Jim Ross was signed by WWE in 2017 in a big money deal that was meant to keep him away from ITV's World of Sport. As he was already under contract with AXS TV, he was allowed to continue working for them for the rest of 2017 but we've seen little to nothing of the commentator during 2018.
He did appear at RAW 25 and was used for the 2017 Mae Young Classic and the 2017 UK tournament but plans changed and he didn't commentate any of the NXT UK tapings (which are ongoing).
It now seems as if things may have broken down between Ross and WWE because they wouldn't let him sign with Quintet, a tag team Japanese grappling promotion that was launched earlier this year. He also wasn't allowed to sign a new deal with AXS and now Dave Meltzer reports that rather than being left on the shelf, he'll let his contract expire in March and with then likely sign with the latter.
This makes perfect sense for him and seems like the right move for wrestling fans too as they'll get to hear much more of him calling the action. As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.