Jim Ross Details Original Plan For Return To AEW Commentary, Thinks He’ll Be At 1/21 Dynamite In Orlando

J.R. had a great time being back in the booth.

Jim Ross was back on commentary for the first AEW Dynamite of 2026. The show emanated from J.R.’s home state of Oklahoma in the city of Tulsa.

He called the entire show and reflected on it on the newest recording of his Grilling J.R. podcast. Ross said the following about his return:

“Oh, it was great. I had a great time. My kids were there, a couple of my grandkids were there. So, it was good. I had a great time, and the team, the AEW team welcomed me back. They were glad to see me, and almost as glad as I was to see them. So, it was good. It was good. Working in Tulsa brings back a lot of memories. That’s where I got my start, in Tulsa, working for ‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk. It was a feel-good moment, quite frankly.

I think it took a minute to get settled in. It was good, it was good. I didn’t know what to expect to be honest with you but, my natural instincts took over, and I had a lot of fun. That was the key thing. That’s the key thing about doing commentary. If you don’t have fun doing it, it’s not gonna work for you, so, it’s all good man.”

Ross shared that AEW President Tony Khan sent him a message the next morning and told Ross that he did a great job. J.R. said he was originally going to do the closing portion of Dynamite, but AEW co-Executive Producer and Senior Production Executive Mike Mansury suggested that J.R. be used for the whole show.

J.R. believes there were some concerns about his stamina.

“I got a text this morning at 1:30 from Tony Khan saying what a great job he thought I did on the show, and those kind of things make you feel good to be honest with you. So, he gave me a chance to come back and I asked him earlier in the day what I was going to do… I was originally gonna do two main events, which I’d been doing. But, Mike Mansury, the director, said, ‘Let’s use J.R., he’s here. Let’s use him for all the show,’ and I think there was some concerns about my stamina, because I have been sick but I feel great now and it’s just rebuilding. Rebuilding that energy and so forth so, I just had a great time. It was a fun, fun day… Saw a lot of talents, got the chance to talk to a lot of talents. They seek me out for information or feedback or, ‘Did you see this? What you’d think of that?’ So, I’m very blessed to still be a part of the AEW family, and working for Tony Khan is absolutely a blessing, without question.”

He was asked when is the next time he’ll be back in the booth for AEW, and J.R. said, according to Tony Khan, it may be at the January 21st Dynamite in Orlando, Florida. He added that Khan is using him ‘judiciously’ and is prioritizing his health.

“I think I’m gonna be in Orlando in two weeks, according to T.K., Tony Khan. He’s using me judiciously. He’s very concerned about my health and I tried to convince him I’m good. I did a two-hour show last night. I don’t know when the last time I did a two-hour show. It’s been a while, but I felt like — we’re obviously getting positive reviews. But, I’m very happy of how it worked out, and maybe I convinced Tony Khan I can go out and do a two-hour show… But I think my next assignment’s gonna be in Orlando. We’re gonna be doing Dynamite in Orlando in two weeks.”

The last time J.R. was on commentary for AEW was at Forbidden Door in August 2025 in London, England.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Grilling J.R. with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.