Austin Michael Romero (born October 8, 1981) is an American television host, ring announcer and backstage interviewer. He is signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Mike Rome, where he is the

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts ...

for the NXT

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

. He also occasionally serves as ring announcer on other WWE shows. He became a one-time

WWE 24/7 Champion The WWE 24/7 Championship was a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship, championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It was a tertiary championship open to anyone—regard ...

, when during a live event on December 27th, 2019, he held the title for nine seconds.

Early life

Rome grew up in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

as a huge fan of WWE's Rock 'n Wrestling era, idolizing Superstars like

The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...

and being mesmerized by

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

's debut at

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

in 1990.

Career

NXT ring announcer and sporadic Raw appearances (2016–2019)

Romero signed with

in May 2016, having previously worked for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

as a touring emcee, and for

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, as a cast member. He began working as a

for the NXT

on its Florida loop. He was also the ring announcer at the

Cruiserweight Classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Crui ...

, and made his debut on WWE programming on the September 7, 2016, episode of '' NXT''. His

is a shortened version of his

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be given a middle ...

and his

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, and he initially went by his full middle name and the shortened version of his surname, before it was changed before a ''NXT'' taping to differentiate himself from Michael Cole. Rome would make his main roster debut on the January 16, 2017, episode of '' Raw'', in a backstage segment interviewing

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nia Jax ( ). Fanene signed to WWE in early 2014 and was first assigned to th ...

. He would continue to make appearances on both ''NXT'' and ''Raw'', with his final ''NXT'' appearance as an interviewer at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. From then on, Rome would appear regularly on the main roster shows. Rome has occasionally been used on ''Raw'' or otherwise to further storylines. In an backstage segment in July 2018,

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera ( Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was assigne ...

was promoting ''Table for 3'' on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

, when Rome walked by and interrupted her, thinking she was asking him out on a date. As part of WWE's online content, Rome would portray a delusional character who was sure he would be having dinner with Bliss.

Raw ring announcer (2019–2023)

Starting in January 2019, Rome became the main Raw ring announcer after previous announcer JoJo quietly left that position. Beginning in April 2019, Rome, much like his

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

counterpart Greg Hamilton, was forced by

Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...

to introduce him to the ring with emphasis on the phrase "best in the world" (relating to McMahon's gimmick at the time). On one occasion, Rome's voice gave out towards the end, resulting in McMahon and

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

visibly laughing as well as Michael Cole and

Corey Graves Matthew Polinsky (born February 24, 1984) is an American wrestling color commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Corey Graves as the color commentator on th ...

making fun of him. According to Hamilton, Rome was legitimately sick that night and commended him for still pulling off the announcement. On December 27, Rome won the

WWE 24/7 Championship The WWE 24/7 Championship was a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship, championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It was a tertiary championship open to anyone—regard ...

at a WWE Live event in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Samir Singh had just won the title off

R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

for his third reign, and wanted Rome to announce him as the new champion, prodding him as he did so. Instead, Rome rolled Samir up to win the title and was about to announce himself as the new champion but Sunil Singh surprised him with a roll up to regain the title, also for his third reign. Following the release of Greg Hamilton in October 2021, he had been announcing on both ''Raw'' and ''

'' until January 14, 2022 when Samantha Irvin was called up to the main roster from ''

205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for ''WWE Superstars'', and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired e ...

'' to serve as the ring announcer for SmackDown.

SmackDown ring announcer (2023–2024)

During the

2023 WWE Draft The 2023 WWE Draft was the 17th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 28 episode of ''Friday Night SmackDown'' (in Cor ...

, Rome and Irvin were both drafted to switch announcing positions taking effect May 8, 2023. As a result, Rome would become the new ring announcer for ''SmackDown,'' starting with the May 12 episode. In 2024, he would reduce his announcing roles at premium live events for the brand as Irvin solo announced three out of the four events from January-May, while Rome announced one, which was Elimination Chamber: Perth. He would still announce the weekly shows until his last ''SmackDown'' appearance as official ring announcer on April 26, 2024.

Return to NXT and sporadic main roster appearances (2024–present)

On May 8, 2024, Rome announced on his Instagram account that he was returning as NXT ring announcer, citing being closer to his home in

, where NXT holds its weekly shows. Alicia Taylor, who was the NXT ring announcer, would take over Rome’s role as SmackDown ring announcer. Rome would make a brief main roster return to announce for WWE’s tour to Saudi Arabia for the SmackDown show on May 24 and

King and Queen of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...

on May 25.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rome, Mike 1981 births Living people WWE 24/7 Champions Mass media people from San Diego American professional wrestling announcers