Jim Ross has shared a difficult health update as doctors investigate a spot on his kidney and assess the severe headaches he has been experiencing following brain surgery.

Speaking on Grilling JR alongside Conrad Thompson after Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite tribute to PAC, the veteran commentator said he has spent much of the week attending medical appointments.

“I’ve been up to my a** in doctor’s appointments this week. Saw a little spot of something on my kidney, and so we’re running a lot of tests,” Ross said. “My shunt’s bothering me in my brain, so I’m going to get a scan tomorrow, and get that back to my neurosurgeon, so he can tell me what the hell’s wrong. It may just need to be adjusted. That’s my take on it.”

Ross said a CT scan was scheduled for Thursday, with a visit to his neurosurgeon expected later in the week. The shunt, which drains excess fluid from his brain, has already needed several adjustments.

“I’ve had mine adjusted three times, so it’s not a recent situation. But you know, at some point, I’ve got to be able to sleep, and I feel fatigued a lot,” Ross said. “My oncologist is going to send me to a specialist in Oklahoma City for a little place on my kidney, but they’re not sure if it’s cancerous or not. So it’s been a stressful week.”

When Thompson asked about his symptoms, Ross described “blistering headaches” that regularly interrupt his sleep.

“They hurt so bad that I wake up in the middle of the night more often than not. You know, two or three, four o’clock in the morning because I got a headache,” he said.

There was some encouraging news, with Ross saying the surgical wound on his skull is healing well. He also believes the fluid on his brain contributed to the balance problems and falls he experienced before surgery.

“I think that’s why I was falling so damn much. I didn’t have my equilibrium,” he said. “Broke my wrist this last year. I messed up my groin. I messed up my knees. I broke two toes the morning of my surgery. I’m breaking sh*t right and left, man.”

Despite the uncertainty, Ross said meeting other patients has helped him keep a sense of perspective.

“I’ve been to so many doctor’s appointments, and what you realize there is that you see people that are worse off than you are. And so then it’s a matter of being grateful,” he said.

Ross also praised Tony Khan for supporting him throughout his illness and made it clear that he still feels part of the AEW team.

“I still got my playbook. I still got my jersey. I just got to get healthy, and we’re working on that right now,” he said.

Much of the episode focused on remembering PAC, with Ross recalling his shock at receiving a text from Thompson about his passing.

“I had to sit down. This can’t be accurate, because he hadn’t had any health issues that I was aware of,” Ross said. “He just was a superb guy.”

Calling PAC “one of my favorites of all time,” Ross fondly remembered greeting him as “Lad” backstage at AEW.

“What I got in return was a hearty handshake and a big old smile,” Ross said. “He sets a great example for how pro wrestlers should conduct themselves. He just was an amazing locker room guy, teammate, and that’s why we saw that emotion a few minutes ago here tonight.”

Ross also named PAC as someone who deserved consideration among the most underrated wrestlers of the past decade.

“He didn’t get the flowers that he deserved at a variety of times in the profession. PAC was great in every territory. He was great with every company,” he said. “Everybody wanted to work with him, because he wasn’t going to hurt you. He was smart, he was careful, he was a pro, and I just loved the guy.”

For Ross, PAC’s legacy includes showing smaller wrestlers that their ambitions were within reach.

“He’s going to be missed by the generations of guys that are under six feet tall who want to become a pro wrestler, because he is your role model,” Ross said. “If you’re under six feet tall, by God, if you want it badly enough, you can make it, and that was his whole philosophy.”

Ross praised AEW’s tribute in Pittsburgh, saying the company “did a phenomenal job.” He highlighted the crowd, production team and commentary from Tony Schiavone and Excalibur, while also speaking warmly about Ricochet’s tribute.

He compared the emotional broadcast to his experiences covering the deaths of Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero, explaining that those moments never become easier.

Ross and Thompson also revisited PAC’s 30-minute Iron Man match against Kenny Omega from February 2020, with Ross describing him as “one of the best workers I’d ever seen.”

Everyone at WNS wishes Jim Ross a full recovery.