Todd Grisham Discusses Getting Hazed After Joining WWE, How He Was Taught Not To ‘Sell Anything’

During a recent interview with Insight With Chris Van Vliet, former WWE broadcaster and announcer Todd Grisham recalled first joining WWE in the early 2000s and how he dealt with being hazed behind the scenes.

Grisham also shared his thoughts on how social media influencer Logan Paul has taken to being a WWE Superstar. Below are some highlights from Insight:

Todd Grisham on Getting Hazed in WWE

“They’re like, ‘Look, you’re the new person. People are going to haze you. They’re going to do dumb things. They’re going to test you, play practical jokes on you. That’s what the boys like to do. They’re bored all day waiting around, you’re the new guy, whatever. So just don’t sell anything. If someone says you said something, go, okay.’ The Brooklyn Brawler was the backstage guy that kind of helped run the interviews behind the scenes, and he started telling a rumor to everybody that I say wrestling is fake, the new kid’s here, and he says that wrestling is fake. So people were coming up to me, going, ‘Hey, man, you working? You really think wrestling’s fake?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think wrestling’s fake.’ Because if you say no, they’re gonna say, ‘Are you calling this veteran of 20 years a liar?’ So I was just like, yeah, yeah. So then somebody, they’re doing the practice matches in the ring, and then somebody goes, ‘Hey, that’s the idiot that says wrestling’s fake, bring him into the ring.’ I’m like, oh god. So I get into the ring, and Jazz was in there. She’s like, ‘You really think that?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think wrestling looks fake.’ So next thing you know, Batista is in the ring, and they’re like, ‘Give him a Power Bomb, Batista.’ And I’m like, Oh my god.

“So Batista sets me between his legs, grabs my underwear and freaking rips them straight up. Just like a saw going, and he keeps acting like he’s gonna do it right, and I’m scared to death, and thank God he didn’t Power Bomb me, but my freaking butt crack was bleeding afterwards, raw as hell. I remember Hardcore Holly getting in my face going, ‘You think this is fake? I’ll kill you in the parking lot right now.’ I never backed down saying wrestling was fake. I remember after I was in the ring, and finally Stone Cold walked out, and they go, ‘Stone Cold, what do you think about that? Him saying that?’ And Stone Cold, to his credit, was like, ‘God damn, get the hell out of my ring. Just get him out of the ring.’ Someone told Bubba Ray Dudley this, and Bubba Ray Dudley, I’m sure he won’t even mind me saying this, is the biggest asshole the WWE has ever seen. Everyone else was kind of in on the joke. He treated it like it was the real deal. He was like, ‘You got to go apologize to every single one of these people. You don’t belong here. You should never be hired.’ He was very serious. And I remember thinking, bro, come on, I’m 27 years old, I’m not saying anything, and he just berated me in front of people, like I thought he was gonna get physical with me.”

His Thoughts on Logan Paul in WWE

“Man, it’s incredible. You’d have more insight than I would. But I mean, he’s a freak of nature athletically, he’s willing to do moves that a lot of guys aren’t willing to do and nail them. He’s got, obviously, the charisma and the personality to carry it. If you didn’t know that he was a celebrity making the crossover, I think you’d say he’s a lifer.”