Outside of the fighters themselves, who come from various backgrounds, the sport of boxing can surprise you at times with those involved in the sport and some of the experiences they’ve had in other professions. Although ring announcer Thomas Treiber has been working boxing events for years, from the club shows to the biggest stages, he once walked into many rings wearing just underwear as a pro wrestler for the second-biggest promotion at the time, World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
The 52-year-old Treiber from Hammond, Indiana, can be seen on DAZN a few times a month, as he serves as the master of ceremonies for Queensberry events. Growing up with both his parents and his sister, Treiber was destined to be involved with athletes, as his father was a big sports fan. That meant trying out different sports, but it wasn’t until he was around 14 or 15 that he decided, with his friend, to join a gym and start lifting weights.
Treiber spent 3-4 years competing in bodybuilding for his age group, and on Halloween 1992, at just 19, he became the Teenage Mr. Illinois Bodybuilding Champion. During those 3-4 years of competing, he also served as a ring announcer for small boxing events throughout the Chicago area, which led to a job doing the same for an independent wrestling promotion. It was an exciting time for Treiber, who grew up a wrestling fan. After winning his bodybuilding title, he decided to become a pro wrestler and trained for 3-4 months before making his wrestling debut.
In 1992, he began wrestling under the name “TNT” in Missouri, and in 1993, he quickly changed his status from a wrestler working the indies to WCW.
“WCW was the number two company,” Treiber told FightsATW. “If you weren’t in the WWF (now WWE), the only other place to make a living as a professional wrestler was WCW. There were some other wrestling companies, but those were the main two that most guys would set their sights on.
“I was only wrestling for six months. I was booked at a show in St. Louis, Missouri, and at that show were some WCW talent scouts.”
The WCW talent scouts liked what they saw and hired Treiber as a “jobber,” a wrestler who loses to the promotion’s stars while getting no offense off. Treiber was given the name “Tommy Tanna” and wrestled on National TV against the likes of “Stunning” Steve Austin (Stone Cold Steve Austin), “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Brian Pillman, and more.
Although wrestling is as transparent as ever, with streaming platforms producing documentaries and reality TV shows about it, Treiber said that his experiences showed that backstage, during that time, things were kept “kayfabe” (in character) even in the back.
“It was definitely more kayfabe,” said Treiber. “The business wasn’t as exposed as it is today. Social media has really changed how the sport is protected.
“When I broke into the business, there was still a lot of kayfabe. If I was wrestling a ‘heel’ as a ‘babyface,’ I couldn’t be seen showing up at the arena with a heel. My tenure at WCW was brief, but I got to see a lot of what was going on and work with big-name guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ravishing Rick Rude.”
After spending two years at WCW, with ring announcing in between, Treiber got another big opportunity, this time as a ring announcer, to appear on ESPN 2. Treiber would get the attention of Top Rank on the night of the event, and the rest is history.
Now, all these years later, Treiber finds himself among the top “OG” ring announcers in boxing. But instead of relying on that status to keep getting work, Treiber remains a top-tier professional by putting in all the prep work necessary to shine on fight night.
“First thing I do is get a bout sheet because I really want to learn more about the fighter. Then I always try to have a brief one-on-one with each fighter to make sure I’m pronouncing their hometown correctly and getting the correct nickname, etc. I do everything I can to get that information. Then I go over in my head how I want to introduce them. You also have to know who the judges and referees are. It’s really important to do that, as it separates amateurs from professionals; going that extra mile. Especially if you are working on television. You want to limit the number of mistakes you can make.”
Treiber’s professionalism is evident each time he announces a fight. It’s a long way from taking bodyslams and headlocks from guys twice his size, but his interesting experiences have brought him to this point in his life. It came with some bumps and bruises, but he’s at the top of his field because of it.
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