Jim Ross was already heading into brain surgery when he suffered another painful setback that nobody knew about at the time. The WWE Hall of Famer has now revealed that he broke two toes on the very morning of his procedure—and didn’t even realize they were broken until doctors examined him at the hospital.
Speaking on the September 3 edition of Grilling JR, Ross explained that his ability to actually call wrestling matches isn’t what’s keeping him away right now. He feels capable of doing the job, but doctors remain concerned about his balance and the possibility of another fall.
“As far as just looking at the match, interpreting what I see, and articulating it, I can do that now. But they’re worried about my falling and they want me to get a little bit more steady on my feet.”
That’s when Ross revealed there was another fall beyond the frightening bedroom incident he previously discussed. This one happened on the morning he was scheduled to undergo brain surgery, and it left him with two broken toes on his left foot.
“Did I tell you the story what happened the morning of my surgery? I had a fall.”
The damage was worse than Ross initially realized. He went ahead with the surgery without knowing that his big toe and the toe next to it were both broken. The fractures were only discovered after doctors took X-rays at the hospital.
“Two of my—my big toe and the toe next to it on my left foot are both broken. So I broke my toes before I went to do my surgery, and I didn’t know they were broken. I didn’t know until they X-rayed them in the hospital when I was there.”
Considering what Ross was already about to go through that morning, the timing understandably got into his head. He was preparing for doctors to drill into his skull and install a shunt to drain excess fluid from his brain into his stomach. Breaking two toes right before that was enough to make him wonder whether somebody was trying to tell him something.
“But man, oh man, I’m thinking, Jesus Christ, is this an omen? On the morning of my major surgery, they’re going to drill a hole in my head, stick a tube in it, and run it down into my stomach. Is this my fate?”
The broken toes have also made the balance problems Ross was already dealing with even more difficult. Ross has needed a walking boot on his injured left foot while wearing a normal shoe on the other. That uneven setup makes moving around quickly particularly difficult at a time when doctors already want him taking things slowly.
“But that slowed me down a little bit because it’s hard to keep your balance when you wear a walking boot on your left foot and a flip-flop or a tennis shoe or something on your right. It’s hard to navigate that very quickly.”
That’s also why Ross’ return to AEW isn’t simply about whether he feels capable of doing commentary. He wants to be there, and Ross says Tony Khan wants him back if he’s physically able. Right now, being healthy enough to safely make the trip remains the bigger hurdle.
“So if my broken toes aren’t an issue, for God’s sakes, what else can go wrong then? I’m going to be there.”
Ross also made it clear that Khan hasn’t pressured him during any of this. Instead, he says the AEW President has been supportive throughout his health problems.
“I don’t say that Tony Khan expects me to be there. He wants me to be there if I’m able. That’s for that. And he’s been great with my sickness.”
Ross previously revealed that he suffered another fall during his recovery, crashing into a bedroom bench hard enough to rip screws out of it. Now it turns out he was already dealing with two broken toes from a separate fall before doctors even performed the brain surgery. JR believes he can still do the job once he sits behind the commentary desk. Getting there safely is the part his doctors want sorted out first.
What do you make of Jim Ross revealing that he unknowingly went into brain surgery with two broken toes? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
