Ross gets back off the mat after loss of wife

By Adam Kemp
The Daily Oklahoman
Jim Ross is no quitter.

In Los Angeles this week doing voiceover work for a show and appearing on Fox's Colin Cowherd show and ESPN, Ross was still able to keep his popular blog updated while also producing a podcast listened to weekly by thousands.

Ross, 65, is busier than ever. His drive to provide the best commentary and behind the curtain looks at the world of professional wrestling is only matched by his own enthusiasm for it.

“I still have that Oklahoma work ethic,” says Ross, who received the Lou Thesz Award. “I wasn't ready to hang up my jersey and so I've dived deeper in.”

Ever since he made his mark as the main ringside commentator for World Wrestling Entertainment in the early ‘90s, the Oklahoma native and Norman resident has endeared himself to fans the world over with his over-the-top southern enthusiasm and his Okie flavored shouts of “Bah Gahd” and “Slobberknocker.”

But it's in the busy work that Ross hides his grief.

In March, Ross' wife of 24 years, Jan, was killed in a car wreck in Norman as she was riding her scooter home from the store. She was struck by a car as she turned into their neighborhood.

“I lost my guardian angel and my best friend,” Ross said. “She was steadfast with me my whole career in the entertainment business. That's a rare thing nowadays.”

Ross, who suffers from Bell's Palsy and has partial face paralysis, said it was his wife and his passion for wrestling that kept him going through years of depression.

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