Justin Roberts

Last updated

Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts.jpg
Roberts in 2013
Birth nameJustin Jason Roberts
Born (1979-12-29) December 29, 1979 (age 44) [1]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. [2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Justin Roberts [2]
Jason Roberts [1]
JJ Roberts
Enzo Reed [1]
Jae Sage [1]
Justin Price [1]
Billed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Billed weight170 lb (77 kg) [2]
Billed from Scottsdale, Arizona [2]
Debut1996

Justin Jason Roberts [3] (born December 29, 1979) [1] is an American professional ring announcer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), [2] Roberts regularly announced for its pay-per-views and television shows like WrestleMania , Raw , SmackDown , ECW , and Superstars from 2002 to 2014.

Contents

Career

Early career (1996–2002)

Roberts began watching professional wrestling after he saw an edition of Saturday Night's Main Event [1] [ better source needed ] and met Kerry Von Erich and The Ultimate Warrior at a hotel in Wisconsin. The combined events inspired Roberts to become a fan of wrestling. [1] [ better source needed ] He also briefly trained as a referee so he could be in the same ring as Curt Hennig, of whom he was a big fan. [1] [ better source needed ]

Roberts began ring announcing at age 16 for local professional wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling International, and announced his first match in November 1996. [1] [3] While studying Media Arts and Communications at the University of Arizona from 1998 to 2002, Roberts worked for other independent promotions such as the American Wrestling Alliance, All Pro Wrestling, and Impact Zone Wrestling. During this time, he also announced for the Toughman Contest. [2] [1] [3]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2014)

Roberts with referee Scott Armstrong Just chilling in the ring.jpg
Roberts with referee Scott Armstrong

In 2002, he got a job on SmackDown! , followed later by a move to the Raw brand. [2] He also worked on Velocity and Heat shows while touring as the full-time Raw live event announcer. [4] [ better source needed ]

Most notably, Roberts announced the ECW show each week on the Sci Fi Network until September 2007, before swapping with SmackDown!'s Tony Chimel. [2] [4]

Roberts reached the peak of his profession when he announced the main event of WrestleMania XXIV between Edge and The Undertaker on March 30, 2008.

In addition to announcing SmackDown and pay-per-view matches, Roberts would also announce on WWE Superstars , including its inaugural episode on April 16, 2009. Beginning on September 28, 2009, Roberts took over the Raw announcing duties from the departing Lilian Garcia.

On the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, Roberts was attacked by the rookie wrestlers who had competed in the first season of NXT . [5] During the segment, Roberts was strangled with his own tie by Daniel Bryan, which led to Bryan's release, as WWE felt the incident was too violent for their TV-PG programming. [6] [7] At the SummerSlam pay-per-view two months later however, Bryan returned to WWE.

At WrestleMania XXVII, Roberts worked as the sole announcer for the whole show, with the exception of the announcement of the Hall of Fame class of 2011, which was announced as usual by Howard Finkel.

On October 13, 2014, immediately after Raw, WWE released Roberts after opting not to renew his contract, ending his 12-year tenure with the company. [8] [9] Following this, it was reported that Roberts would be working on an autobiography. In the days leading up to his release, Roberts had publicly penned a five-page essay explaining why the WWE had been the “most incredible blessing of [his] life”. [10]

Independent circuit (2014–2019)

Roberts was guest ring announcer at the House of Hardcore 9 event and a couple of other events soon after leaving WWE. In 2016, Roberts was the ring announcer for the UR Fight iPPV Events which included his announcing for a match between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio.

Since 2015, Roberts has worked for the band Tool hosting and moderating their VIP events. [11] [12]

On July 13, 2018, it was announced Roberts would commentate the All In broadcast with Don Callis, Sean Mooney, Excalibur, Alicia Atout, Ian Riccaboni, and Bobby Cruise. [13] Roberts along with Cruise were the ring announcers at All In.

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

On April 3, 2019, Roberts was hired by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as its main ring announcer, nicknamed "The Dapper Yapper". [14]

Professional Fighters League (2023–present)

In 2023 Roberts started announcing for MMA promotion the Professional Fighters League.

Other media

Roberts has appeared in Graves and The Messengers . He has also done some acting and was featured in such movies as Stuart Saves His Family , The Guardian and Soul Food . [1] As a child, he was an extra in Sleepless in Seattle , Blue Chips and Only the Lonely . [4] He also appeared in an episode of The Jerry Springer Show . [1] [4]

He released his autobiography, Best Seat in the House, on April 1, 2017. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Official Website of Justin Jason Roberts – Bio". JustinRobertsBook.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Justin Roberts". World Wrestling Entertainment . Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Official Website Of Justin Jason Roberts". JJRoberts.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Official Website Of Justin Jason Roberts – Résumé". JJRoberts.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  5. ↑ Plummer, Dale (June 2010). "RAW: Vote early; vote often". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ↑ Martin, Adam (June 12, 2010). "New update on Danielson's release from WWE". WrestleView. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Daniel Bryan released". World Wrestling Entertainment. June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Justin Roberts' contract not renewed by WWE". WWE.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ "REALLY REALLY SURPRISING WWE RELEASE". pwinsider.com. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ex-WWE Announcer Justin Roberts -- Getting Canned Ain't So Bad ... I'm Writing a Book Now".
  11. ↑ "Tool Reveal Ex-WWE Announcer Justin Roberts as Moderator at VIP Meet and Greet". loudwire.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts hitting the road with rock band TOOL". wrestling-online.com. May 20, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  13. ↑ "HERE'S OUR BROADCAST TEAM". ALL IN 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  14. ↑ "AEW Adds More Talent To Its Broadcast Team". www.prowrestlingsheet.com. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  15. ↑ Roberts, Justin (2017). Best Seat in the House: Your Backstage Pass through My WWE Journey. Meyer & Meyer Sport. ISBN   9781782551157.
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