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AEW commentator Jim Ross has paid tribute to country music star Toby Keith who passed away at the age of 62 on February 5, 2024. Keith released a total of 21 studio albums during his career, with four of them reaching the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 charts, and was widely regarded as one of the greats of his generation.
Ross took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express how sad he was upon hearing the news of Keith's death. "My heart is heavy today upon hearing that my friend Toby Keith has left us. I'm so sad. A true man's man. Boomer Sooner Big T," he wrote.
Keith will be best remembered by wrestling fans for his appearances on "WWE Raw" in 2009, and in TNA in 2002, the latter of which featured his musical performance being interrupted by Jeff Jarrett. However, he got his revenge on Jarrett by eliminating him from the Gauntlet for the Gold battle royal on the company's first-ever pay-per-view. He was also a thorn in Jarrett's side on TNA's second-ever pay-per-view when he helped Scott Hall defeat Jarrett in a one-on-one contest.
The musician was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the end of 2021 but didn't reveal his diagnosis until June 2022. Keith disclosed in a press release in December 2022 that his cancer was "pretty debilitating," and he eventually lost his battle with cancer as he passed away in his sleep in his Oklahoma home.
Ross has had his own battles with cancer in recent years. In October 2021, he revealed he had skin cancer and took some time away from wrestling to fight it. The commentator announced in December 2021 that he was officially cancer-free, but had another cancer-related surgery on his right hip in 2024.
