Former WWE Announcer Joins Impact’s Announce Team

Renee Paquette took to Twitter earlier today and revealed that her friend and former WWE announcer, Tom Hannifan (Tom Phillips), will be joining Impact for commentary during tonight’s Hard To Kill event.

Paquette writes, “Huge news!! @TomHannifan joins @IMPACTWRESTLING as their newest play-by-play announcer at Hard To Kill! What a pick-up for them! I have Tom’s first interview this coming Tuesday on The Sessions!! @TheVolumeSports.”

Hannifan was also spotted in Dallas this morning, leading to some speculation prior to the announcement, according to PWInsider. He replaces Matt Striker on the announce team who, as we noted, revealed earlier this week that he is done with Impact Wrestling.

“I am disappointed that my time with #ImpactonAXSTV is done,” Striker wrote on Twitter. “I REALLY enjoyed that locker room. Thanks for allowing me to tell your story. Thanks, everyone. Stay safe.”

D’Lo Brown, however, will remain on the commentary team and will be beside Hannifan to call the play-by-play for Hard To Kill. The duo will be the new team going forward on Impact on AXS TV as of this Thursday’s episode.

Hannifan, age 32, was a part of WWE’s staff from 2012 through May 2021 when he was released by the company along with multiple other employees. At that time, his roles included producing and managing announcers as Senior Manager of On-Air Talent under Michael Cole.

After his departure from WWE, Tom Hannifan transitioned into the world of college football when he became a host for Paydirt: A Penn State Football Podcast.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Releases Tom Phillips

Longtime WWE announcer Tom Phillips is reportedly no longer with the company.

While not officially announced by WWE as of this writing, Fightful reports that Phillips has been let go. Nick Hausman noted on The Wrestling Inc. Daily on Thursday that there was another major departure expected on the WWE commentary team.

There is no word yet on details surrounding the departure.

Phillips signed with WWE in 2012. He has done work on just about every WWE TV show, including WWE NXT, 205 Live, Main Event, RAW and SmackDown. He has also hosted WWE YouTube and WWE Network shows, and done behind-the-scenes work. Tom was replaced by Adnan Virk as the lead RAW announcer the night after WrestleMania 37. Virk left the company this week after less than two months on the job, and is being replaced by Jimmy Smith.

Tom recently changed his social media handles to show his real name, Tom Hannifan. His bio lists him as a “WWE Broadcaster & Producer.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tom Phillips Joins NXT UK Announce Team

Former SmackDown announcer Tom Phillips has crossed the pond to begin his new role as a member of the NXT UK commentary team.

In an image shared on Twitter by TWM Wrestling, Phillips can be seen sitting at the announce desk alongside Nigel McGuiness during an NXT UK Live show in Essex.

As we previously reported, Phillips will no longer be the lead announcer on SmackDown. That role will now be filled by Michael Cole starting tonight with the debut of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

Check out the image of NXT UK’s new announce team below.

https://twitter.com/TWMWrestle/status/1180190910493216770

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet