Ian Riccaboni has officially been a part of the AEW broadcast team since the summer of 2023,when it was announced that he had signed a multi-year deal with the company,but his ties with the promotion go further than that. AEW buying Ring of Honor in March 2022 meant that Riccaboni could continue his work with ROH, while also getting the chance to call matches on AEW TV, and there is one person Riccaboni wants to thank for getting him to AEW.
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During a recent edition of the "AEW Unrestricted"podcast, Riccaboni explained how he was asked by Cody Rhodes whom he would like to call the inaugural All In event alongside, due to Tony Schiavone and Colt Cabana being unavailable. He chose Excalibur due to his work in PWG, but when AEW formed a year later, Excalibur got the job as a commentator due to Riccaboni staying loyal to ROH. Will Washington jokingly said that Riccaboni technically got Excalibur his job with AEW, but Riccaboni feels like it's the other way around.
"He's talented enough it would have happened regardless and that's a fact," Riccaboni said. "If anything, I credit him for getting me into AEW and getting me a spot."
Riccaboni also revealed that while he was backstage at the first All In event, he had said to Cabana that he wished he would have been on commentary with him given their chemistry in ROH. While he said this, an unmasked Excalibur was sitting in the locker room with him to hear everything, with Riccaboni having no idea what he looked like without his mask on.
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Please credit "AEW Unrestricted" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
