Todd Grisham
Encyclopedia
Todd Grisham is an American
presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer. He is currently employed by ESPN
making him the third former WWE employee to join the sports network (the other two being Jonathan Coachman
and Max Bretos
) and the fourth overall to move into sports networks (behind Craig "DeGeorge" Minervini, Bretos and Coachman)
, Grisham was raised in Bay Minette, Alabama
and attended Baldwin County High School
for his freshman
year, where he played on the school's soccer team as a forward. His family relocated several times after his freshman year, and Grisham eventually graduated from Orange Park High School
in Orange Park, Florida
. Grisham attended Wingate University
on a soccer scholarship, later transferring to University of West Georgia
where he received his degree in communications
. His first professional job in the television industry was with KTVO
of Ottumwa, Iowa
where he worked for a year and a half. He then went on to work as a sportscaster
for KOLD-TV
Tucson for approximately five years before signing a two-year contract with WWE as an announcer, officially joining them on January 14, 2004.
, doing play-by-play alongside Jonathan Coachman
, Josh Mathews, and others for just over four years. Grisham also formerly co-hosted The WWE Experience
with Ivory
, but after her release from WWE, he hosted it alone until mid-2006, when Josh Mathews started hosting the show. Grisham also hosted WWE's premier web show, WWE Byte This!, which was canceled in 2006. In addition, he did backstage interviews for the Raw
brand. In 2005 Grisham also began hosting Raw's catch-up program WWE Bottom Line
after Marc Lloyd was released from the company, until September 2007 when Jack Korpela
started hosting the show.
Grisham also hosted WWE Unlimited segments, a web-only broadcast that allows viewers to witness events during commercial breaks of Raw. On May 1, 2006 Grisham called the main event on Raw, alongside Jerry "The King" Lawler
, filling in for Joey Styles
, who had just quit, in storyline.
During an episode of WWE.com's Byte This!, Grisham responded to a letter sent in by controversial superstar The Ultimate Warrior
where Warrior declined an invitation to come on the show to talk about his DVD The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. In the letter, Warrior insulted recovering cancer patient Bobby Heenan
and called Todd Grisham "gay". Grisham responded in good humor by saying he may have experimented in college, but that was no reason to call him that. Grisham also participated in a series of conversations on Byte This! with fans of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA) who interrupted the show to both proclaim TNA a superior product, or to insult Grisham directly when he chose to sugarcoat and dodge TNA related questions, Grisham retaliated with his own retorts, some humorous, and some hostile (once calling one TNA fan a "retard
"). He sometimes did respond to the questions however citing that TNA was not at the level that WWE was.
, who had become the Raw brand General Manager, and was paired with Tazz
, who was the color commentator. This announce team was short-lived, however, as Tazz moved over to SmackDown to fill in for Mick Foley (who was injured by Edge and then left the company) and Matt Striker moved back to ECW to take over Tazz's duties as color commentator.
Since then, their commentating had been highly praised by fans and Grisham and Striker even won the 2008 Slammy Award for Announce Team of the Year. During his run as ECW commentator he still conducted interviews on Raw and also became the new regular interviewer for SmackDown as Eve Torres
took a more in ring role. On April 4, 2009 Grisham would host the 2009 Hall of Fame
induction ceremony.
leaving the company. Play-by-play commentator Jim Ross
would now switch to color, thus replacing Tazz, and Grisham became the new play-by-play man. Grisham made his SmackDown debut as play-by-play commentator on April 10, 2009. On October 30, 2009, he was reunited with his ECW broadcasting partner Matt Striker, who was moved to SmackDown to replace Jim Ross.
During the December 7 tapings of Friday Night SmackDown, which aired on December 10, Grisham was replaced as SmackDown's play-by-play commentator by Josh Mathews, thus again ending his commentary partnership with Matt Striker. Despite he replaced as a Smackdown! Commantator, He was replaced with Michael Cole
on Smackdown and he would become a commentator on NXT and joined with Josh Matthews. After Season 4 of NXT, Josh Matthews was replaced by William Regal.
After becoming the lead play-by-play announcer for WWE NXT
for five months, it was announced on the August 23, 2011 edition that Grisham would be leaving WWE to pursue new interests. Grisham's last WWE appearance was on the August 26, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he interviewed Randy Orton
.
's Major League Soccer
broadcasts, working alongside Christopher Sullivan
for pre-game and post-game coverage of the network's Saturday night broadcasts until 2010, later picking up announcing duties for WWE NXT.
On August 24, 2011, a day after serving as NXT play-by-play commentator for the final time on the 23rd, it was announced that Grisham would be joining ESPN
.
On October 16, 2011, Todd would debut as a co-anchor for ESPNEWS
for the overnight hours of "Highlight Express" presenting live from 11p-2a ET and replayed until 7am ET and was joined by Adnan Virk. He would also do the morning sports updates for ABC's early morning program America This Morning and prepackaged reports for ABC O&O stations who do not have a morning sportscaster. He would later present ESPN again on October 18 co-presenting with Sara Walsh and would be named one of the official overnight anchors for ESPNEWS and will alternate to present updates for the ABC Stations and America This Morning
On November 10, 2011 Todd Grisham replaced Jon Anik
as the host of MMA Live
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer. He is currently employed by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
making him the third former WWE employee to join the sports network (the other two being Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
and Max Bretos
Max Bretos
Max Bretos is an American sports reporter, who currently works for ESPN. Bretos' broadcast specialization is soccer.Bretos attended the Judith Weston Acting Studio in Los Angeles, California, and formerly played for ....
) and the fourth overall to move into sports networks (behind Craig "DeGeorge" Minervini, Bretos and Coachman)
Early life
Born in Hattiesburg, MississippiHattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
, Grisham was raised in Bay Minette, Alabama
Bay Minette, Alabama
Bay Minette is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 7,820. According to the 2007 U.S. Census estimates, the city had an population of about 7,726 people. The city is the county seat of Baldwin County...
and attended Baldwin County High School
Baldwin County High School
Baldwin County High School is a public high school that serves grades 9-12 in Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Alabama, forming part of the Baldwin County Public Schools....
for his freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
year, where he played on the school's soccer team as a forward. His family relocated several times after his freshman year, and Grisham eventually graduated from Orange Park High School
Orange Park High School
Orange Park High School is a high school located in Orange Park, Florida. The athletic teams are known as the Raiders. In the 2008–2009 school year the school had nearly 3,000 students, increasing by 700 in just three years. However nearly 1000 students moved to the new Oakleaf High School for the...
in Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...
. Grisham attended Wingate University
Wingate University
Wingate University was founded by Baptists in 1896 as Wingate School, an independent, co-educational institution and became a four-year college in 1977. In 1996, Wingate College became Wingate University....
on a soccer scholarship, later transferring to University of West Georgia
University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia is a comprehensive doctoral-granting university in Carrollton, Georgia, approximately 45 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia. The University is built on 645 acres including a recent land gift of 246 acres from the city of Carrollton in 2003...
where he received his degree in communications
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
. His first professional job in the television industry was with KTVO
KTVO
KTVO is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Honey Lands area of Northeastern Missouri and Southeastern Iowa. Licensed to Kirksville, Missouri, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter northwest of Downing, Missouri along US 136...
of Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
where he worked for a year and a half. He then went on to work as a sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
for KOLD-TV
KOLD-TV
KOLD-TV is a full-service television station in Tucson, Arizona. It is the CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona, and is owned by Raycom Media. The station broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 32; it also carries Me-TV on digital subchannel 13.2...
Tucson for approximately five years before signing a two-year contract with WWE as an announcer, officially joining them on January 14, 2004.
Voice of Heat, Byte This and Bottom Line (2004–2008)
Grisham debuted in WWE in 2004 as the voice of WWE HeatWWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, doing play-by-play alongside Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
, Josh Mathews, and others for just over four years. Grisham also formerly co-hosted The WWE Experience
The WWE Experience
The WWE Experience, is a television program produced by WWE, Inc. which recaps events taking place on WWE Raw, and WWE SmackDown that started in May 2004.-History:...
with Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...
, but after her release from WWE, he hosted it alone until mid-2006, when Josh Mathews started hosting the show. Grisham also hosted WWE's premier web show, WWE Byte This!, which was canceled in 2006. In addition, he did backstage interviews for the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand. In 2005 Grisham also began hosting Raw's catch-up program WWE Bottom Line
WWE Bottom Line
WWE Bottom Line is a World Wrestling Entertainment syndicated television program which recaps events taking place on Raw. It replaced the WWE's previous syndicated highlight show, WWE Livewire...
after Marc Lloyd was released from the company, until September 2007 when Jack Korpela
Jack Korpela
Jack Korpela is an American presenter, commentator and interviewer best known for his previous work on ESPN as a motorsports announcer and currently, he is a play-by-play commentator for the SmackDown portion of the WWE's Internationally syndicated program, WWE Superstars, an interviewer for...
started hosting the show.
Grisham also hosted WWE Unlimited segments, a web-only broadcast that allows viewers to witness events during commercial breaks of Raw. On May 1, 2006 Grisham called the main event on Raw, alongside Jerry "The King" Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
, filling in for Joey Styles
Joey Styles
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales...
, who had just quit, in storyline.
During an episode of WWE.com's Byte This!, Grisham responded to a letter sent in by controversial superstar The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
where Warrior declined an invitation to come on the show to talk about his DVD The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. In the letter, Warrior insulted recovering cancer patient Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
and called Todd Grisham "gay". Grisham responded in good humor by saying he may have experimented in college, but that was no reason to call him that. Grisham also participated in a series of conversations on Byte This! with fans of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) who interrupted the show to both proclaim TNA a superior product, or to insult Grisham directly when he chose to sugarcoat and dodge TNA related questions, Grisham retaliated with his own retorts, some humorous, and some hostile (once calling one TNA fan a "retard
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
"). He sometimes did respond to the questions however citing that TNA was not at the level that WWE was.
ECW (2008–2009)
Grisham became the new play-by-play commentator for the ECW brand on the July 29, 2008 episode of ECW on Syfy. He replaced play-by-play commentator Mike AdamleMike Adamle
Michael David "Mike" Adamle is a sports personality and former National Football League player. He is best known as the co-host of American Gladiators series for seven years....
, who had become the Raw brand General Manager, and was paired with Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
, who was the color commentator. This announce team was short-lived, however, as Tazz moved over to SmackDown to fill in for Mick Foley (who was injured by Edge and then left the company) and Matt Striker moved back to ECW to take over Tazz's duties as color commentator.
Since then, their commentating had been highly praised by fans and Grisham and Striker even won the 2008 Slammy Award for Announce Team of the Year. During his run as ECW commentator he still conducted interviews on Raw and also became the new regular interviewer for SmackDown as Eve Torres
Eve Torres
Eve Marie Torres is an American dancer, model, and professional wrestler. She is working for WWE on Raw brand. She is a two time WWE Divas Champion.Torres began her career as a model and dancer...
took a more in ring role. On April 4, 2009 Grisham would host the 2009 Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
induction ceremony.
SmackDown, NXT and departure (2009–2011)
On April 7, 2009 episode of ECW Grisham and Striker's near 8 month commentary partnership came to an end as Josh Matthews became the new play-by-play commentator for ECW. This was due to TazzTazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
leaving the company. Play-by-play commentator Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
would now switch to color, thus replacing Tazz, and Grisham became the new play-by-play man. Grisham made his SmackDown debut as play-by-play commentator on April 10, 2009. On October 30, 2009, he was reunited with his ECW broadcasting partner Matt Striker, who was moved to SmackDown to replace Jim Ross.
During the December 7 tapings of Friday Night SmackDown, which aired on December 10, Grisham was replaced as SmackDown's play-by-play commentator by Josh Mathews, thus again ending his commentary partnership with Matt Striker. Despite he replaced as a Smackdown! Commantator, He was replaced with Michael Cole
Michael Cole
Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
on Smackdown and he would become a commentator on NXT and joined with Josh Matthews. After Season 4 of NXT, Josh Matthews was replaced by William Regal.
After becoming the lead play-by-play announcer for WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
for five months, it was announced on the August 23, 2011 edition that Grisham would be leaving WWE to pursue new interests. Grisham's last WWE appearance was on the August 26, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he interviewed Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
.
Sportscasting
In 2007, Grisham was named the host for Fox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
's Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
broadcasts, working alongside Christopher Sullivan
Christopher Sullivan (soccer)
Christopher Sullivan is a retired U.S. soccer midfielder/forward and current soccer trainer and sports broadcaster.-Youth and college:...
for pre-game and post-game coverage of the network's Saturday night broadcasts until 2010, later picking up announcing duties for WWE NXT.
On August 24, 2011, a day after serving as NXT play-by-play commentator for the final time on the 23rd, it was announced that Grisham would be joining ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
On October 16, 2011, Todd would debut as a co-anchor for ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
for the overnight hours of "Highlight Express" presenting live from 11p-2a ET and replayed until 7am ET and was joined by Adnan Virk. He would also do the morning sports updates for ABC's early morning program America This Morning and prepackaged reports for ABC O&O stations who do not have a morning sportscaster. He would later present ESPN again on October 18 co-presenting with Sara Walsh and would be named one of the official overnight anchors for ESPNEWS and will alternate to present updates for the ABC Stations and America This Morning
On November 10, 2011 Todd Grisham replaced Jon Anik
Jon Anik
Jon Anik is a former ESPN anchor and host of ESPN.com's MMA Live. He currently works for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a commentator.-Early life:...
as the host of MMA Live
MMA Live
MMA Live is a sports show about mixed martial arts. It is seen on ESPN2. The show features analysts such as Franklin McNeil, Pat Miletich, Kenny Florian and Rashad Evans. MMA Live was originally an Internet show, but made the move to television after positive reception...
.
Personal life
Grisham has an older brother named Jeff. Grisham became engaged to Alyson DeRenzis in June 2009; they are now married. Grisham also has a daughter, Mia Mae Grisham, which he announced on Twitter on June 11, 2011.Job titles
- HeatWWE HEATWWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
Play-by-Play Commentator (2004–2008) - Byte This! host (2004–2006)
- The Experience Host (2004–2006)
- The Bottom LineWWE Bottom LineWWE Bottom Line is a World Wrestling Entertainment syndicated television program which recaps events taking place on Raw. It replaced the WWE's previous syndicated highlight show, WWE Livewire...
Host (2004–2007) - Raw (Substitute) Play-by-Play commentator (2006)
- Raw (Substitute) Ring Announcer (2006, 2007)
- RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
Backstage Interviewer (2004–2009) - Fox Soccer Channel Host and Play-by-Play commentator (2007-2011)
- ECW Play-by-Play Commentator (2008–2009)
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown Backstage Interviewer (2009-2011)
- Friday Night SmackDown Play-by-Play Commentator (2009–2010)
- WWE SuperstarsWWE SuperstarsWWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
Play-by-Play Commentator (2009–2010) - WWE NXTWWE NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
Play-by-Play Commentator (2010-2011) - WWE Pay-Per-View Backstage Interviewer (2009–2011)
- ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
employee (host, MMA LiveMMA LiveMMA Live is a sports show about mixed martial arts. It is seen on ESPN2. The show features analysts such as Franklin McNeil, Pat Miletich, Kenny Florian and Rashad Evans. MMA Live was originally an Internet show, but made the move to television after positive reception...
) (2011-present)
Awards and accomplishments
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Worst Television Announcer - 2004 and 2006
- World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- Slammy AwardsSlammy AwardsThe Slammy Awards is a concept used by WWE, previously known as the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers...
for Best Announce Team (2008) - with Matt Striker
- Slammy Awards