Tom Hannifan On His Relationship With Vince McMahon

In an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, former WWE commentator and new Impact Wrestling commentator Tom Hannifan was asked about his relationship with WWE owner and chairman Vince McMahon. Whereas many try to be a friend to McMahon, Tom Hannifan revealed he tried, and succeeded, in keeping the relationship between them as professional.

"Very professional," Hannifan said. "I know a lot of people wanted to make sure that they were very close friends with him or something like that. I just always treated everything like 'okay, you tell me what you want me to do, and I'll go do it. Period.' And I just left it at that. I always felt it was very professional and we understood each other. If he fed me something, he fed me something, but I just tried to keep it simple that way. My dad was a marine, so when I grew up he always taught me the value of being like 'go to work, do your job and do whatever they ask you to do.' And I took that personally."

Hannifan also told funny stories about his time in WWE. He recalled one instance where he accidentally referred to Cesaro by his real name during an interview, and jokingly stated he feared for his job following the incident.

"I remember doing something on the WWE app for all you crazy kids out there that remember that," Hannifan said. "I was interviewing Cesaro and I called him Claudio. And he just leans and he's like 'kayfabe!' And he walks out of the screen. And I was like 'I'm definitely fired. I'm absolutely fired.'"

Tom Hannifan, who worked in WWE under the name Tom Phillips, did admit a lot had changed in his life since his release from WWE in 2021, and that it was heartbreaking to leave the only job he had known. Ultimately however, he realized that all good things must come to an end, and it's okay when they do.

"There's a lot of stuff in my personal life that has changed," Hannifan said. "And in terms of leaving WWE, as I mentioned, this is all that I knew for nine years. I was heartbroken when that happened. So a lot happened in a very short span. If anything that this past year has taught me, it's the old cliche that good things come to an end. And that's okay."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription