Jim Ross Recalls Considering Offer From Dixie Carter's TNA

Jim Ross' illustrious career has seen him call the action for promotions such as Mid-South Wrestling, JCP, WCW, WWE, NJPW, and AEW, but fans of Impact Wrestling have never had the honor of hearing his inimitable voice blaring through their television screens. However, it turns out Ross nearly did join Impact in 2009 when he and WWE boss Vince McMahon were allegedly not on the best of terms.

On a recent episode of "Grilling Jr," Ross detailed the conversations he had with Dixie Carter about jumping from WWE to TNA.

"I was staying in Norman [Oklahoma] and Dixie Carter's family has a beautiful ranch in North Texas," Ross recalled. "They flew to Norman and picked me up. It was a 20-minute flight in a little jet, and I met the whole family down there. I was interested, and I would have taken [the job] but I had to have my terms — and my terms were I need to run it [the promotion].

"I used the old Bill Parcells line, 'If you want me to cook dinner, you've got to let me buy some groceries.' So, I wanted to have control over the talent — totally. Because some guys had to go, they were killing the budget."

Ross revealed Carter was "so afraid" to agree to his terms fearing backlash from the wrestlers on her roster, many of whom worked with Ross in previous years. 

"So, she didn't pull the trigger," Ross added. "And I've seen Dixie many times since then, we get along fine — I like her. But, if she wanted to change the course of TNA, there was a chance. She didn't have the conviction to step away from a lot of her incumbents because they had built a little power struggle. It was pro wrestling. The con men had taken over, and sometimes she didn't see it."