Tom Hannifan Recalls Some of His Favorite WWE Moments

– Speaking to Renee Paquette on a recent edition of Oral Sessions, new Impact Wrestling broadcaster Tom Hannifan, aka former WWE broadcaster Tom Phillips, discussed Mickie James appearing at the WWE Royal Rumble this year and surprises for the Rumble match, along with his favorite WWE moments. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Tom Hannifan if Mickie James in the Rumble could lead to future wrestling crossovers: “It depends. Moments like the Royal Rumble are the perfect opportunity for those things. So I wouldn’t be shocked if we got more surprises by the end of this month. We’ll see what happens there.”

On preferring surprises like Edge’s return at the Royal Rumble: “I like to be surprised. We talk about Edge returning at the Royal Rumble a few years ago and everyone’s mind was blown. You don’t have those moments all the time, but still, to get those instances where you feel like a kid again and you’re just transported to that moment when that person was really lighting the world on fire. And just to have them back for a few minutes, it’s amazing.”

On the show where he was “caked” in WWE: “My sister went to that show. So she’s sitting close to the hard camera, right? And she sees the cake thing happen and is like, ‘what is going on?’ And I didn’t know it was happening either. I was equally surprised. So I text her after the show and I was like, ‘how do I get cake out of a suit?’ And she was like, ‘I don’t have the answer to that.’ So I had to throw my suit in a trash bag, which we were in Philadelphia, thankfully right down the road for me. I threw it in a trash bag, but I didn’t come to the arena with a change of clothes. So I had to borrow basketball shorts and an undershirt from somebody, just so I could walk to the parking lot not in my underwear. And then coming home with a suit caked in a trash bag and going to a dry cleaner and being like, ‘please help me.’ So my sister got to see that.”

On his dad wanting a pancake from Big E from a WWE show he went to: “One of my favorite experiences, like, whenever my family would come, you know how it is with WWE. If there are seats open right behind the announce desk, they try to fill that in because it looks better. So my mom, my dad, my sister, and my brother, I think they all came, they were literally like three rows behind me to the point that I could just turn right around and they were right there. My dad is still texting me as the show is going on. And this is where New Day was throwing pancakes a lot. He was like, ‘can you grab a pancake from Big E?’ I’m like, ‘dad, you don’t want these pancakes. You don’t want them.’ He’s texting me saying, ‘we’re right behind you.’ ‘Dad, I know you’re right behind me.’ I turn around, there’s my dad waving. There’s nothing better.”