Ian Riccaboni
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Ian Riccaboni (born January 13, 1987) is an American sportscaster and author, currently signed to Ring of Honor.


Personal life

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 New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
(NYU) in May 2009 with a bachelor's degree in media and communications and in May 2010 with a master's degree in education management from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. Riccaboni first appeared on television when he was cast in a 1996 KidsPeace commercial featuring former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (–), ...
. Riccaboni spent his early summers as a batboy for the
Allentown Ambassadors The Allentown Ambassadors were an independent baseball team that competed in the Northeast League and the Northern League from 1997 until 2003. They played their home games at Bicentennial Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. History In 1996, Al ...
of the independent Northern League. A fan of
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
from a young age, Riccaboni's mother would take him to professional events put on by
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF),
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
(WCW), and
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) in his native Allentown. 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 Gideon Yago (born February 19, 1978) is a writer and former correspondent for MTV News and CBS News though he is most recognized for his contributions to MTV. Background Yago was born in Madison, Wisconsin to a German-born, Roman Catholic moth ...
with special guest
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
. In early 2006, Riccaboni was cast for an
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commercial for their Best Music on Campus competition, competing on guitar, harmonica, and vocals. While at NYU, Riccaboni played baseball and was a Dean's Scholar, playing gigs around New York and NYU, including a gig opening for the cast of '' Spring Awakening'' at an NYU event in Gould Plaza. Riccaboni graduated NYU as the Class of 2009 president and received the President's Service Award. 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. Riccaboni has been married since October 6, 2012 to his wife Sarah. He resides in Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
region of eastern
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.


Broadcasting career


Phillies Nation TV (2012–2015)

Riccaboni began writing as a full-time contributor to ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
''-award-winning blog Phillies Nation in November 2011. 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 Marc Summers (born Marc Berkowitz; November 11, 1951) is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and talk show host. He is best known for hosting '' Double Dare'' for Nickelodeon, and ''Unwrapped'' for Food Networ ...
and
Tony Luke Tony Luke Kocherry (born 10 November 1985) is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films. He began his career as a fashion model and later forayed into cinema, debuting with '' Oozham'' (2016) in a supporting role. In 2019, To ...
. In 2014, Riccaboni conducted a four-part interview with Curt Simmons for the show and in 2015 interviewed
Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...
and
Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...
. In association with Phillies Nation, Riccaboni released a book, "The 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time" on September 15, 2015.


Ring of Honor (2014–present)

Riccaboni began his professional wrestling announcing career after a chance meeting with
The Blue Meanie Brian Heffron (born May 18, 1973), better known by his ring name The Blue Meanie, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation between 1995 and 2 ...
, 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 The Monster Factory is a professional wrestling school located in Paulsboro, New Jersey owned and operated by Danny Cage. It is considered to be the first publicly available professional wrestling school. Larry Sharpe opened the Monster Fact ...
in
Paulsboro, New Jersey Paulsboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,196, an increase of 99 (+1.6%) from the 2010 census count of 6,097,
. While filming the segment, Riccaboni met Monster Factory owner Danny Cage. Riccaboni phoned Cage about getting started in
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
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. Riccaboni started as a personality with Ring of Honor at Future of Honor 2 in July 2014. Riccaboni called his first match with Ring of Honor on Saturday January 3, 2015, which featured
Cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Chees ...
and Chris LeRusso. 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. 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 before assuming the role of lead announcer starting with the February 25, 2017 episode. Riccaboni called his first
Pay Per View Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
with ROH at
ROH 15th Anniversary Show ROH 15th Anniversary was the two-night 15th ROH Anniversary Show professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. It took place on March 10 and 11, 2017, at the Sam's Town Live in the Las ...
alongside Kelly and Colt Cabana. He and Cabana hold the distinction of being the first duo to ever call a
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
match on American soil when they did so at the Death Before Dishonor XV Pay Per View event. In 2018, Riccaboni was commentator for the ALL IN broadcast with Don Callis,
Sean Mooney Sean Edmund Mooney (born May 21, 1959) is an American news anchor and former World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) play-by-play announcer. He now works as an anchor for KVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona and the National Wrestling Alli ...
,
Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
, Alicia Atout,
Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts (born December 29, 1979) is an American professional ring announcer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Roberts regularly announced for its pay-per-v ...
, 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 William Stanley Apter (born October 22, 1945) is an American journalist and photographer specializing in professional wrestling. He was an editorial staff member and photographer for several magazines during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, notably ''P ...
. On April 6, 2019, Riccaboni, Kelly, and Cabana called G1 Supercard, the first non-
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
wrestling event in Madison Square Garden since 1960. 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 The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and PC. Riccaboni represented Ring of Honor at Impact Wrestling's Hard To Kill (2022) calling the ROH World Championship bout between
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pu ...
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).


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2022–present)

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 (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
’s
NJPW Strong ''NJPW Strong'' is a professional wrestling television series produced by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) which debuted on August 7, 2020. It currently airs Saturday at 8pm ET on NJPW World and FITE TV. ...
on their January tapings in Seattle. 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.


All Elite Wrestling (2022–present)

Following
Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All E ...
's purchase of Ring of Honor, Riccaboni would appear commentate during Ring of Honor matches on
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...
, notably on April 29, 2022, during Samoa Joe's victory over
Trent Beretta Gregory "Greg" Marasciulo (born March 30, 1987), better known by the ring name Trent Beretta or Trent?, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring ...
on ''Rampage''.


Community involvement

Riccaboni was a member of the Upper Dublin Historical Commission and teaches at Holy Family University in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. As a writer with Phillies Nation, Riccaboni worked to coordinate Wiffadelphia, Quizzo, and wrestling events events that raised food and money for
Philabundance Philabundance is a non-profit food bank that serves the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the largest such organization in the region. History The organization was founded in 1984 by Pam Lawler. In t ...
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 John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッ ...
, Bobby Cruise, and
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AE ...
to raise $1550 across two nights to support victims of
Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...
and
Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect ...
. 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) Samula Fred Anoa'i (born May 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samu. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling i ...
. Following
Final Battle (2019) Final Battle (2019) was a two-night professional wrestling event produced by American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on Friday, December 13 and Sunday, December 15, 2019, at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland and the 2300 A ...
, Riccaboni and
Caprice Coleman Caprice Coleman (born March 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler who competes or has competed in Mid-Atlantic and Southern independent promotions including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, NWA Wildside, Ring of Honor and, in recent year ...
conducted a book drive for the
United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...
and
WLVT-TV WLVT-TV, virtual channel 39 (VHF digital channel 9), is a PBS member television station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Owned by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, it is a sister station to Philadelphia-licensed PBS ...
's Lehigh Valley Reads organization and the pair raised 526 books to donate. 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 A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBT community. ''Pride'' in this case refers to the notion of gay pride. The terms ''LGBT flag'' and ''queer flag'' are often used interchangeably. The rainbow flag is the most ...
with proceeds going to the Bradbury-Sullivan
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
community center in his hometown of Allentown. In 2020, Pro Wrestling Tees and ROH released a MicroBrawler in Riccaboni's likeness with the proceeds once again being donated to Bradbury-Sullivan. In 2021, Riccaboni and Bradbury-Sullivan partnered with Cameo on a campaign to once again raise money for the center in his hometown.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riccaboni, Ian 1987 births Living people American sports announcers Professional wrestling announcers Salisbury High School (Pennsylvania) alumni Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education alumni