American professional wrestling broadcaster and author
Ian Riccaboni
(born January 13, 1987) is an American
professional wrestling
commentator
, sports broadcaster, author, and politician. He is currently signed to
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(English commentator),
Ring of Honor
(as play-by-play commentator)
[5]
[6]
and
All Elite Wrestling
(as back-up commentator).
[7]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Riccaboni was born January 13, 1987, in
Allentown, Pennsylvania
. He graduated from
Salisbury High School
in
Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania
, in 2005. He graduated from
New York University
in May 2009 with a bachelor's degree in media and communications
[1]
and in May 2010 with a master's degree in education management from the
University of Pennsylvania
.
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Riccaboni first appeared on television when he was cast in a 1996
KidsPeace
commercial featuring former
Major League Baseball
pitcher
Jim Kaat
.
[1]
Riccaboni spent his early summers as a batboy for the
Allentown Ambassadors
of the independent
Northern League
. A fan of
professional wrestling
from a young age, Riccaboni's mother would take him to professional events put on by
World Wrestling Federation
(WWF),
World Championship Wrestling
(WCW), and
Extreme Championship Wrestling
(ECW) in his native Allentown.
[2]
During his first year at NYU, Riccaboni answered a casting call to be a part of a special to air on
MTV
called The Notorious BG, hosted by
Gideon Yago
with special guest
Bill Gates
. In early 2006, Riccaboni was cast for an
MTVU
commercial for their Best Music on Campus competition, competing on guitar, harmonica, and vocals.
[1]
While at NYU, Riccaboni played baseball and was a Dean's Scholar,
[8]
[9]
playing gigs around New York and NYU,
[10]
including a gig opening for the cast of
Spring Awakening
at an NYU event in Gould Plaza.
[11]
Riccaboni graduated NYU as the Class of 2009 president
[12]
and received the President's Service Award.
[13]
After graduating NYU in May 2009, Riccaboni pursued and completed a master's degree from Penn in education management. During his time at Penn, he returned to television, playing bass guitar as lead singer for the house band on "Hump Night with Kris Fried" on
Service Electric TV 2
.
[14]
Riccaboni has been married since October 6, 2012, to his wife Sarah.
[1]
He resides in Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania in the
Lehigh Valley
region of eastern
Pennsylvania
.
[15]
Phillies Nation TV (2012?2015)
[
edit
]
Riccaboni began writing as a full-time contributor to
USA Today
-award-winning blog Phillies Nation
[16]
in November 2011.
[17]
In 2012, Phillies Nation began producing
Phillies Nation TV
and Riccaboni began appearing on the show, interviewing minor leaguers and
Philadelphia Phillies
fans, including
Marc Summers
[18]
and
Tony Luke
.
[19]
In 2014, Riccaboni conducted a four-part interview with
Curt Simmons
[20]
for the show and in 2015 interviewed
Brad Lidge
[21]
and
Bobby Shantz
.
[22]
In association with Phillies Nation, Riccaboni released a book, "The 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time" on September 15, 2015.
[23]
Ring of Honor (2014?present)
[
edit
]
Riccaboni began his professional wrestling announcing career after a chance meeting with
The Blue Meanie
, Brian Hefron. Riccaboni was to interview Hefron as part of his beat interviewing famous
Philadelphia Phillies
fans. The two were searching for a location, and Hefron suggested
The Monster Factory
in
Paulsboro, New Jersey
. While filming the segment, Riccaboni met Monster Factory owner
Danny Cage
. Riccaboni phoned Cage about getting started in
professional wrestling
after the completion of the segment before beginning to work with the Monster Factory as an interviewer and commentator.
Through a camp with
Ring of Honor
(ROH) broadcaster
Kevin Kelly
and wrestler
Bob Evans
, Riccaboni discovered and asked to attend an ROH tryout camp.
[2]
Riccaboni started as a personality with Ring of Honor at Future of Honor 2 in July 2014.
[24]
Riccaboni called his first match with Ring of Honor on Saturday January 3, 2015, which featured
Cheeseburger
and Chris LeRusso.
[25]
In May 2015, Riccaboni made his debut as a ring announcer with Ring of Honor, announcing the first match at
Global Wars '15
's television taping.
[26]
Riccaboni served as an in-arena host for Ring of Honor live events and a commentator for
Future of Honor
and
Women of Honor
matches
[6]
[27]
before assuming the role of lead announcer starting with the February 25, 2017, episode.
[28]
Riccaboni called his first
Pay Per View
with ROH at
ROH 15th Anniversary Show
alongside Kelly and
Colt Cabana
.
[29]
He and Cabana hold the distinction of being the first duo to ever call a
Minoru Suzuki
match on American soil when they did so at the
Death Before Dishonor XV
Pay Per View event.
[30]
In 2018, Riccaboni was commentator for the
ALL IN
broadcast with
Don Callis
,
Sean Mooney
,
Excalibur
, Alicia Atout,
Justin Roberts
, and
Bobby Cruise
Riccaboni served as the lead play-by-play announcer with Excalibur, Callis, and others joining throughout the night. On December 15, 2018, Riccaboni and Cabana were presented with the 2018 Broadcast Team of the Year Award by veteran wrestling writer, photographer, and editor
Bill Apter
.
[32]
On April 6, 2019, Riccaboni, Kelly, and Cabana called
G1 Supercard
, the first non-
WWE
wrestling event in
Madison Square Garden
since 1960.
In November 2019 at the Ring of Honor event "Unauthorized", Riccaboni wrestled the first match of his career, teaming with Camera Man Gator,
Colt Cabana
, Gary Juster (Ring of Honor's Director of Operation), and Todd Sinclair (a referee) to defeat Brian Johnson and
Shane Taylor Promotions
in a
ten-man tag team match
.
[33]
On December 23, 2019, RetroSoft Studios announced Riccaboni and Cabana would be providing commentary for the sequel to the 1991 arcade game
WWF WrestleFest
,
RetroMania Wrestling
, on
PlayStation 4
,
Nintendo Switch
,
Xbox One
, and
PC
.
[34]
Riccaboni represented Ring of Honor at
Impact Wrestling
's
Hard To Kill (2022)
calling the
ROH World Championship
bout between
Jonathan Gresham
and
Chris Sabin
. Riccaboni became the first commentator to appear on both a ROH Pay Per View and an Impact Pay Per View and did so within 28 days between Hard to Kill and
Final Battle (2021)
.
[35]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2022?present)
[
edit
]
On a Lehigh Valley with Love broadcast, Riccaboni announced he was still under contract with ROH but would begin on a tryout basis with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
’s
NJPW Strong
on their January tapings in Seattle.
[36]
It was reported in August 2022 that Riccaboni would be continuing with New Japan as the voice of Strong through at least the remainder of 2022.
[37]
All Elite Wrestling (2022?present)
[
edit
]
Following
Tony Khan
's purchase of Ring of Honor, Riccaboni would appear commentate during Ring of Honor matches on
All Elite Wrestling
, notably on April 29, 2022, during
Samoa Joe
's victory over
Trent Beretta
on
Rampage
.
[38]
Riccaboni became the target of
Chris Jericho
and the
Jericho Appreciation Society
following Jericho's
ROH World Championship
victory over
Claudio Castagnoli
at
AEW Grand Slam (2022)
.
[39]
Riccaboni would call all of Jericho's World Title defenses, including Jericho's defense at
Full Gear (2022)
,
[40]
making Riccaboni the first-ever to call Pay Per View bouts for ROH, Impact, GCW, NJPW, and AEW, doing so all in the same calendar year.
In July 2023, it was reported that Riccaboni signed a multi-year contract with AEW.
[41]
Riccaboni has since served as a backup commentator for AEW.
Riccaboni was a member of the
Upper Dublin
Historical Commission
[42]
and teaches at
Holy Family University
in
Philadelphia
.
[4]
As a writer with Phillies Nation, Riccaboni worked to coordinate Wiffadelphia,
[43]
Quizzo,
[44]
and wrestling events
[45]
events that raised food and money for
Philabundance
and Food Bank of South Jersey.
With ROH, Riccaboni has led the ROH Cares initiative to encourage ROH wrestlers, crew, and staff to improve the communities they are in as well as the ones that host ROH events. In 2017, Riccaboni and Cabana partnered with
Rocky Romero
, Bobby Cruise, and
Cody Rhodes
to raise $1550 across two nights to support victims of
Hurricane Irma
and
Hurricane Maria
.
[46]
In 2019, Riccaboni and ROH ambassador
Cary Silkin
represented ROH at a WXW-C4 event co-promoted by WWE and coordinated by Lance Anoa'i to benefit
Samu (wrestler)
.
[47]
Following
Final Battle (2019)
, Riccaboni and
Caprice Coleman
conducted a book drive for the
United Way
and
WLVT-TV
's Lehigh Valley Reads organization and the pair raised 526 books to donate.
[48]
Riccaboni has been involved in multiple efforts to raise money for LGBTQ causes. In 2019, ROH offered a redesigned Pride Edition of the t-shirt featuring his signature sign-off "Happy Wrestling" with the
Pride Flag
with proceeds going to the Bradbury-Sullivan
LGBT
community center in his hometown of Allentown.
[49]
In 2020, Pro Wrestling Tees and ROH released a MicroBrawler in Riccaboni's likeness with the proceeds once again being donated to Bradbury-Sullivan.
[50]
In 2021, Riccaboni and Bradbury-Sullivan partnered with Cameo on a campaign to once again raise money for the center in his hometown.
[51]
On July 31, 2023, Riccaboni was appointed as a member of the
Salisbury Township School District
School Board, filling a vacant seat created by a resignation.
[52]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Ian Riccaboni Biography"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Allentown Native Ian Riccaboni Chasing His Wrestling Dream"
. Philly.com. January 22, 2015
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Amazon.com: Ian Riccaboni"
. Amazon
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Ian Riccaboni"
. Ring of Honor. Archived from
the original
on August 16, 2017
. Retrieved
March 1,
2017
.
- ^
"2/25 ROH HITS & MISSES: Ian Riccaboni on commentary, Fish, Dijak vs. Scurll, Skyler vs. Carr, Top Prospect Match"
. PW Torch. February 26, 2017
. Retrieved
March 1,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"A View of the Future with the Women of Honor"
. Ring of Honor
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
Tessier, Colin (July 16, 2023).
"Report: Ian Riccaboni Signs Multi-Year Deal With AEW"
.
Wrestlezone
. Retrieved
July 16,
2023
.
- ^
"2008 Orientation Leader Directory"
(PDF)
. NYU Steinhardt
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Orientation Leader Biographies 2007"
(PDF)
. NYU Steinhardt
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"2006?2007 Events"
. NYU EarthMatters. Archived from
the original
on July 16, 2015
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Friday"
. K Fergie Ferg. September 2007
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Student Matters ? April 2009"
(PDF)
. NYU Steinhardt
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"President's Service Award"
. NYU Steinhardt
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"ROH's voice of the future, Ian Riccaboni, gets his chance in the spotlight"
. ESPN. June 21, 2017
. Retrieved
September 27,
2017
.
- ^
"Who is Ian Riccaboni?"
.
Live From the Lehigh Valley - The Official Website of ROH Broadcaster Ian Riccaboni
. July 31, 2010
. Retrieved
January 16,
2023
.
- ^
"Recap: Phillies Top Cats, Nation USA Today Top Blog"
. Phillies Nation. March 19, 2012
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"If It Doesn't Work Out For Mike Schwimer…"
. Phillies Nation
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Kyle Kendrick, Marc Summers and Jesse Biddle"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"The Utleys, Rollins HOF Credentials, Tony Luke"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Ryan Howard vs. LHP, Curt Simmons and Kevin Wilson"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"The 2015 Line-Up, Brad Lidge"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"Nola Promoted to AAA, Franco's Hot Start, Carlos Tocci, Bobby Shantz"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
Riccaboni, Ian (September 11, 2015).
Phillies Nation Presents The 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time
.
ISBN
978-1515364795
.
- ^
"ROH: Future of Honor 2"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"COMPLETELY DAMAGED RADIO 2/9/15"
. podomatic
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Get in the Ring 5/29/15 Ian Riccaboni Interview"
. Shout Engine. Archived from
the original
on February 25, 2016
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"LIVECAST AUDIO: Wednesday PWTorch Livecast (8/19) available on-demand ? Pat McNeill's ROH Extravaganza w/live calls & emails"
. PWTorch
. Retrieved
August 30,
2015
.
- ^
"ROH TV RESULTS: MARTY SCURLL DEFENDS AGAINST DONOVAN DIJAK"
. PWTorch. February 27, 2017
. Retrieved
March 1,
2017
.
- ^
"The voice of Ring of Honor, Ian Riccaboni, takes advantage of opportunity"
. USA Today. July 28, 2017
. Retrieved
September 27,
2017
.
- ^
"Week In Wrestling: Jinder Mahal's Racist Promo; Rob Van Dam On Potential WWE Return"
. Sports Illustrated. September 21, 2017
. Retrieved
September 27,
2017
.
- ^
"Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana Win Broadcast Team of the Year"
. ROH World. December 16, 2018
. Retrieved
December 23,
2018
.
- ^
Kreikenbohm, Philip.
"Ian Riccaboni - matches"
.
Cagematch.net
. Retrieved
October 30,
2023
.
- ^
"RetroMania Wrestling Commentary Team Announced"
. Hardcore Gamer. December 24, 2019
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
- ^
"Ian Riccaboni, Bobby Cruise to appear at Impact Hard to Kill"
. Wrestling Observer. January 8, 2022
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
Tessier, Colin (December 12, 2021).
"Ian Riccaboni: I'll Be Calling The Action At NJPW STRONG: New Beginning USA"
.
WrestleZone
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
- ^
Sapp, Sean Ross.
"AEW/ROH Contract Updates On Ian Riccaboni, Alex Zayne, CB"
.
Fightful
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
- ^
Renner, Ethan (April 27, 2022).
"Samoa Joe vs. Trent Beretta ROH TV title match set for AEW Rampage"
.
WON/F4W ? WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results
. Retrieved
May 4,
2022
.
- ^
Staff, AEW (September 21, 2022).
"AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam Results for September 21, 2022"
.
All Elite Wrestling
. Retrieved
January 6,
2023
.
- ^
Wolstanholme, Danny (November 19, 2022).
"AEW Full Gear 2022 Results (11/19): Jon Moxley Vs. MJF For The AEW World Title, Saraya Makes In-Ring Return"
.
Wrestling Inc
.
- ^
Tessier, Colin (July 16, 2023).
"Report: Ian Riccaboni Signs Multi-Year Deal With AEW"
.
Wrestlezone
. Retrieved
July 16,
2023
.
- ^
"Historical Commission"
. Upper Dublin Township
. Retrieved
September 7,
2015
.
- ^
"Wiffadelphia a huge success"
. Phillies Nation. March 11, 2013
. Retrieved
December 1,
2017
.
- ^
"Phillies Quizzo raise money for over 1,000 meals for Philabundance"
. Chat Sports. December 7, 2012
. Retrieved
December 1,
2017
.
- ^
"
"Hunger Slam" Huge Success!"
. Phillies Nation. November 17, 2013
. Retrieved
December 1,
2017
.
- ^
"ROH Wrestling: Narrador cuenta su sentir al haber aportado para Puerto Rico; Suma total de las donaciones"
. Contralona. November 29, 2017
. Retrieved
December 1,
2017
.
- ^
"Samu Benefit"
. Ian Riccaboni
. Retrieved
June 16,
2019
.
- ^
"We're Ring of Honor-ed"
. Lehigh Valley Reads
. Retrieved
January 25,
2022
.
- ^
"Happy Wrestling Pride Shirt"
. Ring of Honor
. Retrieved
June 16,
2019
.
- ^
"Why the NXT Women's Championship Is One of Wrestling's Top Titles"
. Sports Illustrated. June 3, 2020
. Retrieved
March 1,
2021
.
- ^
"Ring of Honor's Ian Riccaboni uses his voice for LGBTQ charity and awareness"
. Outsports. February 11, 2021
. Retrieved
March 1,
2021
.
- ^
"Ian Riccaboni elected to local school board"
. Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. August 1, 2023
. Retrieved
August 4,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Personnel
| Men's division
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Women's division
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Other on-air personnel
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Stables and tag teams
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Referees
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Broadcast team
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Backstage personnel
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Khan family
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Programming
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Championships
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Accomplishments
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Sister promotion
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Partnerships
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See also
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Personnel
| Men's division
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Women's division
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Other on-air personnel
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Stables and tag teams
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Broadcast team
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Management
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Programming
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Championships
| Men's singles
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Men's tag team
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Women's
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Sister promotions
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Partnerships
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See also
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