Along with being the lead play-by-play announcer on the commentary desk, Jim Ross was the Head of Talent Relations in WWE for seven years. Speaking on his podcast "Grilling JR," Ross explained why he believed McMahon replaced J.J Dillion and filled his role as the Head of Talent Relations, while also expressing why he thinks he was the number one candidate to take the job. 

"He trusted my experience and my logic and he saw how I communicated with the talents. Poor J.J kind of aged out, and J.J is a good man — really a good man — but Vince had seen him too much. J.J allowed himself to get overexposed ... I think Vince's logic, here's a guy that's been the business over 20 years, he's a student of the game, he doesn't want any the boy spots, he doesn't want to be a manager, he doesn't want to be a whatever, he doesn't want to be a talent and I didn't. I wanted to contribute to the company's success ... I think I got too much power; I think that I was perceived having too much power." 

Ross continued by sharing how he took an immense amount of pride as the Head of Talent Relations and revealed that there are still wrestlers today that he signed who reach out to him and ask for business advice in their own careers. Ross is also willing to offer advice to today's stars, as evidenced by him telling AEW's MJF to slow down and take a deep breath so that he can progress at a more natural rate.