Old-school wrestling logic meets today’s booking wars.
Grilling JR pairs current wrestling reactions with older instincts behind them. AEW title changes, WrestleMania speculation, Hall of Fame talk, and classic match structure all get judged by payoff, credibility, and whether the booking actually helps the talent.
PRESS PLAY
Grilling JR treats professional wrestling as both a current product and a long-running craft. The show is strongest when a live topic becomes a doorway into older wrestling instincts. Darby Allin winning a world title leads to talk about reliability, risk, and whether an overachiever can carry the company forward. WrestleMania speculation becomes a conversation about match order, stipulations, chemistry, and protecting the main event. The tone is familiar, but the standards are old-school. Jim Ross talks like someone measuring modern angles against decades of rooms, cards, calls, and locker-room consequences. Conrad Thompson supplies the questions, recent news, rumors, and fan prompts that keep the discussion from becoming pure nostalgia. The format can stretch. That is part of its identity. A single listener question may turn into booking theory, personal memory, business logic, and a verdict that lands only after a few side roads. The show also has a clear affection for wrestling history. Dennis Condry, the Midnight Express, Mid-South, Bill Watts, Austin, Hogan, The Rock, FTR, The Briscoes, ROH, and Jeff Jarrett all surface as living reference points rather than museum pieces. Current WWE power dynamics get read through the lasting influence of Vince. Hall of Fame talk becomes a way to assess toughness, reliability, and contribution. Match criticism is usually practical rather than decorative. If a stipulation feels unnecessary, the show says so. If a slower pace made sense because the story was logical, it says that too. The live episodes add a looser, fan-driven feel, especially when questions move from Road Dogg rumors to Stone Cold speculation. There are also long sponsor stretches, including adult-oriented ad reads, so the listening experience is not always tidy. Still, the center holds. Grilling JR is for fans who want wrestling argued from inside the business, with memory, warmth, irritation, and a steady concern for whether the story actually pays off.
Made for: Built for wrestling fans who already follow AEW, WWE, ROH, WrestleMania season, and the old names behind today’s arguments. It suits listeners who enjoy opinionated booking talk more than basic results recaps.
What sets it apart: The show’s edge is Jim Ross’s long memory applied to current wrestling, with Conrad Thompson steering the conversation through news, fan questions, and historical callbacks. It judges modern angles by craft: pacing, credibility, match order, and whether the talent is being helped or boxed in.
For over forty years Jim Ross has been the Voice of Wrestling. From starting as referee in the regional territories to becoming the Executive Vice President for WWE, nobody has a story quite like Jim Ross. From recruiting and hiring some of the biggest superstars in the industry to providing the soundtrack for the most important moments in wrestling history, "Good Ole JR" was there for it all. Join us every Thursday morning as Conrad Thompson grills JR like you've never heard before, uncut and uncensored!
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Jim Ross makes wrestling's booking logic, match construction, and backstage power dynamics legible through direct, specific judgments.
Grilling JR turns wrestling talk into a running examination of how matches, careers, and promotions are put together. Conrad Thompson presses Jim Ross on current developments and older cards, while Ross answers through judgments about booking, chemistry, physicality, and the…
One extra WrestleMania stipulation, and Jim Ross has you reconsidering the whole card.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
JR weighs Darby Allen's title win, AEW momentum, and WrestleMania booking with an old-school eye.
Grilling JR has a clear center here: a new AEW world champion, and JR's pride in Darby Allen comes through without turning blind to the risk that has followed his rise.
A backstage-minded look at Vince's influence, creative control, and the people left explaining decisions.
This episode looks at Vince's behind-the-scenes influence in WWE through an interview with triple H, turning a messy authority question into something more practical and specific.
A clear, character-led look at Austin's heel role opposite The Rock at WrestleMania.
Austin versus The Rock at WrestleMania gives the episode a clean center of gravity: two of the business's hottest stars meeting again, with Austin now framed through his turn as The Heel. That shift gives the discussion its best shape.
Jim Ross takes live questions on Road Dogg, Bob Holly, Austin, and the Briscoes-FTR match.
Grilling JR uses its live Ask JR format as a brisk pass through wrestling judgment calls, with Jim Ross fielding questions on Road Dogg no longer being part of WWE, Bob Holly's Hall of Fame chances, Austin's future, and next week's Briscoes and FTR match.
Jim Ross uses Jeff Jarrett's hometown match to consider wrestling memory and the people behind the characters.
Jim Ross brings a useful wrestling historian's eye to this Grilling JR discussion of Jeff Jarrett's The Heart of a Promoter, a documentary centered on Jarrett wrestling in Hendersonville, Tennessee, after 39 years in the business.
A sharp look at the tension, status, and career stakes behind Hogan and Michaels' main-event match.
The episode digs into the uneasy chemistry around Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels' main-event match, using that pairing to show where both men sat in wrestling's pecking order.
A thoughtful look at AJ Styles, Nakamura, and a retirement-tour feeling hiding in plain sight.
The episode is at its best when it circles the idea that AJ Styles may be slipping into something like a retirement-tour stretch. His match with Nakamura becomes the clearest case study, framed through the emotional weight of Styles getting to say goodbye in Japan and the…
Jim Ross joins a live Q&A show to answer fan questions about wrestling and football.
Conrad Thompson interviews Jim Ross on 'Grilling JR,' covering SummerSlam 2005.
Conrad Thompson and Jim Ross preview the upcoming Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, discussing potential surprise entrants like Chris Jericho and Powerhouse Hobbs.
["Grilling JR centers on AEW Dynamite's title change, with Darby Allen beating MJF after four coffin drops and JR calling the result a good move for Tony Khan.", "JR says Darby Allen is reliable, unpredictable, and too reckless, while Conrad Thompson highlights the hometown-adjacent setting, Sting's post-match appearance, and the way AEW framed the win as a coronation.", "The middle of the show turns to whether AEW should rush a Darby Allen and MJF rematch, and JR argues for letting the angle breathe instead of forcing an immediate follow-up.", "Later, the live Q&A ranges from Jim Cornette's border story and wrestling revenue streams to WrestleMania predictions for Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley, Brock Lesnar, and Oba Femi."]
Grilling JR opens with Jim Ross saying he feels better every day, but flying still hurts his legs and may keep him out of Vancouver for AEW Dynasty at Rogers Arena.
Grilling JR: Episode 365, "Why Austin?
Jim Ross and Conrad Thompson discuss recent wrestling news including the passing of Dennis Condry and upcoming WrestleMania.
Jim Ross and Conrad Thompson discuss WrestleMania 13 and reflect on the Hogan vs.
Jim Ross spends much of the live Q&A weighing wrestler reliability, ring safety, and Hall of Fame cases like Cindy Lauper and Bob Holly.
Grilling JR with Jim Ross opens with WWE’s Elimination Chamber, where Cody Rhodes lost and Randy Orton won, and Ross says Orton is still “money for you.” Ross also pushes back on multi-man title matches, saying he prefers “one-on-one” because too many of them have made the format predictable.
A podcast episode reviewing the Death Before Dishonor XI wrestling event, focusing on the Ciampa vs Cole match.
This episode discusses a wrestling match between Rock and Hogan, interspersed with ads for Amazon jobs, Reliance air conditioning, and Conrad mortgage services.
A mortgage advisor discusses recent government mortgage bond purchases and promotes refinancing and debt consolidation services.
A customer testimonial for Save with Conrad mortgage services, describing their positive experience with the pre-approval and home buying process.