Ring Annoucer Checklist

From Larry Goodman: As posted by Noah Tall... I've had people ask me who "trained" me to be a ring announcer and a...

From Larry Goodman:

As posted by Noah Tall...

I've had people ask me who "trained" me to be a ring announcer and a lot of people gave tiny suggestions but no one formally walked me through it, which seems to be the case with most ring announcers I've talked to. Ultimately we are support staff and it's a situation where a good ring announcer doesn't add as much as a bad ring announcer can take away...so it's not as much about doing it in some fancy, special way as it just doing it and not being awful or taking away from the event.

Here's a checklist I came up with for ring announcers:

1) If you aren't going to wear a suit and tie, make sure that's okay.

2) When you get there, ask the person in charge:

A) For a copy of the card and any segments that you may need to be aware of and anyone who will need the microphone. Make sure the order of matches is correct and the order of entrants is correct. Verify if matches are for championships and the exact names of those.

B) How do they want you to start the show(rundown past angles? Hype upcoming matches? Sponsors? Future dates? Rules? National anthem? Prayer? Etc)

C) In ring entrances or out of the ring and off to the side? As wrestlers come out or once both are in the ring?

D) Where will the hard cam be?

E) Where should you be during the matches?

3) Ask wrestlers for their weight(please don't do a weight for women...), where they are from, and any monikers for their introduction. (I write these down on the card by each name). This gives you a chance to learn who each wrestler is and make sure you are saying their name correctly. Better to be "stupid" to them than to hundreds of people who know who they are.

4) Find the sound guy and ask if you can do a quick Mic check. You may find you have to yell, you may find you need to hold the microphone as far away from you as possible. You may need to slow your cadence down so that your words can be more spaced and easily heard. Ask a couple of people in the stands if it sounds okay. Try to imitate your volume and cadence as if the show is going on. Maybe even ask to check music with your vocals. Don't be a diva during this time because at most shows they're doing the best they can with a less than state of the art system. If they say, "You're good to go." and don't want/need you to test it then at least you asked. Also, don't annoy people to death with 100 "TESTING! TESTING! TESTING!" announcements. In the ring and on the way to the ring is probably sufficient for you and anyone else that may use the microphone.

5) Smile and be confident - so much of wrestling and life is just looking and acting like you know what you're doing.

6) Appropriate facial expressions and reactions to the wrestlers. You don't need to overtly show some sort of preference as an "impartial" staff member but if someone fusses at you or messes with you then be slightly annoyed but professional. Don't laugh along with someone doing something mean. Represent the company. Act like every wrestler there is your boss because you are doing a job for them to help people see if they should be cheered or booed - while also trying to maintain professionalism and lend authenticity to the event.

7) If you mess up, either correct yourself immediately or just keep on going. Don't let it phase you and don't stumble. It happens. Make notes and study them or have a small cheat sheet if you can't remember details. Better to read than to be wrong or clueless. Don't read off cards for "impromptu" matches!

8) Be flexible. Have a good attitude and know that EVERYTHING is subject to change.(including you...)

9) Ask the person in charge for feedback after the event. Even something as small as, "Everything okay tonight?" Everyone can always improve.

10) Speak clearly and convincingly. Make sure people can understand and believe what you are saying.