“We had goosebumps” - Former WWE commentator Tom Hannifan on the best call of his career
Recently released commentator Tom Hannifan, a.k.a. Tom Phillips spent nine successful years in the WWE. Post his release, he has been recapping some of his most memorable moments from his time in the commentary booth.
Whilst Michael Cole has been the lead announcer for Vince McMahon's company for over twenty years, Hannifan brought a youthful energy to his commentary, aided by the inclusion of individuals like Byron Saxton and Corey Graves.
Speaking on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, the former WWE commentator recalled some of his favorite announcing moments.
“Oh gosh. I mentioned Kofi Mania. I loved the call in the conclusion of that match. I will always remember TakeOver Dallas where Corey Graves called Shinsuke’s arrival in NXT and Sami Zayn’s last match in NXT. The building is shaking and Graves and I are just freaking out, we had Goosebumps and everything. But there were a lot of individual moments that I was proud of that call," Tom Hannifan said.
Tom Hannifan was also involved in some very comical moments with the likes of Y2J Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens.
#WWE #WWERaw #WWENetwork@FightOwensFight @WWE This reminds me of when Chris Jericho used to call Tom Phillips, "Tim" 😂 #WWE #WWERaw #WWENetwork https://t.co/MnCQUrJkDm
From Kofi Kingston's iconic win at Wrestlemania in 2019 to the debut of Shinsuke Nakamura, Hannifan's voice has been a key part of those memorable moments.
Tom Hannifan focused on the bad more than the good
WWE has released Tom Phillips, a huge loss onscreen and backstage https://t.co/6mvNICMAVc
Despite the many successes that Hannifan had in his time at WWE, he also mentioned to Chris Van Vliet that the bad far outweighed the good when it came to moments on the mic.
"But for every good one, there are 100 bad ones. I have a perfectionist mentality. But I will watch it back and lighten up on myself, I think a lot of people need to do that in general," Tom Hannifan added.
Although his time with the WWE has now come to an end, Hannifan is now the lead announcer for IMPACT wrestling, where he is looking to bring the same passion and excitement as he did in WWE.
Can you recall any great Tom Hannifan commentary moments? Let us know in the comment section below.