AEW's Jim Ross Addresses WWE Removing Him from Undertaker Hall of Fame Video

WWE recently revealed that one of its most iconic superstars will be entering the WWE Hall of Fame this year, as The Undertaker will be part of the 2022 Hall of Fame class. It doesn't get much bigger than The Undertaker, and to celebrate the announcement WWE released a video hyping up the induction and the upcoming ceremony. The video showcased Undertaker's storied career but fans did notice that the old footage was missing another iconic wrestling voice that was there for many of the Undertaker's biggest moments. That would be current AEW commentator Jim Ross, and Ross took note of the absence too, which he addressed during the latest episode of his Grilling JR Podcast.

"What really matters is how many JR soundbites has been in any of these packages," Ross joked. "Is the wrestling war that volatile that the guy that was the soundtrack of the biggest moments in Undertaker's career is eliminated? Is that authentic or is it just being selfish or vindictive? It's not like I walked out of [WWE]."

Ross continued, saying "It's not like I left them high and dry somewhere or I didn't do my job. It's all optics and that's not fair to the fans. Why wouldn't the fans be interested or entertained by hearing a bite that I did live? Are they going to dub somebody else's voice in when Taker tosses Mick [Foley] off the Hell in a Cell in June of 1998?"

As for Undertaker's speech at the ceremony, Ross just hopes the other inductees (which includes Vader) give him as much time as he needs. "They don't need to go over on their speech to cut him short," Ross said. "That would be very damaging and very disrespectful."

During the same podcast, Ross also addressed the reports of Stone Cold Steve Austin being at WrestleMania 38, and he hopes that Austin is in attendance for Undertaker's Hall of Fame induction.

"If Austin's not at Undertakers Hall of Fame induction I'll be shocked. They're two Texas boys that grew up as wrestling fans, watching Paul Bosch wrestling out of Houston a lot. Watching World Class, Mid South, they have so much in common. Some guys just don't have great chemistry and it's not an indictment. I wouldn't trade either guy for any other two stars that I ever managed or worked with in my role as the head of talent relations. You start a roster and you didn't pick those two guys, you're an idiot."

What do you think of Ross' comments about being left out of the WWE Undertaker Hall of Fame video? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

H/T Wrestling Inc