I did the 1972 Sapporo Games, and I was also the Reds announcer and was folded into the NBC coverage for the 1972 World Series. I also did the 1979 World Series for ABC.
Nobody, but nobody stays a public-address announcer for more than a couple of years. Truly. Public-address announcing is not a career. Public-address announcers only work 81 days a year, so you don't make a living.
That's what cool about me being here and still being in the wrestling business. I can still give back, even being in the announcer's booth. I still feel like I'm a role model and I have a job to do.
Actually, a person asked me if I was ever going to come back to WWE. I told them that if I came back, it probably wouldn't be as WWE Superstar, because the young guys are really what it's all about. Bringing me back as an announcer is a great position for me to actually go out and make the young guys bigger stars.
Many times, I would be on live television and have no idea what the next match is, and I'd have no clue who was coming out next. The last person to know is always the announcer, and it's always your fault if you make a mistake - even if you didn't know. I was always on top of everything and never said the wrong name or the wrong town.
I honestly was supposed to always be a wrestler. I was never hired into any business as an announcer. That was just something I ended up falling into.
I spent a lot of time wrestling at NXT. That was not seen because I was also an announcer. When you're an announcer, they try to protect you and make sure you don't get hurt or injured, or anything that would hinder you from your TV work.
Garbage. It's a natural quality of huskiness in the midrange of my voice that I call 'garbage.' It's not a clear-toned announcer's voice. It's more like the voice of the guy next door.
I do something that I don't think anyone else does. I warm up before a game. Baseball and basketball players warm up, so why shouldn't the announcer warm up?
I didn't get into acting to be a public service announcer or an advocate and yet, by virtue of this show and how we handle the subject matter that we've been given, that's kind of how it's evolved in certain ways.
