Jim Ross Describes His Relationship With WWE's Vince McMahon & How To Deal With Him

Vince McMahon is undoubtedly one of the most polarizing and influential figures in the history of professional wrestling — and perhaps no one within the business could give greater insight into the mind of the longtime WWE boss than his former right-hand man, Jim Ross. After first joining WWE as an announcer in 1993, Ross would go on to become the head of talent relations and the voice of "WWE Raw", working closely with McMahon during the most successful period the company had ever seen. After three decades with the sports entertainment juggernaut, Ross would depart in 2013, and has since gone on to commentate for both NJPW and AEW. On "Grilling JR", the legendary announcer was quizzed on his relationship with McMahon, and whether he still considers him a friend.

"Absolutely — Vince did a lot of great things for me and he was very pro-family," Ross said. "You can't not consider a guy a friend ... he made me a lot of money. I don't know if he considers me a friend, we don't talk — but I certainly consider him a fiend and someone I have great respect for." Ross and McMahon were able to build both a personal and professional relationship — but it was one seriously tested on multiple occasions over the years. Ross explained the best way to handle a difference of opinion with McMahon, who has long been the man with final say in WWE.

"When you're dealing with Vince McMahon, you don't confront him — you converse with him," Ross said. "When he and I were alone, we had some extremely open and honest conversations. That was always my philosophy with him ... I believe he liked the honesty. I did it in a closed environment that would not compromise Vince's position as the lead mule."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.