Jim Ross said doctors are testing a spot on his kidney and that a brain shunt placed earlier this year is causing “blistering headaches” that wake him overnight, speaking on Grilling JR with Conrad Thompson after Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite tribute to PAC.
Ross, 74, recorded the episode live on YouTube following the Sept. 30 Dynamite tribute show. He said he had been “up to [his] a** in doctor’s appointments this week.”
Jim Ross Health Update Key Facts
Detail |
Info |
|---|---|
Who |
Jim Ross, 74, AEW commentator and WWE Hall of Famer |
Where he spoke |
Grilling JR with Conrad Thompson, live on YouTube |
When |
After AEW Dynamite’s PAC tribute, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026 |
Kidney |
Spot under evaluation, referred to an Oklahoma City specialist, no cancer diagnosis |
Brain shunt |
Placed in August 2026, adjusted three times |
Symptoms |
Headaches that wake him overnight, fatigue |
Next steps |
CT scan Thursday, neurosurgeon follow-up later in the week |
Prior diagnosis |
Colon cancer in 2024, later declared cancer-free after surgery |
AEW status |
Wants to return to part-time commentary once healthy |
Kidney Spot Under Evaluation
Ross said doctors “saw a little spot of something on my kidney, and so we’re running a lot of tests.” He said his oncologist is sending him to a specialist in Oklahoma City and that they are “not sure if it’s cancerous or not.”
That is not a confirmed cancer diagnosis. Ross was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024 and later said he was cancer-free after surgery, per Wrestling News.
Brain Shunt and Headaches
Ross also said his brain shunt is bothering him and that he planned a CT scan for Thursday, then a follow-up with his neurosurgeon later in the week. He said the shunt, which drains excess fluid from his brain, has already been adjusted three times and that it “may just need to be adjusted” again.
Asked what the shunt is doing to him, Ross said he is having “blistering headaches.”
“They hurt so bad that I wake up in the middle of the night more often than not. You know, two or three, four o’clock in the morning because I got a headache,” he said, comparing the pain to what he thinks a migraine feels like and adding that he feels fatigued a lot. He said the surgical wound on his skull is healing well.
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411 Mania noted that Ross had brain surgery in August to have the shunt put in. Ross said excess fluid affected his balance before surgery and that he believes that is why he had been falling, citing injuries including a broken wrist, groin and knee issues, and two broken toes the morning of his surgery.
Coverage from F4WOnline and Wrestling News quotes him saying the week had been stressful and that waiting rooms put things in perspective because he sees people worse off than he is.
AEW Role
Ross said Tony Khan has been good to him since he got sick and that he still considers himself part of AEW.
“I’m proud to be a part of AEW. I still got my playbook, I still got my jersey, I just got to get healthy, and we’re working on that right now,” he said.
F4WOnline reported that Ross wants to get back to his part-time commentary role soon but needs to take care of his health first. He said he loved AEW All Out 2026 and praised Dynamite’s PAC tribute, including the Pittsburgh crowd and commentary from Tony Schiavone and Excalibur.
Much of the Grilling JR episode was devoted to remembering PAC (Benjamin Satterley), who died at 40. Ross called him one of his favorites and said AEW “did a phenomenal job” with the tribute show.
We wish Jim Ross a full recovery.
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