Jim Ross & Paul Heyman's Relationship Across WWE & WCW, Explained
When it comes to non-wrestlers within the pro wrestling sphere over the last thirty years, Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are each viable candidates for that Mt. Rushmore. Between backstage work, broadcast roles, and Heyman’s managing efforts, the two have had a near constant presence in big league wrestling for decades.
Related: 5 WCW Wrestlers Paul Heyman Loved (& 5 He Hated) Their paths intersected more than once, including overlapping time spent in WCW and WWE alike. But what do these two important figures to the history of the wrestling, and current elder statesmen of the business actually think of one another?
The On-Screen Relationship Between Jim Ross And Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman and Jim Ross first crossed paths in WCW. They had a brief stint sharing the broadcast table with one another, followed by Ross’s time calling play by play while Heyman rose up to become the promotion’s top manager, backing The Dangerous Alliance.
Ross and Heyman more memorably collaborated again when they shared WWE commentary duties in 2001 during the Invasion angle. While Ross’s on-screen friendship with long time broadcast partner Jerry The King Lawler had become a beloved kinship for wrestling fans around the world, Heyman and Ross presented a much more antagonistic dynamic. Heyman offered a bright spot for the Invasion angle, playing the heel with unwavering support for the WCW and ECW Alliance members. By contrast, Ross ranged from babyface to neutral. As the two often came to sling barbs at one another while calling the action, some fans suspected real life animosity existed between the two of them. That assessment was well off base.
What Jim Ross And Paul Heyman Think Of Each Other In Real Life
When asked about one another in interview settings, Jim Ross and Paul Heyman have made it absolutely clear they hold one another in the highest esteem. On his Grilling JR podcast (h/t Wrestling Headlines), Ross indicated, “Paul Heyman is as much the MVP of WWE as anybody on the roster, because he makes stars and he’s done that with Roman Reigns obviously and done it very well ... When the booking committee in Atlanta didn’t wanna do business with Paul because he was arrogant and argumentative and smarter than most of them on the booking committee, I said I’ll work with him, because I saw a great partner for me as a broadcast partner.” That’s particularly noteworthy praise given Ross made the comments while working for AEW, with little to gain from putting over Heyman’s work in WWE.
In an interview with Bleacher Report, Heyman was just as glowing in his appraisal of Good Ol’ JR. Heyman commented, “Whether it's the fact that he built the greatest assembly of talent as the head of talent relations for WWE in the late 1990s, whether it's his work on camera as an announcer, whether it's his teaching students how to become a commentator—in which I am one of his students—or whether it's his implementation of the talent development system, Jim Ross' contributions to this business cannot be constrained or confined to just one aspect of wrestling.” Heyman is known to be candid in his opinions, and it’s clear he both thinks the world of Ross and notes that working with Ross benefited him quite directly.
Similar Journeys Through The Wrestling Business For Paul Heyman And Jim Ross
One of the common threads for most individuals who’ve enjoyed long, successful careers in the professional wrestling business is that they were at one time or another wrestlers themselves. Indeed, it’s not unusual for management figures, broadcasters, managers, and on-screen authority figure to have made their names as wrestlers, then added decades of history to their legacies by transitioning to other roles. That was the path for Triple H, Verne Gagne, Fritz Von Erich, Dusty Rhodes, Jerry Lawler, and many more important figures to wrestling history.
Related: 10 Wrestling Bookers And The Most Famous Idea They Came Up WithWhile both Jim Ross and Paul Heyman have worked pro wrestling matches on occasion, it’s noteworthy that neither man ever wrestled as his primary vocation within the business. Ross got his start as a referee before becoming a utility player behind the scenes for Bill Watts in the Mid-South territory. All of these different roles paved the way to his legendary broadcast career and different management roles including heading up talent relations for WWE. For Heyman, the journey was from ringside photographer to manager and broadcaster, to wearing many hats at the head of ECW, to his creative role behind the scenes and talking role on it for WWE.
Ross and Heyman each carry with them an old-school story of working their way up and learning the business from a variety of angles to arrive at prominent positions in wrestling. From these commonalities, it only makes sense they’d enjoy a mutual respect between them.
From their time in WCW, to their work in WWE and beyond, it remains clear Jim Ross and Paul Heyman enjoyed respect and even affection between them. They are vocal supporters of one another, and it seems clear they remain friends well across different company lines.
