Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond

Summary

From legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross comes a candid, colorful memoir about the inner workings of the WWE and the personal crises he weathered at the height of his career.

Jim Ross has been the beloved voice of the WWE—and now All-Elite Wrestling—for decades, but there is so much more to the man than fans know. In this follow-up to his 2017 memoir Slobberknocker, Ross shares the story of professional wrestling’s rise from a quirky sideshow to a multi-billion-dollar industry in the 1990s and 2000s.

Under the Black Hat is packed with stories from the height of WWE madness, including Ross’s nurturing of global talents like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and John Cena. It traces the fracture of Ross’s relationship with Vince McMahon, his triumphant return to Wrestlemania 32, and the heartbreaking challenges he suffered behind the scenes, include multiple debilitating bouts of facial paralysis and the sudden, tragic death of his wife, Jan.

For all its larger-than-life characters, Ross’s story is endearingly human in scale, turning a gruff but gentle eye to themes of professional ennui, ageism, disability, and grief. Told with heart, humor, and unfailing honesty, Under the Black Hat is a gift, not only for his many lifelong fans, but for the new ones he’s sure to find.