"I feel like I was a success in WWE" - Commentator reflects on his time working for Vince McMahon
Former WWE commentator Tom Hannifan (aka Tom Phillips) recently spoke about his time spent in Vince McMahon's promotion as an announcer.
Hannifan's journey in WWE was similar to the path of many of today's superstars. He started at the Performance Center and worked on his craft in NXT, before ultimately calling the action weekly on RAW and SmackDown.
The commentator described his experience in the company on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, discussing how unprepared he felt going into his SmackDown debut.
“I would say it was the first time that I got called up to SmackDown, in retrospect I had no clue what I was doing,'' said Hannifan. ''I thought it was just calling a match, but there are so many layers to this. (...) the powers that be gave me a lot of opportunities to fail and to grow. (...) you need to fail and mature to get better. I feel like I was a success in WWE."
I’m surprised to see that WWE let Tom Phillips let go.
I always enjoyed his announcing, and thought his chemistry with his fellow commentators was professional, informative and entertaining. Announcing in @WWE is not easy, and he did it very well. twitter.com/WrestleTalk_TV…
Upon his release, Hannifan received praise from those within the world of wrestling for his nine-year contribution to Vince McMahon's company. Given the respect he gained and the amount of matches that he commentated on, there is no doubt that Hannifan was a success in the WWE.
Vince McMahon also helped another former announcer
Another member of the WWE announcing team who recently left the company is Renee Paquette (aka Renee Young).
Under the guidance of Vince McMahon, Paquette became the first woman to be a member of the Monday Night RAW commentary team.
The former WWE announcer worked as an interviewer and commentator in the company between 2013 and 2020. She often credited the Chairman for helping her reach her potential.
Renee Young Reveals Vince McMahon's Advice During Raw Commentary Debut
comicbook.com/wwe/2018/08/14… https://t.co/nscqhYXPOV
Despite both Paquette and Hannifan having left the WWE, their long tenures and success stories within the company are something to be celebrated.
Let us know in the poll below whether you'd like to see Hannifan and Paquette return to WWE.