UPDATED: 8:05 pm ET
Ian Riccaboni has confirmed our original report that he has signed a multi-year deal with AEW. He also confirmed he will be calling ROH matches remotely from his home, noting it will be done the weeks that he is not calling Collision live from the venues.
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Our original report published earlier on Sunday at 5:30 pm ET.
According to Fightful Select and F4WOnline, longtime Ring of Honor play-by-play announcer Ian Riccaboni has signed a multi-year deal with AEW. Riccaboni’s new deal with see him call action for both ROH and AEW programming.
Riccaboni filled in for Kevin Kelly on this past Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision, which aired live from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Kevin Kelly is off calling the English commentary in Japan for the NJPW G1 tournament, which will finish up next month. Riccaboni will continue to be the play-by-play announcer on Collision until Kelly returns.
The reports also notes Riccaboni was considered first for the Collision lead play-by-play role, but that he preferred to stay with ROH instead so that he could spend more time with his family. It was further noted that Riccaboni actually recommended Kelly to Tony Khan for the Collision play-by-play announcer role. F4WOnline notes that Riccaboni will be calling ROH matches remotely from his home.
The reports concluded by saying that Riccaboni will fill in for both Kelly and Excalibur on AEW programming when they need time off.
Riccaboni has been the lead announcer for ROH since 2017 and continued in that role after Tony Khan purchased ROH in March 2022. Khan’s purchase of the company also included Riccaboni’s ROH contract that was under Sinclair. Riccaboni also did commentary for NJPW Strong and at at the 2022 IMPACT Wrestling Hard to Kill PPV, when the Ring of Honor World Title was defended on the show.