Jim Ross: Legendary WWE and AEW wrestling announcer 'JR' hospitalised

Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announcer Jim Ross, known informally as ‘JR’, has been ‘unexpectedly’ taken to ER after experiencing ‘shortness of breath’ in the morning of May 23.

In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) page, Ross, 72, wrote: “Unexpected trip to ER in Norman this morning. Shortness of the breath. That’s all for now.”

Since this post, he has uploaded a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed, alongside two of his daughters. Alongside the photo, he wrote: “Dad and his two Angels! They truly love their Daddy.”

He’s also confirmed that he will be quitting smoking.

Ross is perhaps best known for his time in WWE, where he announced alongside the likes of Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, Paul Heyman and Michael Cole. Currently, he works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) - previously, he has announced for companies such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

He has also featured as a wrestler previously - notably, he won a match against Triple H in 2005. He has also wrestled against Jake Hager, Al Snow and Alberto Del Rio. He was formally inducted into the WWE hall of fame in 2007 - he has also been inducted into the NWA hall of fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter hall of fame in 2016 and 1999, respectively.

He has struggled with health problems in the past - in 1994, he was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, after suffering an attack while commentating on Monday Night Raw. Additionally, he underwent an eye surgery in 2018 and successful skin cancer surgery this year.

Often branded as the greatest wrestling commentator of all time, Ross is known for his exuberant outbursts and dramatic howls behind the desk. He has a slew of catchphrases, the most famous of which is perhaps ‘Bah gawd!’