Ian Riccaboni: “I will forever wear the three letters ROH with great pride”
ROH broadcast team member Ian Riccaboni has spoken out about ROH’s upcoming hiatus. Riccaboni is the latest to comment on the big news from last week that the company will go on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022, with reports coming that contracts which expire at the end of the year won’t be renewed.
For nearly eight years, I’ve lived my dream with Ring of Honor. For five of those, about a half of a million folks have welcomed me into their homes every week. It is a great privilege to continue the legacy of Dave, Lenny, The Hog, Kevin, and others before me.
ROH has bent over backwards for me in my time with the company. Countless flights to accommodate my office schedule, canceling a Japan trip (with pay!) at their expense to ensure I was home for Nora’s birth, helping support LGBTQ+ and literacy initiatives in my hometown of Allentown, PA, and more. Too many things to list. They believed in and cultivated me at age 30 (I was a late bloomer!) with very little prior experience.
The news of this hiatus was communicated professionally and with care but there are a lot of question marks. I will forever wear the three letters ROH with great pride and treasure my time here. Hopefully, it is not over. I have reason for optimism that ROH will re-start in April. I hope I am a part of their plans.
I have a select couple of things I’m interested in doing. I keep a day job. I am blessed that money is not a concern.
My goals now?
* Continue to maintain a profile to use any notoriety I have to give back to my hometown
* Call select wrestlers’ matches
* Be the best ROH commentator I can be
I am humbled by the support I personally and ROH as an organization has received in the last few days. I am flattered by those seeking to bring me in and I am assessing opportunities one by one. If April doesn’t come, it would break my heart and I will likely hang up the headset, so if you’re doing something fun, let me know.
That said, if anyone wants to bring over a half stack (neighbors are cool but not "full stack" cool) and knows The Band's catalog, I'll be downstairs pretending to be Rick Danko on my Rickenbacker
— Ian Riccaboni (@IanRiccaboni) October 27, 2021
