Jim Ross recalls pep talk to Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne: ‘You little bastards better give me something to work with’

If Jim Ross gives you wrestling advice or a pep talk at catering, you take that advice and run with it. Ross has been in the wrestling business for 43 years but even he was a little nervous prior to his big return earlier this year.

After signing a new deal with the WWE after WrestleMania 33, Ross was tasked with calling the WWE United Kingdom Championship match between Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne at May’s NXT TakeOver: Chicago network special.

In an interview with Bleacher Report, good ole JR recalled two generations of wrestling coming together as well as a nice little ice breaking anecdote.

"I go to catering, and I see Tyler Bate sitting over here. I see Pete Dunne sitting over here. I say, 'You, come here. Get over here.' They don't know me from God-damned Adam. I said, 'I want to talk to you boys.' Their eyes got this big. They are looking up at me. They're great kids. I love these two kids.”

Ross continued and even gave the duo of Bate and Dunne some words of wisdom before the biggest match of their lives.

"I say, 'You need to understand this is probably the biggest night of your career. You've heard that all day, right? You believe that, right? Well, here's something you haven't heard. It's the biggest day of my career, too. I'm coming back to work, and I plan on kicking some ass tonight, so you little bastards better give me something to work with.'

"I wanted them to understand the opportunity they had doesn't come along all the time. The timing, the lay of the land, right place, right time. Wrestling is a funny genre in that regard. The table was set for them. It happens to all of us no matter what we do in our lifetime. We have to understand when there is an opportunity there to better our lives, to help us professionally, to give us a little comfort in our daily life, go for it. There is no guarantee it's gonna happen again."

Not only did Bate and Dunne seize the proverbial brass ring, the pair of “little British bastards” gave Ross a match-of-the-year candidate to call in his return to part-time WWE announcing duties.