Barnett On Ranallo Leaving, Jim Ross Joining Him For NJPW On AXS TV

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and one of the voices of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) On AXS TV each week, Josh Barnett, recently spoke with Sean Ross Sapp of WrestlingINC.com about his reaction to finding out that Mauro Ranallo was leaving NJPW On AXS TV to join WWE, and that the legendary Jim Ross would be joining him as Ranallo's replacement. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On finding out Mauro Ranallo was leaving NJPW On AXS TV to join WWE:

"You have no idea how stressed I was when I found out Mauro was leaving. Yes, I was excited. In my opinion our work there made him so valuable that the WWE had to have him. It was a win all around. I was glad his skills and abilities were recognized for what they were. He was my number one MMA guy out there. Mauro is the s--t, of course you're going to pay him."

On finding out that the legendary Jim Ross would be joining him as Ranallo's replacement:

"Him leaving, all I could say is 'what the hell are we going to do?' I thought maybe I would have to be the lead guy, start being the start and finish of this thing and do a little color too. That was a big, big spot to fill. Instead of trying to fill shoes, they brought in a pair of cowboy boots instead. Finding out JR was going to be the one in the booth with me, it was such a relief. All of a sudden it makes me a little nervous because I had such a groove with Mauro, now I have to find one with JR. We get along, we've been friends for a while, we have very similar thoughts on the sport and the concept of professional wrestling. It's just like, man, he's a legend, try not to be s--tty, Josh. I think so far, so good. Each episode we sit down and do the better it gets."