Jim Ross has offered high praise for Tony Khan following an emotional stretch of AEW television.
AEW recently dedicated back-to-back shows to celebrating Rebel (Tanea Brooks) amid her battle with ALS and honoring The Butcher (Andy Williams) following his sudden passing.
Ross, who has bonded with Rebel through their shared Oklahoma roots, was particularly moved by the company’s “Rebel Heart” edition of Dynamite. Speaking on Grilling JR (see video below), Ross called what Khan put together for the show “absolute genius.”
“I thought what Tony Khan put together on Wednesday night, the Rebel Heart celebration, was genius — was absolute genius,” Ross said.
The longtime announcer said the presentation struck an emotional chord with him while watching from home.
“And the reason I believe that, I felt it when I watched it. I got emotional a couple times, and I’m sitting here by myself in my chair watching ‘rasslin like I’m 12 years old again.”
Ross also reflected on Williams, describing The Butcher as a multi-talented performer and a “sweetheart of a guy.” While Williams was never positioned at the top of AEW’s card, Ross felt he was the type of dependable talent every wrestling promotion needs on its roster.
With AEW having to handle two emotional situations in such a short period of time, Ross was also impressed by Khan’s ability to oversee the shows while carrying much of the creative responsibility himself.
“Tony did a good job there. And think about these projects that we’re discussing are dumped into one person’s lap,” Ross said. “He doesn’t have a booking committee.”
While Ross acknowledged he has his own reasons for not being a fan of booking committees, he believes AEW’s recent television has shown signs of improvement under Khan’s direction.
“I’m not a big proponent of booking committees in general, quite frankly, and I got my own reasons. But he steers pretty much a solo ship.”
Ross added that AEW’s recent formatting and continued roster development have particularly caught his attention.
“Some of the things he’s been doing lately, how they’ve been formatting the show, has really impressed me — really impressed me. And I’ll say this, they’re building a hell of a talent roster.”
