In a recent episode of AEW Unrestricted podcast, Justin Roberts spoke with Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone about his work as a ring announcer. When comparing his time with WWE to his current role with AEW, Roberts emphasized the creative freedom he now enjoys.
Justin Roberts worked as a ring announcer for WWE for over a decade and was known for his signature style of announcing John Cena to the ring. Roberts and WWE parted ways in 2014. He did some work on the independent circuit and took time off to work on his autobiography before he started working with AEW in 2019.
On the podcast, Justin Roberts compared his jobs in the two companies and explained that he has a high level of creative freedom in his current role with AEW. He detailed the process of how he approaches the role. While he usually has a general idea of the show, he then plugs in his unique bits with total creative freedom.
“If there’s a scale of creative freedom, and there’s a one and a 10, I guess I’m at 100,” said Roberts. “Since day one, it’s just one of those things where I’ve never been handed a script, or I’ve never been told what to say on anything starting from the first show when, I believe, we had a guest singer for the national anthem. Even with that, I’m like, I don’t have anything on who they are or whatever.” (h/t Wrestling Inc for the transcript)
“So I just came up with something and sent it around to a couple people, and they’re like, ‘Sure,'” Roberts continued. “And from then on, that kind of set the tone.”
Justin Roberts was inspired by Howard Finkel
Speaking about his childhood inspiration, Justin Roberts named legendary WWE announcer Howard Finkel as an important one. He stated that Finkel’s booming voice intrigued him and set him on his path to becoming a ring announcer. Finkel is one of the most iconic announcers of all time, so it’s fair to imagine that he inspired a lot of people who followed in his footsteps.
Roberts also mentioned that he was privileged to have been friends with The Fink and enjoyed the time that they worked together. Finkel passed away on April 16, 2020, and Roberts made it clear that he cherished the opportunity to know the legend on a personal level.
What do you think about Roberts’ comments? Sound off below.
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