Ahead of major professional wrestling events, finishes are sometimes kept tightly guarded. In some cases, even key broadcast team members are left in the dark. That was the situation for Tom Hannifan during one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments of the modern era.
Before becoming TNA’s weekly play by play voice, Hannifan worked as a lead announcer for WWE. During a recent interview with “The Wrestling Classic,” he revealed that he did not know the outcome of Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 35.
“Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. I went into the show, they didn’t tell us the conclusion of the matchup. I had a feeling I knew which way it was going to go and I had two different calls kind of planned out if Daniel Bryan won or if Kofi Kingston won. So, you have a plan no matter where you’re going. But, that was very much organic and in the moment. And I didn’t believe it until the referee’s hand actually hit the mat because of the story that had been told for so long. But I was like, man, I wasn’t quite sure … that goes down as maybe my all-time favorite moment in my career in pro wrestling.”
Kingston defeated Bryan Danielson in a culmination of the “Kofimania” storyline, a months long fan driven movement that carried into WrestleMania. Hannifan’s reaction on commentary became part of that emotional moment, even though he was preparing for either outcome.
Hannifan remained with WWE for nearly a decade before being released on May 27, 2021. While he described the release as shocking, he has since found a new home with TNA Wrestling, where he calls weekly action alongside Matthew Rehwoldt, formerly known as Aiden English.
For Hannifan, few moments have matched the energy of that WrestleMania night. Even without knowing the finish ahead of time, he believes Kingston’s championship victory remains the defining highlight of his commentary career.
