Jim Ross admits he "didn't have good chemistry" with former WWE announcer

Jim Ross worked with several commentators during his combined 23 years in WWE between 1993 and 2019. In a recent podcast episode, the Hall of Famer discussed his brief announce team partnership with Todd Pettengill.

Pettengill worked for WWE between 1993 and 1997. The former radio host is best remembered for his appearances as a backstage interviewer. He also had a short spell as Ross' co-host of the former weekly show Action Zone.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said he and Pettengill lacked chemistry on television despite getting along well behind the scenes:

"The irony of that is that we got along great. He's a good guy and he was intelligent, funny, but he didn't have a lot of product knowledge, and he looked at wrestling like it was some kind of comedy series or something along those lines. We didn't have good chemistry, and that's partly my fault." [1:37:17 – 1:37:42]

After a lengthy absence, Pettengill returned to WWE television in 2020 and 2021 to appear in promotional videos for the nostalgic NXT: In Your House events.

How Jim Ross and Todd Pettengill's partnership could have been better

Later in the 1990s, Jim Ross formed a legendary commentary partnership with Jerry Lawler during WWE's popular Attitude Era.

On reflection, Ross believes he could have altered his style to ensure he and Todd Pettengill's off-screen chemistry translated on-screen:

"I should have loosened up, as they say in the wrestling business, but I had my style, I thought it worked for me and it worked for the business, so I steered the course, but during that course we didn't have great shows together and not because we didn't like each other." [1:37:43 – 1:38:06]

Ross also discussed the issues he faced with Jesse Ventura when he commentated alongside the WWE Hall of Famer in WCW in the early 1990s.

What are your thoughts on Jim Ross' commentary? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.