Jim Ross Denies Racism Allegations Against Him by D-Von Dudley

As noted before, WWE and TNA Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley had accused a former WWE higher-up of being racist towards him during his time in WWE during the Attitude Era. Dudley stated in an interview with VideoGamer.com this past October that this person had told him that they didn’t like him because of the color of his skin. Dudley later confirmed the online speculation of this person was former WWE Head of Talent Relations and current AEW commentator Jim Ross.

A recent episode of the Grilling JR podcast featured co-host Ross responding to Dudley’s allegations against him and denied the incident ever happening nor him committing racist behavior. Ross also stated that the reason why it took him this long to respond to the allegations was due to him dealing with health issues this past October.

“Recently I heard that D-Von Dudley thought I was a racist.

That’s so absurd. It’s not even — it doesn’t merit a response. I like D-Von. I like him today. I hired he and Bubba. I thought we did a good job of booking them. They made money. They were put in situations where they could do the things they do best. You know, those TLC matches were pieces of art. They’ll last forever. The Dudleys were a major part of that. I know Bubba for sure because I’ve heard it was involved in the booking of that stuff.

And I don’t know. I was shocked to hear that, because I don’t recall ever having a cross word with D-Von Dudley. I always respected him and his work. I loved the Dudley tag team. So I was — it took me totally off guard. I never said that to D-Von Dudley. And why he would conjure up that, I guess to get attention. I thought, well, maybe he’s not as happy with his post-wrestling life as Bubba is, because Bubba’s made a tremendous success of himself as a broadcaster — and still works. So, I never said that. Some people I’m sure are going to still believe it, and that’s their prerogative, but I’m not angry at D-Von. I just am curious and don’t understand why he went there. Just don’t get it.”

Ross also stated that Shelton Benjamin, Junkyard Dog, and Ernie Ladd were some of the Black wrestlers he either signed to contracts or loved working with over the years. Ross also stated that despite the allegations made by Dudley, he still has great respect for Dudley and was glad he got to work together with him.

“I still have great respect for D-Von and I’m glad that we got to work together. But I never uttered those words.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com