Jim Ross Set for Brain Surgery, WWE and AEW Icon Explains Decision in New Video

Legendary WWE and AEW announcer Jim Ross announced Thursday that he is set to undergo brain surgery.

Speaking on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast (beginning at the 1:00 mark), the 74-year-old Ross explained the procedure and why he decided to have it (h/t WrestlingNews.co).

"I'm getting ready to have another surgery, brain surgery this time, and that's going to be an adventure, because I don't think they're going to find much, oh God, my brain," Ross said. ...

"I gotta get it addressed. I couldn't live my life the way it was, you know. I forget s--t and just couldn't remember things. It's just horrible. I felt horrible, but that all started with me passing out in my house and being discovered there, and we began an almost 40-day hospital stay."

Ross noted that the procedure, which he expects to undergo within the next week, will use a shunt to drain fluid from his brain. If successful, he will only require a two-day stay in the hospital.

JR added, "It's not optional if I want to get better, and I want to get better for sure. This is a whole new ball game, and it's a little scary to be honest with you."

Ross is widely regarded as one of the greatest play-by-play announcers in pro wrestling history, and he is best known as the voice of WWE's Attitude Era from the late 1990s into the early 2000s.

He first rose to prominence with Jim Crockett Promotions (later WCW) from 1987 until 1993 when he joined WWE for the first time.

Ross remained with WWE on and off from 1993 to 2013 before enjoying a stint as the English play-by-play announcer for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

The 2007 WWE Hall of Fame inductee returned to WWE for a spell from 2017 to 2019, which saw him serve as a guest announcer for select matches, before signing with AEW upon its launch in 2019.

Ross was essentially a full-time announcer at the start of AEW, but his appearances have been more sporadic and limited to calling one or two matches at a time in recent years due largely to health challenges he has faced.

Twice during his AEW tenure, Ross announced that he was diagnosed with cancer. He divulged a skin cancer diagnosis in 2021 and a colon cancer diagnosis in 2025.

In both cases, Ross later announced that he was cancer free after undergoing treatment.

After missing nearly a year to address his health, Ross returned to the announce table for AEW at last year's All In pay-per-view in July 2025.