It has been confirmed that Tom Hannifan, known as Tom Phillips in WWE, has signed with IMPACT Wrestling as their new play-by-play announcer.
On January 5th, Matt Striker announced in a since deleted tweet that he was leaving IMPACT Wrestling. The former WWE announcer had been commentating for IMPACT alongside D’Lo Brown since Hard To Kill 2021.
In the wake of his apparent departure, it was unclear who would be stepping into the announce booth for the 2022 edition of Hard To Kill which was just days away. However, fans can wonder no more, as it has been announced that Tom Hannifan, who it better known as Tom Phillips from his time in WWE, has signed with the company.
In breaking the news, Renee Paquette said that the signing was a “huge get” for IMPACT, while she confirmed that Hennifan will be appearing on an upcoming episode of her podcast. The news was quickly confirmed by IMPACT Wrestling.
.@ReneePaquette with some huge news!
We can confirm Tom Hannifan has joined IMPACT Wrestling as our newest play by play announcer!
Welcome to IMPACT Wrestling @TomHannifan! https://t.co/IfMn2GHMm3
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 8, 2022
Tom Hannifan left WWE in May 2021 after more than a decade with the company.
Hannifan began working for WWE in 2012 on the WWE app which then morphed two years later into the acclaimed WWE Network. Phillips’s broadcast career for WWE was varied with him taking on announce duties for Raw, SmackDown, NXT, NXT UK, and Main Event all at different times.
After a stint on NXT UK, Hannifan replaced Vic Joseph as the lead play-by-play announcer on Raw in January 2020. He fronted a team that mainly consisted of himself, Byron Saxton, and Samoa Joe for over a year before being replaced by Adnan Virk.
Hard To Kill 2022 will be headlined by the Ring of Honor World Championship match between Jonathan Gresham and Chris Sabin. Also on the card, Mickie James will defend her Knockouts Championship in a Texas Deathmatch against former champion Deonna Purrazzo.