good Ol’ JR clearly knows there is no point in worrying before the decision is made.
Do you think AEW should renew Jim Ross’ deal and keep him on major events? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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