PHOTO BY MURPHY LEE MOSCHETTA

Before my first night working as a ring announcer for Enjoy Wrestling, I had a recurring nightmare. In the dream, Meg Fair, the longtime host of Enjoy’s shows, introduced me to the crowd — and they reacted with indifference. I tried to get in the ring only for my feet to fail me. The canvas felt like a trampoline. I couldn’t stand up.

It was odd to realize that the dream spoke to a kind of stage fright; I’ve been in front of crowds from the receptive to the aggressive since I was 13. But here’s the thing: I really love pro wrestling. And becoming a ring announcer, thus becoming a tiny part of pro-wrestling shows, has been a very big deal to me.

After encouragement from a pair of talented Pittsburgh-based veteran wrestlers — grappling lawyer “The Gavel” David Lawless, Esq., and former Enjoy Wrestling champ MV Young, two veterans and top-tier examples of how talented and professional Pittsburgh’s crop of wrestlers can be — I first announced a show at 880 Wrestling in New Kensington on Thanksgiving Eve 2022. 880 Wrestling, run by Young and featuring stand-outs from Pittsburgh and beyond as well as his own trainees, hosts shows in a converted storefront space on Fifth Avenue in the heart of New Ken; they draw a diehard crew of devoted fans, with matches frequently spilling into the crowd and even onto the street.

Before that night, I felt nerves at a level I hadn’t experienced in years. Succeeding (debatably) at stand-up comedy, one of my other public ventures, is arguably more difficult than introducing wrestlers and announcing the results of matches. But I’m used to comedy. Everything else I do, I’m used to. Wrestling, on the other hand, is where I’ve always been simply a fan; I’ve watched for more than 30 years and never crossed the threshold that separates the customers and the competitors.

I lost my voice that night, straining so hard that I was barely able to vocalize the final results. I also forgot to ring the bell on more than one occasion. (They have since given that job to the production team — a wise move.) But I also figured out what the ring announcer is supposed to be. I wasn’t actually crossing a threshold, even if I was backstage; my new job was just to be the best fan in the building. Before each match, I got to go into the ring and say, in essence, “Hey, guess what’s going to happen next? Let me tell you about these wrestlers that are coming out. They’re great. And they’re about to tear the roof off the place.”

There’s a great video of WWE’s ring announcer, Samantha Irvin, reacting to the main event of Wrestlemania 40. At the end of that two-night affair, held two weeks ago at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, beloved second-generation wrestler Cody Rhodes finally defeated the seemingly invincible Roman Reigns, who had held the championship for more than three years. Overcome with happiness for her friend and colleague, who had just been anointed the standard-bearer for pro wrestling, Irvin became choked up, struggling to complete the announcement through tears.

Irvin’s an excellent ring announcer, because she understands what I realized that first night: The job is simply to be the best fan.

I also announced in Philadelphia that weekend. Wrestlemania week has become something of an informal convention for wrestlers and fans; while the week includes a handful of big-ticket WWE events, each year’s Wrestlemania week features dozens of independent shows showcasing hundreds of wrestlers. This year, 880 Wrestling hosted an afternoon show at a social hall in downtown Philadelphia.

The show was such a whirlwind that I barely had the chance to pause and consider the circumstances: For the first 37 years of my life, I had been a wrestling fan, never having set foot in the ring. Now, suddenly, it was Wrestlemania week, and I was introducing wrestlers to a crowd of fans from around the world.

On the one hand, I can’t believe it. On the other, I can: Because, after 37 years, I was very prepared to be the best fan.

As for that recurring nightmare: When I made my debut with Enjoy Wrestling, the fans were appreciative and welcoming. And I was able to stand upright in the ring.

I did, however, trip while walking up the ring steps. The fans kept cheering anyway.