Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
Former WWE announcer Todd Grisham recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast about his history in pro wrestling. During the conversation, Grisham recalled getting hazed when he was new to WWE.
Grisham was warned that he would be tested and people would haze him, but it was chalked up to him being the new guy. Grisham said the Brooklyn Brawler (Steve Lombardi) started a rumor about him saying wrestling is fake. He says he went along with it, noting that he was told not to “sell” anything, and that led to him getting in the ring.
“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.”
Todd Grisham had to apologize for a rumor he didn’t even start
Grisham said Stone Cold Steve Austin took it easy on him and just told him to get out of the ring. Bubba Ray Dudley, however, took the joke seriously and made Grisham apologize to everyone, despite Lombardi having made up the rumor.
“I’m sure he won’t even mind me saying this, [Bubba] 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.”
Todd Grisham left WWE in 2011, and worked for ESPN and UFC since then. He currently works as a sports reporter for DAZN and Glory kickboxing.
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