It was announced on Tuesday that WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be doing play-by-play for New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV alongside NJPW veteran and former UFC star Josh Barnett beginning March 4th.
Ross was in talks with AXS TV since last November, and the deal was finalized on Tuesday. Ross’ deal is with AXS TV and not NJPW. It’s said that this move is not AXS TV taking a shot at WWE for Mauro Ranallo leaving the TV network for the promotion.
Ross has expressed interest in calling MMA in the past as he called a one-night-only MMA tournament a few years ago with Chael Sonnen that aired on PPV. AXS TV does air MMA events (RFA, Legacy FC, and others) so it’s possible that Ross could be calling some fights on the network, but that’s not confirmed. Ross has also called boxing events in the past.
Lucha Underground was also in talks with Ross about him joining the promotion as lead announcer for season two, but the two sides could not come to terms on a contract.
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