David Penzer On What Shane McMahon Said To Him At Final Nitro, Backstage Atmosphere At End Of WCW
Global Force Wrestling ring announcer David Penzer was a guest on the Wrestling Inc. Podcast on Wednesday where he talked about Shane McMahon praising him at the final WCW Monday Nitro in March 2001.
"When I got done after the show, Shane McMahon actually pulled me aside and said 'Hey you did a really good job out there.' I figured at least that part worked," said Penzer. "I had discussions with WWF at the time about a couple different times for a couple different things but it just never worked out for various reasons. The fact I went out there and gave it my all and the son of the boss pulled me aside, was at least I achieved my goal. At least I went out there and showed them something."
WrestlingINC.com owner Raj Giri asked Penzer what it was like backstage leading up to the end of WCW.
"You know, you're hoping for the best," Penzer explained. "Back then I was working in the office too, assistant to talent relations and I was sitting in on booking meetings, junior booking person and working for John Laurinaitis and talent relations and Terry Taylor so we were just kind of doing our jobs, hoping for the best. We didn't know.
"The Internet wasn't like it is now, you couldn't turn on your cellphone and get instant access. It was almost like a different world where you didn't get immediate feedback. Social media, Twitter, everything's immediate so we didn't have a choice. We just kind of went about our business and hoped for the best. But there was definitely an underlying sense that things weren't looking good. But again, it was a totally different world. You got up and read USA Today to get the news."
Penzer worked for WCW from the early 1990's through the Monday Night Wars as the company's ring announcer. He was with the company until its end before he went on to work for Jimmy Hart's Xcitement Wrestling Federation and then TNA Wrestling until 2010. He returned to Impact this April as the ring announcer.
You can listen to David Penzer's complete interview on the Wrestling Inc. Podcast in the video embedded above. If you use any quotes from this article, please be sure to credit the Wrestling Inc. Podcast.
The Wrestling Inc. Podcast airs post-WWE PPV Sundays immediately following the event with Matt Morgan, Glenn Rubenstein and Raj Giri. On Mondays immediately following WWE RAW with Matt Morgan, Glenn Rubenstein and Raj Giri and on Wednesdays at Noon ET with Raj Giri and Glenn Rubenstein. Episodes episodes are available by clicking here.