Justin Roberts
Encyclopedia
Justin Jason Roberts is an American
professional wrestling
ring announcer
, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw
brand
.
and The Ultimate Warrior
at a hotel in Wisconsin
. The combined events inspired Roberts to become a fan of professional wrestling. 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.
Roberts began ring announcing at age 16 for local professional wrestling promotion
Pro Wrestling International, and announced his first match in November 1996. 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
.
In 2002, Roberts was hired by World Wrestling Entertainment as a backup announcer for SmackDown, followed later by a move to the Raw brand. He also worked on Velocity
and Heat
shows while touring as the full time Raw live event announcer. In 2005, he announced part of Vengeance 2005, including the main event. Most notably, Roberts announced the ECW show each week on the Sci Fi Network
until September 2007, before swapping with SmackDown's Tony Chimel
. 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 WWE NXT
. 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. 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
. Since Eden Stiles became the ring announcer for the RAW portion of WWE Superstars
, Roberts became a timekeeper for the show, alongside Tony Chimel on its (WWE Superstars') SmackDown side.
, The Guardian
and Soul Food
. He had minor parts in Sleepless in Seattle
, Blue Chips
and Only the Lonely
. He also appeared in an episode of The Jerry Springer Show
. He appeared on the 23rd episode of Z! True Long Island Story announcing the match between The Ultimate Broski
and The Ultimate Warrior's
doll in which the doll ended up pinning The Broski for the win.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
ring announcer
Ring announcer
A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
Career
Roberts began watching wrestling, after he saw an edition of Saturday Night's Main Event and met Kerry Von ErichKerry Von Erich
Kerry Gene Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring names Kerry Von Erich, The Modern Day Warrior, and The Texas Tornado and was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers...
and The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
at a hotel in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The combined events inspired Roberts to become a fan of professional wrestling. He also briefly trained as a referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
so he could be in the same ring as Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, of whom he was a big fan.
Roberts began ring announcing at age 16 for local professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
Pro Wrestling International, and announced his first match in November 1996. While studying Media Arts
New media art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
and Communications at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
from 1998 to 2002, Roberts worked for other independent promotions
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
such as the American Wrestling Alliance
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
, All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars is a professional wrestling television program produced by APW which originally aired weekly on Saturday mornings on KFTY Channel 50 in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning December 5, 2009. The series features the professional wrestlers of All Pro Wrestling competing in...
, and Impact Zone Wrestling. During this time, he also announced for the Toughman Contest
Toughman Contest
The Toughman Contest, founded in 1979 in Bay City, Michigan by boxing promoter Art Dore, is a chance for the novice amateur fighters to test themselves in the ring.-Format:...
.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
and Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
shows while touring as the full time Raw live event announcer. In 2005, he announced part of Vengeance 2005, including the main event. Most notably, Roberts announced the ECW show each week on the Sci Fi Network
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
until September 2007, before swapping with SmackDown's Tony Chimel
Tony Chimel
Anthony "Tony" Chimel is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently employed by WWE working as the ring announcer for SmackDown brand.-WWE :...
. Roberts reached the peak of his profession when he announced the main event of WrestleMania XXIV
WrestleMania XXIV
WrestleMania XXIV was the twenty-fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . The event took place on March 30, 2008, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida and was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Florida...
between Edge and The Undertaker on March 30, 2008. In addition to announcing SmackDown and pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
matches, Roberts would also announce on WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, 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
Lilian Garcia
Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:...
. On the June 7, 2010, episode of Raw, Roberts was attacked by the rookie wrestlers
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
who had competed in the first season of WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
. During the segment, Roberts was strangled
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
with his own tie
Necktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...
by Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, which led to Bryan's release, as WWE felt the incident was too violent for their TV-PG programming. At the SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
pay-per-view two months later however, Bryan returned to WWE. At Wrestlemania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, Roberts worked as the sole announcer for the whole show, with the exception of the announcement of the Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
class of 2011, which was announced as usual by Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K...
. Since Eden Stiles became the ring announcer for the RAW portion of WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, Roberts became a timekeeper for the show, alongside Tony Chimel on its (WWE Superstars') SmackDown side.
Other media
Roberts has also done some acting and was featured in such movies as Stuart Saves His FamilyStuart Saves His Family
Stuart Saves His Family is a 1995 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, and based on a series of Saturday Night Live sketches from the early-to-mid 1990s. The movie tracks the adventures of would-be self-help guru Stuart Smalley, a creation of comedian Al Franken, as he attempts to save both his...
, The Guardian
The Guardian (2006 film)
The Guardian is a 2006 action-adventure drama film starring Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Melissa Sagemiller. The film was released on September 29, 2006, and was directed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive...
and Soul Food
Soul Food (film)
Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, and Robert Teitel, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma...
. He had minor parts in Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle
The film was originally to have been scored by John Barry, but when he was given a list of 20 songs he had to put in the film, he quit.#As Time Goes By - Jimmy Durante #A Kiss to Build a Dream on - Louis Armstrong #Stardust - Nat King Cole...
, Blue Chips
Blue Chips
Blue Chips is a 1994 drama film about basketball, directed by William Friedkin, written by Ron Shelton and starring Nick Nolte as a college coach and real-life basketball stars Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway as talented finds....
and Only the Lonely
Only the Lonely (film)
Only the Lonely is a 1991 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Chris Columbus. It starred John Candy, Ally Sheedy, Maureen O’Hara and Anthony Quinn. The plot is similar to the earlier award-winning film Marty.-Plot:...
. He also appeared in an episode of The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
. He appeared on the 23rd episode of Z! True Long Island Story announcing the match between The Ultimate Broski
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
and The Ultimate Warrior's
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
doll in which the doll ended up pinning The Broski for the win.