Tom Hannifan discusses working in IMPACT Wrestling.
Hannifan, formerly known as Tom Phillips, spent several years with WWE. He started with the company in 2012, and he went on to work as a backstage interviewer and an announcer. Throughout his time with the company, he worked on SmackDown, 205 Live, Raw, and NXT UK at different points before he was released on May 27, 2021. He then signed with IMPACT Wrestling and debuted as part of the broadcast team at Hard To Kill 2022.
Speaking with SP3 for Tru Heels BTR, Hannifan reflected on his arrival in IMPACT Wrestling at Hard To Kill 2022. He described how he was emotional ahead of the show, as he didn't know what the landscape at the company would be like. As for this year's show, Hannifan described how he was fired up heading into it, and he believes IMPACT doesn't miss with its live events.
“I don’t get anywhere without my color commentator Matthew Rehwoldt, my producer Josh Mathews and then Scott D’Amore, who has been amazing to me over the past year. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little emotional and definitely fired up going into this year’s Hard To Kill. Debuting at last year’s Hard To Kill was extremely emotional. I was unsure what the landscape of IMPACT was gonna be like. I knew I’d have a lot of familiar faces around and some new faces as well, so it was nerve-racking. This year, it was like, 'Oh this is not, you know like old hat or anything, but it’s like we’ve been here before, but let’s just kill it.' To open and close the show, kinda like you said we book-ended the show so well with Bully Ray and Alexander, and then Mickie James and Jordynne Grace, you can’t ask for a better show. Then everybody else on the show just absolutely brought their A game, so I said a moment ago, but when IMPACT Wrestling is live, they don’t miss. It’s the best," Hannifan said.
Hannifan also discussed working with Matthew Rehwoldt, his partner on commentary, and looked back on their time together in WWE, where they were part of the broadcast teams for NXT UK and 205 Live. Following their respective releases, they both wound up in IMPACT Wrestling. Hannifan noted that he wanted to work with Rehwoldt again, and when IMPACT needed a new color commentator following D'Lo Brown's transition into a backstage role full-time, he got the opportunity to do so.
“It’s been a long road because it’s funny just how things work out. In WWE, he was on the heels of the whole Rusev angle and wasn’t really doing much. I remember speaking to Michael Cole and a bunch of other people saying, ‘Hey you know Matt can talk, Aiden can talk’. At the time, Aiden English, and they gave him an opportunity on 205 Live, and eventually he and I did NXT UK together as well. So, fast forward a number of years and we’re both in IMPACT Wrestling, my former co-host D-Lo Brown was transitioning into a strictly an off-camera and backstage role, so it was like, 'Okay, who’s gonna be the new color commentator?' I was like, well similar situation, Matthew was just off the heels of what happened ironically at Hard To Kill 2022 of he had been backing up Deonna Purrazzo and they were creatively moving in a different direction. I was like, ‘Well if he’s available, I already know what he’s like and it would be great to work with him’. So we did a taping towards the end of January ’22 in Fort Lauderdale and it was his first time doing commentary in about two years so for him, it was a re-learning experience and for me, it was kinda me getting back in the groove a little bit because I had still had six months away from wrestling. So I had D-Lo for literally one night, and then I think I worked with a dozen partners the night after. Then fast forward a handful of weeks, and I’m working with Rehwoldt again," Hannifan said.
Hannifan went on to note that it took them some time to fully click, but he feels confident in what they're doing now.
In a recent interview, Hannifan described how Bully Ray gets eyeballs on IMPACT Wrestling. Check out his comments here.
Kenny King recently announced that he re-signed with IMPACT. More information is available here.
Check out the card for this week's episode of IMPACT Wrestling by clicking here.
Thanks to Tru Heels BTR for sharing these quotes.
