Ever since becoming Ring of Honor’s lead announcer in early 2017, Ian Riccaboni has become a beloved figure in the wrestling industry. The charismatic announcer spoke with the Orlando Sentinel about his non-traditional career path prior to sunday’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. Among the topics covered were getting to call All In (which he said was a career highlight), and his goals as an announcer.
On calling All In and seeing Cody Rhodes become NWA Champion:
[It was the biggest thrill of my career.] I was able to see the passion that [Cody] put into making that show possible and I knew the importance of passing that torch down from his father. I let that emotion drive my call and tried to capture it like I would if I was telling my best friend.
That night, I found out how much Cody means to wrestling. To that crowd in Chicago, you would have thought he won the Stanley Cup or the NBA Finals. That love was genuine, and it even made me well up a little bit on commentary.
On professional wrestling’s current landscape:
There’s so much amazing wrestling happening right now. It’s an incredible time to be a fan, and Ring of Honor is certainly one of the leaders when it comes to that landscape.
On wanting to become the voice of ROH for years to come:
When I was growing up, there were only a handful who had the opportunity to be the guy in a company,” Riccaboni said. “There was Jim Ross [in WWE], Tony Schiavone in WCW, Joey Styles in ECW. Later on, Michael Cole. Ring of Honor has had a great path of guys who have put their stamp on ROH as broadcasters, from Kevin Kelly to Lenny Leonard to Mike Hogewood to Dave Prazak. My long-term goal is to be remembered and put my name alongside theirs.
It’s a great interview, and there’s a lot of interesting information about Riccaboni’s journey into the wrestling industry, so make sure to check out the full piece.
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