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Jim Ross believes AEW could have more traditional pro wrestling fans within its audience than WWE, although the legendary commentator made clear he was putting it forward as a bet rather than presenting it as fact.

Speaking on Grilling JR (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xl1HL38NaI1MebF1KuZR7?si=eU0W0HwxQMSNMEoWUNhK9w) while looking ahead to AEW All In, Ross praised the passion he sees throughout the company and its roster.

“Whether you like AEW or not, you can’t discount the effort and the skills that we see from the talent. They’re a bunch of self-starters, and they are passionate. I would bet you that we have more legitimate pro wrestling fans in AEW than WWE.”

Conrad Thompson then asked Ross whether he was suggesting WWE attracts more fans of sports entertainment, while AEW appeals more to those looking for traditional, down-and-dirty professional wrestling.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Ross then turned his attention from the fans to the wrestlers themselves, predicting plenty of performers will head into All In determined to produce the match everyone is talking about afterwards.

“The AEW talent roster, you’ll see great effort on Sunday. You’ll see some matches where everybody wants to steal the show. And I don’t know that you get that at WWE. You might.”

Ross was also keen to make it clear that his comments were not intended as an attack on WWE or its talent.

“I’m not knocking anybody. I’m not mad or bitter. I’m just making an observation.”

He continued:

“I know the talents this Sunday will be working their a** off. Every match, every guy, every gal will want to have the best match they’ve had to date this year, and to steal the show, and to have another outstanding pay-per-view presentation.”

Ross has plenty of experience on both sides of the wrestling landscape. He was the voice of WWE during much of the Attitude Era and also spent years working behind the scenes as head of talent relations. He later joined AEW when the promotion launched in 2019 and has remained an important part of its broadcast team.

The conversation also moved towards WWE programming scheduled across All In weekend. Thompson mentioned AAA and NXT Heatwave taking place during the same weekend and raised the subject of counterprogramming.

Ross said he did not understand why WWE would need to worry about what AEW was doing.

“Whether that’s true or not, I’m not denying your opinion. But I don’t get it. If that’s true, I don’t get it. What are you worried about? Nothing.”

Whatever happens elsewhere, Ross has been impressed by AEW's preparations for its return to Wembley Stadium.

“I’m proud of what AEW has done. They’ve had a hell of a week. A good TV show Wednesday night, I thought. On these go home weeks, meaning the last broadcast before the pay-per-view, they’ve been outstanding. They’ve done a great job of doing television.”

For Ross, there are several matches on the card that deserve the often-used "dream match" description.

“I know the term dream match is used a lot in wrestling, but literally there’s some dream matches in my view that are going to be on the Sunday night show. If you’re a fan and love wrestling, this Sunday night show is one that you might want to check out, because there’s some matches on there that I thought as a broadcaster I can’t wait to call.”

Sadly, Ross will not get the opportunity to call them from Wembley.

Travelling to London had been one of the goals he was working towards following brain surgery, but his doctors have advised him that getting on a plane is currently too much of a risk.

“I really wanted to go to London this week. I really did, man. You got to have goals and you got to have destinations, and that was my next one. I thought, man, if I can get to do Wembley Stadium, because the show is going to be amazing.”

Ross revealed that two doctors advised him against making the journey.

“Both my brain surgeon and another doctor confided and said, you need to keep your a** off the airplane. Because if you fall or get hurt they’ve got to make an emergency landing, or you fall in London and you’ve got to go to a London hospital. It’s not worth the risk.”

Although understandably disappointed, Ross has accepted their advice and will instead watch All In from home.

“I understand it. I’m disappointed, very disappointed. I’ll be watching for sure, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

The medical advice follows two recent falls for Ross, with the second reportedly resulting in a bench in his bedroom being broken. He has also been dealing with severe headaches following the fitting of a shunt around two weeks ago.

Ross nevertheless remains excited about Sunday's show and expects Excalibur and Tony Schiavone to handle commentary duties.

He would actually be perfectly happy if AEW kept the booth to those two voices.

“I’m not a major fan of three or four-man booths whatsoever. It takes you out of your rhythm. It affects your timing, and sometimes announcer A doesn’t listen to what announcer B has to say.”

Ross has plenty of confidence in both men.

“Schiavone and Excalibur both are pros, and I think those two together would do a hell of a job.”

However, Ross expects AEW could add another person to the desk, with Bryan Danielson one possible option.

“Maybe Bryan Danielson. I don’t know. He does a good job too. He’s very analytic, very smart, very observant.”

AEW All In takes place at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, August 30, with Kenny Omega defending the AEW World Championship against Will Ospreay in the main event.

It will mark AEW's third event at Wembley following All In in 2023 and 2024, and Ross will unfortunately have to enjoy this year's return from afar.

What do you make of Ross' bet about AEW having more traditional pro wrestling fans than WWE? Do you think there is a noticeable difference between the two audiences? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

aew wwe jim ross