Former WWE Commentator Feared They'd Be Fired For Calling Cesaro Wrong Name

About three weeks ago, Tom Hannifan (previously known as Tom Phillips in WWE) celebrated his first anniversary in the play-by-play announcer seat for Impact Wrestling. Joined by another former WWE announcer Matt Rehwoldt (the former Aiden English) Phillips' calls have given a fresh coat of paint to AXS TV's flagship show, one that comes with a lot of experience. But even with that experience, Phillips is human and makes mistakes. In an interview with Stephanie Chase, Phillips was asked about just that: What are the biggest slip-ups he's made on commentary?

"Oh, I've messed up plenty of moves over the years," he said. "But I have slipped up on a name. I slipped up on Cesaro once upon a time. I was on the WWE app for anybody that remembers that and I called him 'Claudio' to his face. And he leaned in, and he went 'KAYFABE!' And I started sweating and turning beet red, and the second the camera went off, I'm like, 'I'm getting fired. I know I'm getting fired.' This was before 2015, I didn't even have a beard or hair at that point in time, so I was pretty sure I was dead in the water. Somebody, I'm sure, can find that clip. But yeah, I called Cesaro 'Claudio' just because I got into a groove with certain people where I called them by their name because they're real people."

Phillips did laugh at the notion that he'd be correct if it happened now since Claudio Castagnoli left WWE for AEW and returned to wrestling under his real name.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Stephanie Chase YouTube channel with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.