In an exclusive interview conducted by Tim Rose of WrestlingHeadlines.com, EMERGE Wrestling ring announcer Roger Pettet opened up about a journey that began as a childhood fan, continued through years of helping behind the scenes and eventually placed him in the center of the ring as one of the voices helping guide an EMERGE audience through each show.
Pettet also discussed the preparation most fans never see, why his family determines how often he accepts bookings, the importance of giving back to the communities that support independent wrestling and why he believes Indiana’s wrestling scene deserves considerably more attention.
WRESTLEMANIA III CREATED A LIFELONG FAN
Pettet’s relationship with professional wrestling began when he was approximately six or seven years old.
His mother worked at a video store and brought home a VHS copy of WrestleMania III. Pettet reached Randy Savage’s Intercontinental Championship match against Ricky Steamboat and essentially stopped there.
“I watched Macho versus Ricky probably 150 times. I literally didn’t see the rest of WrestleMania III until years later because I would get to that match and just rewind it and watch it over and over again.”
Savage became his favorite, but wrestling itself became the lasting obsession.
Pettet remained a fan through the Monday Night War era and attended independent shows whenever he found them. As a child, one small promotion operated close enough to his neighborhood that he could walk to events featuring future nationally recognized names including Rob Van Dam, Taz and Tommy Dreamer.
What Pettet did not do was immediately attempt to become part of the business.
“I love pro wrestling, but I don’t live pro wrestling, if that makes sense.”
FROM THE AUDIENCE TO THE RING CREW- Paying Dues For Free Tickets
Pettet became known as the loud, interactive fan in the audience.
Wrestlers began recognizing that he understood when to participate and could be trusted when a segment needed an audience member willing to play along. Those interactions gradually developed into friendships.
His first meaningful move behind the scenes came around 2014 or 2015 with New Era Wrestling in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Pettet had lost his job and told wrestler Hillbilly Jed that he could no longer afford to attend shows. The response changed his relationship with wrestling.
“He said, ‘No, no, no. Come help set up. You come help set up and we’ll comp your ticket.’”
Pettet began learning ring construction, setup and teardown simply because he wanted to remain around the community.
That work also allowed wrestlers and promoters to learn more about him.
Eventually, circumstances created an opportunity he had never specifically pursued.
RING ANNOUNCING HAPPENED BY ACCIDENT
Pettet did not seriously begin ring announcing until after the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was working ring crew for Summit Pro when the scheduled announcer failed to appear. The promotion’s owner asked Pettet whether he had ever considered doing the job.
“I was like, ‘Sure,’ and I winged it my first time. He liked what I did.”
Pettet became Summit Pro’s regular announcer for approximately a year and a half before the promotion’s Sunday schedule began conflicting with something considerably more important to him: his family.
He eventually stepped away and accepted occasional one-off announcing opportunities before EMERGE Wrestling approached him about becoming its permanent ring announcer.
FAMILY SETS THE SCHEDULE
Pettet is selective about how frequently he works.
At the time of the interview, he had a six-year-old child and another child entering the junior year of high school. His wife is not a wrestling fan, making it especially important that wrestling does not consume every available weekend.
“I try to limit it to one or two shows a month, to be completely honest with you, just because I also want to have time to do things with my kids and my wife.”
The priority is uncomplicated.
“That balance has to be kept right for things to be successful.”
That philosophy has also influenced which outside bookings Pettet accepts. If wrestling is going to take him away from his family, he wants the experience to be worth that time.
“If I’m not having fun, you’re probably not going to see me the next time.”
ROGER PETTET HAS BEEN AROUND EMERGE SINCE THE BEGINNING
Pettet’s relationship with EMERGE predates his role as announcer.
He said he has been around the promotion since the first EMERGE event, initially because Hillbilly Jed was working there under another character.
Pettet would ride to the shows, sit with the audience and help wherever another set of hands was useful.
“I was really just a fan. I think that’s why the audience connects so well with me, because for years I sat in the front row of that audience with a lot of those same fans.”
He developed a reputation for understanding how to stimulate a quiet audience.
If fans were not responding strongly enough to a babyface, Pettet might deliberately support the heel. If a child was wearing the hero’s shirt, he might jokingly target that fan in hopes of generating a larger reaction around them.
Even while helping behind the scenes, Pettet continued paying for admission because he did not believe contributing labor entitled him to anything.
Eventually, EMERGE knew exactly what it was getting when the promotion needed another ring announcer.
Pettet had announcing experience, understood the company, knew its audience and brought the energy EMERGE wanted between matches.
THE PREPARATION STARTS LONG BEFORE SHOW DAY
One misconception Pettet quickly corrected is that ring announcing begins when someone hands the announcer a microphone.
He begins preparing as soon as EMERGE starts releasing matches.
If a wrestler is unfamiliar to him, Pettet frequently contacts that performer directly rather than waiting until the afternoon of the event.
“I’m probably going to be reaching out that next day to those wrestlers and just saying, ‘Hi, I’m Roger, I’m the ring announcer at EMERGE. I’d really like to be prepared.’”
He collects hometowns, weights, nicknames and other details while resolving pronunciation questions in advance whenever possible.
The objective is not merely possessing the information. Pettet wants to know it well enough that the introduction sounds natural.
“I have my cards and I will look at them, but I try very hard to know the information so I don’t sound like I’m reading to the audience.”
For unfamiliar cards, that preparation can begin weeks in advance.
Before Grand Slam 2 in Kokomo, Pettet said he spent approximately a month and a half collecting information because many of the wrestlers were people he had never previously announced.
Chris Owens connected Pettet with the Grand Slam opportunity after Pettet publicly mentioned that he was interested in occasional additional bookings.
The unusual setting also appealed to him.
“I’ve never ring announced at a baseball stadium. There are matches on that card that not only am I excited to announce, but I’m excited that I get to sit so close and watch them as a fan as well.”
“THE RINGMASTER IN THE THREE-RING CIRCUS”
Pettet describes the ring announcer as much more than someone introducing competitors.
“I always think of the ring announcer as the ringmaster in the three-ring circus.”
He is one of the first people the audience sees and therefore helps establish the tone before the wrestlers ever emerge from behind the curtain.
During an EMERGE show, Pettet may greet fans, introduce the broadcast team, promote upcoming matches, advertise the 50-50 raffle, maintain the show’s energy during downtime and adjust when the running order suddenly changes.
A wrestler arriving late can force the card to be reshuffled immediately.
That requires Pettet to reorganize his material along with the show.
“You’ve got to be a juggler.”
Pettet believes relatability is part of what separates his presentation from a traditional announcer who simply reads names.
Most spectators could not safely step into a ring against one of EMERGE’s wrestlers. Ring announcing, however, looks accessible enough that the audience can identify with the person holding the microphone.
“I want to be relatable to them, but I also want them to think I’m fun. A lot of that is just my real personality maybe turned up to 11.”
BIG ROG IS NOT GETTING IN THE RING
Pettet occasionally becomes involved in EMERGE’s fictional world, but he stressed that those situations are exceptions rather than an attempt to transition into wrestling.
He has never trained as a wrestler and has no intention of pretending otherwise.
“One thing I can tell you is you’re never going to see Big Rog wrestle a wrestling match.”
Pettet cited his age, previous concussions and hip issues before delivering a simpler explanation.
“My pay envelope does not pay for bumping.”
When a storyline requires him to clash with someone such as Kenny Kage or Apollo Starr, Pettet performs the role he has been given. Behind the curtain, the real relationships are considerably different.
The wrestling character works because very little invention is required.
“It’s the easiest character in the world to play because it’s really just me.”
WHY STOCK THE SHELVES MATTERS
Community involvement is another part of EMERGE that resonates strongly with Pettet.
EMERGE 99: Stock The Shelves benefits the Love Chapel Food Pantry and continues a broader tradition of EMERGE using wrestling to support people throughout its community.
Pettet believes promotions have an obligation to return some of the support audiences give them.
“If the community is going to welcome us and come out and support us every month and spend money on tickets and spend money on T-shirts, I think it’s extremely important for that wrestling company to give back to that community in some capacity.”
He added:
“It can’t just be a take, take, take, take situation. Our business doesn’t operate like that.”
Pettet missed the previous Stock The Shelves event because his daughter had a marching-band competition on the same date. Once again, family won.
He nevertheless followed what the event accomplished and hopes the collection continues growing.
“It was amazing to see after the show how much food was raised. I hope we double it this year, and if we do it next year, I hope we triple it.”
For Pettet, that community-first mentality represents the heart of EMERGE.
HEADLOCKS FOR HENRY PUT WRESTLING IN PERSPECTIVE
Pettet also participated in Headlocks for Henry, the August benefit event supporting Henry Emily and his family during Henry’s fight against cancer.
As a father, Pettet said the situation affected him differently.
“I can’t imagine what these parents are going through.”
The fundraising mattered enormously, but Pettet believed wrestling could provide something else for a brief period.
“For two hours, don’t think about Henry as a little boy with cancer. Think about him as a little boy who gets to watch superheroes do what we do.”
For one night, the objective was to give Henry and his family an opportunity to concentrate on enjoying themselves before returning to the considerably more serious realities waiting outside the building.
PUTTING MORE ATTENTION ON INDIANA WRESTLING
Pettet closed the conversation by addressing something larger than his own career.
He believes Indiana has been home to professional wrestling for a long time without always receiving recognition as a wrestling state.
“I really, really appreciate that you’re trying to bring some light to the events that are happening in our state. We’ve got some amazing talent.”
That perspective reflects why Pettet remains involved even while deliberately limiting his schedule.
He is still the fan who repeatedly rewound Savage and Steamboat, still someone who wants to have fun when he attends a wrestling show and still someone who believes the audience should feel like part of the event rather than spectators waiting for the next match.
Only now, instead of sitting in the front row and trying to make the crowd louder, Roger Pettet is standing in the center of the ring with the microphone.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this interview, please credit WrestlingHeadlines.com and Tim Rose for the exclusive interview.
