Tony Schiavone Names ROH Talent AEW Should Be Using More

Tony Schiavone has identified Ian Riccaboni as the second-best announcer affiliated with Tony Khan's corporate operations. But what's stopping him from being number one?

"As far as being an announcer, he is the second-best announcer next to Tony Schiavone," he said during his "Ask Tony Anything" show on YouTube.

Schiavone paused from his self-congratulatory accolades to give a thumbs up to Riccaboni, who gained prominence as Ring of Honor's lead play-by-play announcer.

"I think we need to use more of him," Schiavone said. "We've been using him on 'Elevation' – he'll be 'Elevation' Monday with Paul Wight."

Riccaboni is not a full-time broadcaster. According to his LinkedIn page, he is the director of business development at Labcorp Drug Development. Schiavone alluded to his non-wrestling work as something better than calling wrestling matches.

"I do know it's a very high-paying job," Schiavone said. "And he's got a family. And if you've got a really good high-paying job, you want nothing the f*** to do with wrestling, I can tell you that right now."

However, Riccaboni is interested in doing AEW work. Last month, he successfully tweeted a request to Khan for a gig on "Dynamite" that saw Chris Jericho defend his ROH World Championship against former ROH World Champion Bandido.

Schiavone noted that Riccaboni recently gave him an unexpected present – "A hat from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, because he lives in the Allentown area" – and predicted that Riccaboni could be a more ubiquitous presence on AEW broadcasts as the company stages events in the Northeast.

"I think that he could be a full-time announcer on our show when I drop dead, which could be any day," Schiavone said.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Ad Free Shows" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.