How much creative freedom does Tom Hannifan receive as a commentator for IMPACT Wrestling?
The voice of the weekly IMPACT on AXS TV show and IMPACT Wrestling premium live events recently spoke about this during an appearance on the VL Media podcast.
Featured below are some of the highlights.
On how he doesn’t have to talk with WWE verbiage anymore: “I do think I have changed the way I do things. The biggest change, I think, is that I don’t have to talk with the WWE verbiage. When you do commentary for WWE, there are certain words, certain phrases, that you are forced to use because that’s how they want to promote their product on the air. Not having those rules at Impact allows me to show more of myself on the air. People don’t hear Tom Phillips anymore, they hear Tom Hannifan. I am really myself at Impact.”
On how he is grateful for the chance to strengthen his game in IMPACT: “I think that it allows me to be more authentic on the mic. Then, because of Impact, I can afford to try some things on the air that I couldn’t do at WWE. The fact that our shows are taped helps because we can see what works and what doesn’t. If I try something that doesn’t work, I’ll be able to see it and correct myself. Moreover, if I try something that doesn’t really work, we can always change it in post-production. Those who watched Hard to Kill 2023 could see that I used some pretty crude language for the Full Metal Mayhem match. That’s a style of commentary I could have never done in WWE. I’m grateful for the chance to do that at Impact. When the timing is right, it’s fun to be able to announce matches of our era with an “old school” style of commentary.”
Check out the complete interview at VL-Media.fr. H/T to WrestlingHeadlines.com for transcribing the above quotes.
