Tom Phillips is reportedly gone from WWE. The longtime ring announcer was a fan favourite throughout his tenure at the promotion.
HE WAS SIGNED BY WWE IN 2012
Fightful was the first source to report the departure. While this is a huge surprise for fans of the promotion, reports were already floating around of another major departure in the commentary table. A few days back, Adnan Virk was also released, but Phillips’ case still seems to be a surprise to many.
His first broadcasting experience was as a public address announcer for a football game in his sophomore year of high school, where he also played backgammon and track and field. It was then he immediately knew he wanted to be in sports broadcasting. His quest to perfect his craft took him to Penn State Altoona and then Penn State main campus, majoring in broadcast journalism with an emphasis on sports broadcasting.
Phillips entered WWE in 2012, initially conducting backstage interviews for the WWE App on Raw and being the lead announcer on Superstars, Main Event and SmackDown. He also served as the Social Media Lounge host on all WWE pay-per-view pre-shows, until Fastlane 2017 when Charly Caruso took over the Social Media Lounge.
He was also, for a brief period of time, a part of a WWE on-screen storyline. In the summer of 2014, he entered the brief storyline. It was with Alicia Fox. As a part of the narrative, he was stalked and tormented by her on a number of occasions, ringside and backstage. He was, alongside Raw announcer Mike Rome, put into his list by Chris Jericho for interrupting his goodbye to RAW general manager Kurt Angle.
BOTH VIRK AND PHILLIPS WAS FIRED IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
In April 2021, it was announced that Phillips would be replaced by Adnan Virk in his role as play-by-play commentator for Monday Night RAW. However, Virk did not even cross double digits before leaving the company via mutual consent. Phillips, instead of being brought back, has been released as well, as part of the recent extensive firing of employees by the company. Jimmy Smith will be the one taking over the position instead.
