Kevin Foote (born May 9, 1967) is an American sportscaster, radio host, and

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 o ...

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

, executive,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

, and former

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Kevin Kelly. Foote has worked as an English-language commentator for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling 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 Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) since 2015. He previously worked for

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 vario ...

from 1996 to 2003,

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

in 2004, and

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

(ROH) from 2010 to 2017.

Early life

Kelly was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York, but his family relocated to Stuart, Florida when he was ten. He graduated from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

in January 1990.

Broadcasting career

Radio

Kelly first became involved in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

when he began working as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

, playing music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Kelly once hosted a segment named "Plan B" on the ''Voice of Wrestling''

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

. In August 2007, Kelly started his own show on the Wrestling Radio Network called ''The Kevin Kelly Show''. Kelly also hosts ''The Big Picture'' audio show on ClubWWI.com. In 2014, Kevin Kelly began hosting a wrestling and pop culture podcast, ''The Kevin Kelly Show'', on Place to Be Nation.

Professional wrestling

Independent circuit (1991–1996, 1999–2005, 2011)

Kelly debuted on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

in 1991. He originally worked as a

for Eddie Mansfield's

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

-based International Wrestling Federation. In November 1999, Kelly debuted in the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

-based

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

as a

, forming several

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

. On April 7, 2001 in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, Kelly defeated Cheetah Master for the

ECWA Heavyweight Championship ECWA Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professio ...

with the help of Billy Fives and

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...

, members of Kelly's Alliance of Defiance stable. He was stripped of the title on May 5, 2001, with

Scoot Andrews Andrew Warner (born June 1, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews. After debuting in 1994, Andrew competed for numerous independent promotions throughout his career ...

defeating Billy Fives for the vacant title. On December 3, 2005, Kelly was inducted into the ECWA Hall of Fame. From 2003 to 2004, he worked for the short-lived

promotion. From May 28, 2011 to October 22, 2011, Kelly was an announcer for

Lucha Libre USA ''Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors'' is an American Lucha Libre promotion and television program on the MTV2 broadcast channel, chronicling the rise of Mexican-style wrestling, or lucha libre, in the United States. The first episode was aired on ...

Season 2.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1996–2003)

Kelly received a try-out with the

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 vario ...

as a ring announcer due to the intervention of fellow IWF alumnus

Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently ...

. He was hired by the WWF in June 1996, and began working as a backstage interviewer. From August to October 1996, Kelly served as commentator for ''

Raw is War ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...

'', the flagship

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

of the WWF, alongside

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...

and

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Apr ...

. From December 1997 to March 1998, Kelly again served as a commentator for ''Raw is War'', alongside Jim Ross and Michael Cole. Afterward, Kelly resumed serving as an interviewer on ''Raw is War'' and (upon its premiere) '' SmackDown!''. As an interviewer, Kelly was involved in numerous

angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...

. The most publicized was the controversial "

Pillman's got a gun Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

" angle, which took place on the November 4, 1996 episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', which was filmed in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. The angle was set against the backdrop of an ongoing feud between

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

and

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

. Throughout the broadcast of ''Monday Night Raw'', live footage was shown of Kelly interviewing Pillman in his home in

Walton, Kentucky Walton is a home rule-class city in Boone and Kenton counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 3,635 at the 2010 census, up from 2,450 at the 2000 census. History Walton was established in 1840. The railroad was extended to Wa ...

alongside Pillman's wife Melanie. After

Dok Hendrix Michael Seitz (born March 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." ("Purely Sexy") Hayes and for his role as an announ ...

informed ''Monday Night Raw'' announcer

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

that Austin was supposedly traveling to Pillman's home, Pillman, upon being apprised of this development, produced and loaded a

9 mm 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

Glock Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

and stated that he would "blow ustin'ssorry ass straight to hell!" A frightened Kelly delivered the line "Pillman's got a gun!" In the course of the interview, Austin arrived at Pillman's home and, after fighting off several of Pillman's friends who had surrounded the house to protect him, broke into the house and advanced on Pillman. Pillman responded by pointing his pistol at Austin, with the live camera feed subsequently fading to black as Kelly and

Melanie Pillman Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".explosions, but no-one had been injured. At that point, Austin re-entered the house, with Pillman's friends forcing him out again as Pillman pointed his pistol at Austin while screaming obscenities and threats. Kelly shouted for someone to "call the police" as ''Monday Night Raw''

instructed him to "get the gun". The broadcast ended with Austin being driven from the house as Melanie Pillman cried. The WWF and Pillman would later apologize for the segment. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kelly would frequently be mocked by The Rock during interviews, with The Rock labeling him an "ugly

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

" and nicknaming him " Hermie". At

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

on September 24, 2000, Kelly was attacked by the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin while attempting to interview him. Kelly would later begin hosting the weekly WWF webcast ''Byte This!''. In addition to his on-screen roles, Kelly served as a WWF talent scout, monitoring wrestlers in the

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

Memphis Championship Wrestling Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active until mid-2001. It was employed as a World ...

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

and

Urban Wrestling Alliance Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

developmental territories. Kelly was responsible for watching and evaluating tapes of matches sent to the WWF by prospective employees. Kelly also had a minor degree of influence on the creative direction of the WWF, and was the creator of the storyline that saw

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest profe ...

marry

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

, creating the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. In addition, Kelly produced ''

WWE Confidential ''WWE Confidential'' is an American professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It aired on TNN/Spike TV late Saturday nights, following ''Velocity'', from May 25, 2002 to April 24, 2004. It was hos ...

''. On March 21, 2003, Kelly was released by

as part of a series of budget cuts. Since his release, Kelly has criticized the corporate policies and creative direction of his former employer.

Major League Wrestling (2004)

In 2004, Kevin Kelly would replace

Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore (born July 14, 1971) better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American former professional wrestling commentator. He is best known for his time with ECW and WWE. Before working for WWE, Styles was a full-time ...

as the announcer for

, but the promotion would cease operations shortly thereafter.

Ring of Honor (2010–2017)

On March 2, 2010,

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

announced that Kelly had signed an agreement to be the voice of

on Internet

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 ...

Between 2011 and 2017, Kelly served as main play-by-play announcer for Ring of Honor television tapings and pay-per-views. On February 2, 2017, it was reported that Kelly had given his notice to ROH and left his position as the company's head play-by-play announcer. Kelly remained with ROH in a part-time role until July 11, when he announced he was no longer working for the company, although he will still call ROH matches held as part of

events as he is associated with the Japanese promotion as their English language play-by-play announcer.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2015–present)

On October 12, Kelly and

Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator, actor and former high school teacher, using the ring name Matt Striker. During his career he has worked for WWE, Impact Wrestling, Luc ...

served as the English language commentators for

King of Pro-Wrestling King of Pro-Wrestling is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held every October since 2012 and aired domestically as a pay-per-view (PPV). The event also aired internationally as ...

NJPW World , also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi ...

. Kelly returned to NJPW English commentary at

Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It was the 25th January 4 Tokyo Dome S ...

on January 4, 2016, again working alongside Matt Striker as well as NJPW wrestler Yoshitatsu. He returned as part of NJPW English commentary at

Invasion Attack 2016 Invasion Attack 2016 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 10, 2016, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, and featured nine matches, six of which were contested fo ...

alongside

Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE as a trainer and producer for their developmental territory NXT. He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship ...

, who filled in

's position. In January 2017, Corino was replaced by

Don Callis Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager, color commentator, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the on-screen manager of K ...

Championships and accomplishments

**ECWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2005) **

( 1 time) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Best Television Announcer (2018, 2019) **Best Announcer of the Decade (2010s)

References

External links

Kevin Kelly Show
*
Ring of Honor profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Kevin 1967 births American color commentators American male professional wrestlers American radio personalities American sports announcers Florida State University alumni Living people Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Television personalities from New York City Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling executives Professional wrestling managers and valets