ROH lead announcer Ian Riccaboni spoke with ABC 6 in Philadelphia about his upcoming role at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden. He talks about what a milestone it is for a company besides WWE to run at Madison Square Garden, and how G1 will be the “biggest independent wrestling event of all time.”
“I don’t know what 20,000 is going to feel like”, Ian said. ROH typically runs in places like the former ECW arena, which seats just over 1,000 fans. Despite the difference in size between ROH’s audience sizes and the arenas that WWE regularly runs, he doesn’t see ROH as a stepping stone to get to the big leagues anymore.
I think now Ring of Honor has evolved. We’ve become a destination. That’s why we have guys like Jay Lethal, Marty Scurll, and The Briscoes. And with New Japan, that makes our standing even stronger because we have Kazuchika Okada, who is this amazing athlete that transcends language barriers, transcends anything, and Hiroshi Tanahashi who is comparable to the John Cena of Japan. If WWE is going to be on the Top 40, we’re going to be that new wave group.
Ian also touched on the recent “Last Week Tonight” segment that blasted WWE for mistreating its wrestlers.
I’m for whatever benefits the wrestlers. I can’t imagine having the physical pain that they have. I can’t imagine the sacrifices they make with their bodies. Anything that benefits them, I’m for. I hope this starts a conversation throughout the entire wrestling industry.
He quickly also points out that ROH provides a schedule that is “great for the fans and for the wrestlers.”
When my daughter was born, they didn’t think twice about giving me time off. I think back when our previous world champion had a wedding – ‘no problem, we’ll put you in the next event.’ It’s things like that make Ring of Honor special.
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