Posts Tagged ‘Tom Phillips’

Tom Phillips Talks WWE Release, Internal Competition, Adnan Virk

Former WWE announcer Tom Phillips (Tom Hannifan) appeared on the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch to discuss his recent WWE release, the challenges of calling the product and more.

Phillips said he got hired by WWE at 23 years old, which he saw was a blessing and a curse. “I had everything to learn about professional wrestling,” he said. He was a casual fan as a kid, watched during the Attitude Era and played the video games.

“I had to learn everything from the ground up. On top of that, no broadcaster at 23 is really that finely polished, so everybody at WWE, it takes a village, did an amazing job helping me get up-to-speed just as a broadcaster. Things as simple as working in a studio, working with a teleprompter. Basics. I need to learn how to walk. They gave me so many opportunities to learn those things.”

Phillips was asked about his WWE Audition and if he had to do anything silly like interview a broom. He said, yes, he did. They handed him a piece of random equipment and said, “Sell me on this.” He spoke for about a minute and wasn’t sure if he would get hired.

Hardest Part of the Job

When asked about the toughest aspect of being a WWE broadcaster, Phillips it took years to learn the intricacies of the product and what management is looking for.

“The toughest thing about WWE is that, if you’re coming in, and there’s plenty of people who come in who don’t know wrestling inside out and backwards, you gotta get up to speed quickly. You find the right people who have your back and will support you and teach. I had so may people like that. But it look years for me to get comfortable with it, because that’s how intricate the product is.”

Learning the Product

Tom Phillips said people like Renee Paquette helped teach him the ins and outs of WWE. He’s a big video game guy and actually learned a ton by playing WWE video games. He would go into the Create a Wrestler mode, which has thousands of wrestling moves available to select for your character. He’d scroll through and learn from there. “Watch that enough, you start to figure it out. Lots of trial and error, doing it over and over again.”

He said the early incarnation of NXT was taped, which helped him learn with a safety net. The best thing was being around other talented people. They’d hold him to a high standard. So many people in WWE are diehard wrestling fans and experts. “If you didn’t take the time to immerse yourself in the product, you’d be dead in the water.”

Phillips said the the WWE Network was also a crucial resource that helped him become an expert of the product. He’d spend every waking hour watching the Network.

Competition, Being Over-Produced

Richard Deitsch asked how competitive things are in WWE amongst the broadcasters. Phillips said it depends on your relationships. He did feel competition from other play-by-play announcers. He’d see others improving and felt motivated to keep up. However, the camaraderie amongst the announce team was fantastic. He considered it healthy competition. Between the crew, the production team and the talent, he made hundreds of friends.

Tom Phillips said WWE announcers are overproduced, but it also depends on who you are. His experience was different from everybody else’s. He thinks some broadcasters join WWE with the misconception that you can call it like a sport. It’s really entertainment. “We’re trying to tell stories,” he said. “Great stories are what you remember” was a mantra he heard a lot in WWE.

His WWE Release & Adnan Virk

He was genuinely surprised by his WWE release. “Adnan Virk was somebody that I had known, not to date him in any way, but he had run on SportsCenter when I was in college, and then just right out of college, so I had watched him for years. So when I hear Adnan Virk is coming in to be the lead announcer of Monday Night Raw, I said, ‘Whoa, that is a shift’ But at the same time, I was like, I have all the respect in the world for this guy’s ability, in terms of what the job requires.”

He added, “I was definitely surprised, but to hear it was somebody like Adnan Virk, I said ok, I get it.”

Adnan Virk only lasted a few weeks, which also surprised him. “I’ve seen so many people come and go at different levels on the announce team. I won’t speak necessarily to what he was going through, that’s his experience, but it was fast. That being said, he has so many other things that he does in conventional sportscasting where he is so talented. He is going to do just fine.”

As for what’s next, Tom Phillips is pursuing new sports broadcasting opportunities outside of professional wrestling. He hopes to call college football and thinks his WWE experience helped develop the ability to do play-by-play while incorporating storytelling.

Listen to Tom Philips on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch at Stitcher.com.

Mick Foley And Others React To Tom Phillips’ WWE Release

Several wrestling personalities including Mick Foley and others have reacted to the news of WWE broadcaster Tom Phillips getting released by the company.

The WWE Hall Of Famer wrote on Twitter that announcing in the WWE is not an easy job and the released star did it very well. The wrestling veteran also expressed his surprise over the decision.

Former WWE star Aiden English also took on his Twitter. English who now goes by his real name Matt Rehwoldt said that he was grateful to Phillips for taking a chance on him.

The last surprising name to comment on his release was AEW star Dax Harwood who claimed that the former WWE star was the best commentator he had the chance to work with:

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/1397982550971359235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

After the release of Adnan Virk, many believed that Tom Phillips will be taking over his position on the Raw commentary team but they were left surprised when WWE announced that Jimmy Smith will be filling the spot.

Reports then revealed yesterday that WWE had actually decided to release the former broadcaster quietly and he was no longer with the company.

Tom Phillips joined WWE in 2012 and he worked in various roles during his time in the company including being the lead commentator for shows such as SmackDown, Raw and NXT.

Tom Phillips Released By WWE

Tom Phillips is the latest person to be let go by WWE. The news was first reported by Sean Ross Sapp for Fightful. We have since confirmed the story independently.

Phillips was with WWE since 2012. During his time with the company, he worked on virtually all of their shows, including NXT, 205 Live, Main Event, SmackDown and Raw. He’s also been on-air for various WWE Network and YouTube programs. More also been involved behind-the-scenes as a producer and served as a Senior Manager of on-air talent.

Adnan Virk replaced Tom Phillips as the lead announcer of Raw the night after WrestleMania 37. That stint lasted just over a month. Earlier this week, Virk was let go from the Raw commentary team. Veteran MMA journalist Jimmy Smith will start in that role this coming Monday.

WWE is in the midst of a major staffing shakeup, both in the office and on camera. WWE’s film, TV and social media divisions saw extensive cuts this week in the Connecticut and Los Angeles offices.

Tom Phillips is unquestionably a very talented broadcaster. At only 32 years old, he’s got a bright future in the world of professional wrestling, if he chooses to stay in the industry. He’s already updated his Twitter handle to reflect his birth name, @TomHannifan.

AEW star Dax Harwood of the FTR tag team had this to say about Tom Phillips’ WWE release. Interestingly, he tells Tom, “I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

WWE RAW Announce Team Shaken Up Once Again

WWE has made another change to the Raw commentary team. Former 205 Live announcer Vic Joseph will no longer be calling the action on Monday nights, according to reports.

Joseph was absent from The Royal Rumble PPV yesterday and Tom Phillips along with WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler called the bouts associated with the Red Brand.

Per PWinsider, Vic Joseph has been removed from the Raw commentary team for good. Tom Phillips will be replacing him on the show moving forward. Joseph remains with the company

It’s unknown why the former 205 Live announcer has been removed from the position but the site is reporting that the decision was made sometime in the past week.

This the second big change the company has made to the Raw commentary team after they shuffled the announcers for both Raw and SmackDown for the Blue Brand’s move to Fox Network last year in October

Both Michael Cole and Corey Graves who were part of the Raw commentary team at the time were moved to SmackDown and Jerry Lawler was brought back to do the play by play of the Red Branded Show.

Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin were moved up from 205 Live to the brand to aid Lawler and it was reported at the time that it was the Executive Director Paul Heyman’s call to bring them on the show.

Tom Phillips Proud To Have No Personality, Praises JBL

Tom Phillips recently appeared on the Sam Roberts wrestling podcast and talked in detail about his role on commentary. The 28-year-old openly joked about some of the criticisms he hears from fans.

“I get Tweets from people saying I don’t have much of a personality on air. I’m like “that’s great!” I’m not supposed to, I’m supposed to tell you when the show is, here’s why this guy hates this guy and try to tell you some moves along the way,” Phillips said.

He also relayed a story of his father telling him his commentary is like white noise during the show.

“I’m not out there to be myself, I’m there to give you the information.”

“Nobody is buying a ticket to see Tom Phillips” – Tom Phillips

Tom Phillips Interview with Sam Roberts.

One of the more interesting parts of the interview involved Phillips’ comments regarding JBL. Phillips stated that JBL receives an unfair reputation and said he learned quite a bit from him.

Phillips also relayed several stories involving his interviews with Chris Jericho. He said that Jericho and Owens would not let him in on the things they were going to say to him and Jericho confusing him with Mike Rome caught him off guard.

Phillips majored in broadcasting at Penn State and did play-by-play for Juniata College football. He was signed by WWE in 2012 and worked his way up from conducting interviews on the App to doing play-by-play on the main roster.

Twitter Roasts Tom Phillips For His Explicit Texting Scandal

WWE announcer Tom Phillips found himself in some hot water this weekend when social media lit up with screenshots of a vulgar conversation he allegedly had with a woman. When the woman Phillips was flirting with found out he was engaged to another woman, she outed him on Instagram for trying to cheat on his fiancé.

Twitter has been having a field day at the expense of the WWE announcer’s embarrassing situation, with several fans poking fun at Phillips for allegedly getting “busted.”

Here are some of the reactions making the rounds on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/jamespulsecom/status/835284865209749508

https://twitter.com/RyFacts_of_Life/status/835545246683566080

https://twitter.com/EnViRy_/status/835275853474967552

https://twitter.com/CleanKennyClean/status/835256356840042497

Join the discussion in the comments section below.

Woman Accuses Tom Phillips Of Sending Her Inappropriate Messages On Instagram

WWE broadcaster Tom Phillips has set his social media accounts to “private” after allegedly sending some racy messages to Instagram user @Missythetattooedgirl.

The woman was later informed that Tom Phillips is engaged and called him out for the lewd behavior.

This is why I don’t trust people. Without my friends I never would’ve known that a high profile WWE commentator who was talking to me and wanted to get together, is engaged. I had zero idea and I couldn’t be more sorry to the girl involved. You deserve better than this. Apparently nobody is faithful anymore. @tvs_tom #wwe #smackdown #tomphillips #nxt #wrestling

Below you can see some of the messages Tom apparently sent her.

Change To The WWE SmackDown Announce Team

SmackDown now has four announcers as Tom Phillips will be joining JBL, David Otunga and Mauro Ranallo each week.

Below is WWE’s official announcement:

SmackDown LIVE has a new addition to its announce team: Tom Phillips. The announcer joins play-by-play commentators Mauro Ranallo and David Otunga, and color commentator JBL, giving Team Blue a four-man booth every Tuesday night at 8/7 C on USA Network.

Phillips made his WWE debut in 2012 on NXT, where he announced NXT ArRIVAL, WWE Network’s first live, in-ring broadcast.

Fear not, NXT Universe, in addition to joining SmackDown LIVE, Phillips will still call the action on WWE NXT every week.

Mauro Ranallo On His WWE Debut (Video), New NXT Announce Team, Vince/The Rock

– The new voice of WWE SmackDown on the USA Network, Mauro Ranallo, spoke with WWE.com for a “SmackDown Fallout” post-show interview. In the brief backstage interview, which you can view above via WWE’s official YouTube channel, Ranallo talks about it being a dream 30 years in the making to call a show for WWE.

– Speaking of announcers, the new NXT announce team of Tom Phillips and Corey Graves made their official debut at the NXT television tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on Thursday night.

– Vince McMahon posted the following on Twitter on Friday morning to congratulate The Rock on winning the Favorite Cable TV Actor Award at this year’s People’s Choice Awards.

Update On Stephanie Slapping Around Tom Phillips On RAW

The conclusion of Monday’s RAW saw Stephanie McMahon slapping the daylights out of WWE announcer Tom Phillips. Although WWE officially stated that Phillips was not injured during segment, his face had a bad welt and he was kept off Tuesday’s live SmackDown special to sell the angle.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Phillips was legitimately shaken up by the first slap, much like Roman Reigns was the previous week. The angle has been a big topic of discussion backstage this week. Whether or not he was hurt by the attack, a lot of people were questioning why an announcer took so many strikes to the head, especially with Triple H working closely with Chris Nowinski on concussion awareness.

Big E shared his two sense regarding the assault on “Young Boy Tom”:

Alicia Fox Shows Off New Look (Video), Renee Young Updates Her Look, Charlotte/Rousey

– WWE Divas Champion Charlotte tweeted the following response to Ronda Rousey’s Rolling Stone interview where she spoke about her interest in joining WWE.

– Alicia Fox showed off her new hairdo to Tom Phillips on RAW Fallout:

– Renee Young has brought back her long hair with the help of hair extensions.

https://instagram.com/p/9mMouCkP3L/

James Storm Debuts In NXT (Video), Post-Match Interview

As seen on Wednesday night’s edition of NXT TV, former TNA World Champion James Storm made his official debut, defeating Danny Burch with the 8-Second Ride. It was mentioned on commentary that Storm has been “working the indies for the past 15 years.”

In the following video, Storm talks to Tom Phillips after making his debut. He says that the fans chanting that he belongs in NXT reminded him of his mom giving him support. He closes with his catchphrase, saying he’s in NXT now and if nobody likes it, “he’s sorry about their damn luck!”

Batista On What He Misses About WWE, Orton In Condemned 2, Phillips/Edwards

– Part-time WWE performer Batista recently spoke with Yahoo! to promote his role in the new James Bond “007: Spectre” movie. Batista mentioned that he does miss the entertainment aspect of WWE at times and when talking about his success as an actor, “The Animal” remained humble. “I don’t want to be a movie star,” said Batista. “I want to play great characters.” Check out the complete article at Yahoo.com.

– WWE broadcast team member Tom Phillips will be replaced on the WWE Five Things web series by new WWE broadcast team member Kyle Edwards (Arda Ocal), who will be taking over the hosting gig beginning next week.

– WWE posted the following clip of Randy Orton in the new wWE Studios film, “The Condemned 2,” which is scheduled for a November 2nd release.

Tom Phillips On His Job With WWE, Working With The Rock & More

WWE announcer Tom Phillips recently spoke with Penn State News about his career. Below are some of the highlights.

On working WWE commentary: “It may sound cliché, but I watch the WWE Network constantly. It could be matches from 1991, 1970 or as recently as 2010. I just like to listen to the ways commentary has changed through the years. On commentary, we try to really bring what’s happening to life. So you have to know the product, the superstars and history. It’s not always easy. At first it was like trying to learn Chinese and having no knowledge of how to speak Chinese. The difficult thing was finding my own voice, and it feels like I’m competing with myself every week to get better.”

On his goal coming out of Penn State in 2011: “I told myself I want to be the greatest broadcasting alumnus Penn State has ever had. That’s a really tall task, but I pursue that every single day. It’s beyond important for me to represent my school and my family.”

On working with The Rock in Philadelphia earlier this year, one of his career highlights: “In classic Rock fashion, he tore me to pieces. In my head I’m thinking about all those times he’d done that to someone else. I’m just trying to stay focused.”

On his job with WWE: “My job is to bring viewers information. My job is to make sure the show goes smoothly, point out what happened last week, mention what’s coming next. That’s my job. My job is just to be the professional.”

Check out the complete interview at PSU.edu.

Rumors On WWE Diva Search Host, Michael Cole Update, John Laurinaitis Praises Divas

– There is talk that a former WWE Diva Search contestant will be hosting the new season of the show when it returns on the WWE Network. The only former contestants of the show that are still affiliated with WWE in some form or fashion are Layla, Rosa Mendes, Maryse, Michelle McCool and Eve Torres.

– With Michael Cole off of television selling the attack by Brock Lesnar at last week’s RAW, the commentary on SmackDown this week was handled by Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler and Tom Phillips. Main Event commentary was done by Rich Brennan and JBL.

– WWE executive John Laurinaitis praised the efforts of Summer Rae and Emma on Twitter on Tuesday, putting over the match the two had in Dallas last night, which was taped for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. Laurinaitis wrote the following:

*Spoilers* WWE Main Event Taping Results For This Week

The following was taped on Tuesday night for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event in Austin, Texas.

– JBL and Tom Phillips came out to a good reaction from the crowd.

– Kofi Kingston def. Tyson Kidd with a roll-up after countering a Sharpshooter attempt. Adam Rose and Cesaro, who were at ringside, joined in to beat down The New Day afterwards.

– The Miz and Damien Mizdow def. Los Matadores when Miz hit his Skull Crushing Finale for the 1-2-3.

– Natalya def. Summer Rae in Divas action.

– Bray Wyatt def. Jack Swagger with his Sister Abigail finisher for the pin.

– The Usos def. Goldust and Stardust in a non-title match, which served as the main event of the taping.

The Boogeyman Sings Holiday Song (Video), Update On This Week’s NXT Show

– As noted, former WWE Superstar The Boogeyman was backstage at Monday’s RAW in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Boogeyman appeared on a WWE App video with WWE announcer Tom Phillips where he sang his own version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” You can check it out at WWE.com.

– Although it was previously confirmed that this Thursday’s NXT episode on the WWE Network will feature new matches, the official NXT Twitter account claims that the show will be a “2014 Year In Review” type of episode.

  • Photos Of THE BOOGEYMAN Backstage At Monday’s RAW WITHOUT His Makeup On!
  • AJ Lee Says She Doesn’t Have Any Friends, Stephanie McMahon Talks WWE 2K15 (Video)

    – WWE Diva AJ Lee recently quipped on Twitter that she “doesn’t have friends.” This fact was played up on the WWE App during RAW, with Lee talking about how she’s a loner in the WWE locker room.

    “That was a joke, but it’s funny ’cause it’s true,” Lee said to Tom Phillips. “Everyone knows that I don’t exactly have friends in the locker room and maybe that’s because I don’t like to [does mocking voice] talk about shoes, and clothes and boys! But sometimes, you gotta take what you can get.”

    – In the following video that was recently added to WWE’s YouTube channel, Stephanie McMahon discusses WWE 2K15, Sting and more.

  • WELL-KNOWN UFC Name In Police Standoff, VIDEO Of His Arrest + MUG-SHOT Photo!
  • WWE Announces Tom Phillips Has Joined The SmackDown Announce Team

    WWE.com announced that WWE broadcaster Tom Phillips is the latest addition to the weekly WWE SmackDown announce team.

    Phillips will join the SmackDown announce team, which consists of Michael Cole and JBL.

    “It was incredible to do that in front of the WWE Universe here in Phoenix,” Phillips told WWE.com after this week’s SmackDown taping had concluded. “They are loud, they are having a blast. Sitting out there with Michael Cole and JBL, they’re pretty intense, but it was fun, man. I was a little nervous, but it was fun.”

    For more information, check out the complete article over at WWE.com.

  • MMANEWS.COM: CM Punk To Fight MMA?, Jim Ross/UFC News + Ronda Rousey In WWE?!
  • Renee Young Comments On WWE Superstars Announcing Job, Debut Show

    Following the announcement that she would be joining the WWE Superstars commentary team, WWE broadcast member Renee Young tweeted the following:

    She also spoke about her debut alongside Tom Phillips.

  • MMANEWS.com: UFC 175 Pay-Per-View Coverage This Saturday!
  • WWE Announces Renee Young Has Joined WWE Superstars TV Announce Team

    The following is an excerpt from a new article on the official WWE website announcing Renee Young as the latest addition to the WWE Superstars television announce team:

    It’s impossible to escape Renee Young these days but, then again, why would you ever want to? Over the past year, the captivating Canadian has been seen and heard on WWE Network’s Raw Pre-Show and Backstage Pass, After Total Divas, the 30 Years of WrestleMania podcast series, pay-per-view Kickoffs, the Slammy Award-winning JBL & Cole Show and as a backstage interviewer on all of your favorite WWE shows — not to mention her color commentary gig on WWE NXT.

    Now, the always-busy Ms. Young prepares to make the next major leap in her burgeoning WWE career by joining Tom Phillips on the “WWE Superstars” announce team, becoming WWE’s first full-time female commentator in more than a decade.

    “I feel there is definitely a certain amount of pressure, not only as a performer and broadcaster but representing women who may not even know this is something that they want to do,” Renee told WWE.com. “I can show other women that if you’re not a Diva and you still want to be involved in WWE, there’s so much you can do. It’s definitely really cool to be in the position to create a bit of a niche for myself and other women.”

    Check out the complete article at WWE.com.

  • Steve Austin Calls TOP UFC Champion A “Hypocrite,” Says He’s ANNOYING! [Read »]
  • Tensai Gets Name Change?, NFL Star At NXT TV Taping, Today’s WWE Birthdays

    – WWE Superstar Tensai, who as previously reported is likely being transitioned into a television announcer, worked last night’s set of WWE NXT television tapings. Tensai was announced as Jason Alberts. Also on commentary last night were William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Alex Riley. The commentary team for the first set of tapings included Phillips, Saxton and Regal. The second set featured Phillips, Riley and Alberts.

    – Speaking of last night’s NXT television tapings, NFL star of the New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski was reportedly in attendance during the show.

    – There are several notable WWE Superstar birthdays today. WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T celebrates his 49th birthday today. Booker was born on March 1, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. (28), WWE Diva Emma (25) and former WCW star Scotty Riggs (43).

  • NEWS UPDATES: CM Punk’s WWE Status, Sting/WWE Plans, Kurt Angle At WMXXX? …