AEW commentator Excalibur has revealed what advice legendary announcer Jim Ross gave him when he joined the AEW Dynamite announce booth.
While the masked announcer had clocked up many years experience in the commentary position before he joined AEW, he still had to get used to an entirely new way of working, switching from commentating solo to joining a three-man team.
On Wednesday night’s Excalibur is flanked by two of the most recognisable voices in professional wrestling in the form of Ross and former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone.
Speaking with Robbie Fox on My Mom’s Basement, the Detroit native explained the differences in his current role to his past experience and the advice he was given by JR on an early episode of Dynamite.
“One of the first shows, Jim Ross said to me, ‘you have good points, but we don’t get paid by the word.’ When it’s a PWG show and I’m calling it by myself, I can ramble on for as long as I need to to make a point. When I have to pass the ball to two other guys, being concise and making a point with an economy of words is something, for live television, I hadn’t done a lot of at that point. That’s something that really stuck with me,”
Excalibur who is one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, joined AEW in 2019 where he appears on Dynamite and alongside Schiavone on AEW: Dark.
As well as dispensing advice to his younger colleague, Ross has also been quick to praise his broadcast partner, commenting that he was a “very smart guy” who had enjoyed a great first year with the company.
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.