Todd Grisham Interview

Todd Grisham, formerly of KOLD-TV in Tucson, was recently rumored to have signed a two year contract with World Wrestling Entertainment to be an announcer. We promised to attempt to get Grisham to agree to an exclusive interview and here it is!



Mark: I understand you recently were contacted by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and the word (rumor mill - online) is that you have agreed to and signed a two year contract to announce with WWE in some capacity. Can you confirm and or deny this rumor for our readers?

Todd: As Kurt Angle would say......"Oh, it's true.....it's true." Although I don't want to get into the contract stuff.



Mark: That is understandable. Now you have worked in Tuscon, Arizona for the past 5 years based out of KOLD-13 as a sports anchor covering college sports, how has the experience of working in Tuscon been for you personally and professionally?

Todd: First of all, you can't beat the weather and the scenery here, it's amazing!

If you've never been to Arizona you should try and check it out. I've lived all over the country and this is by far the most beautiful place I've been. As for the job, I got to cover some amazing stuff.

The 2001 World Series, when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankess, the 2001 Final Four when Arizona lost to Duke, the 2003 Fiesta Bowl when Ohio State beat Miami for the National championship. Not to mention the PGA Tour, NBA, NHL, NFL...etc.

Covering the pro stuff was fun, and following the Arizona Wildcats basketball team is a blast, but my favorite thing to cover was high school football. We did a crazy Friday night football show during the H.S. season. We'd have marching bands come in to the studio, cheerleaders would drop by and every show would start out with some outrageous skit we put together. Basically we just had a lot of fun and I got to act like a retard (which I'm very good at by the way.)



Mark: I understand you grew up in Alabama (Lower Alabama) but were born in Mississippi, yet earned a scholarship to Wingate University in North Carolina only to transfer to West Georgia University. My question is, what team do you typically root for during the college season?

Todd: Considering my alma mater, West Georgia is a Division two school, I don't get the chance to see them. I lived in Tuscaloosa for a while and my brother went to Alabama, so usually I pull for the Crimson Tide. However when it comes to basketball it's all about the Arizona Wildcats.



Mark: I understand you also worked in Ottumwa, Iowa (your first job). In your bio on the KOLD-13 web page it quotes you as saying there isn't much to talk about Ottumwa, Iowa outside of "corn fields". Is there more to Ottumwa then "corn fields"?

Todd: There were a lot of fat people...and I'm not making that up! According to a study by some health organization, the county I lived in had the largest obesity rate per capita in the entire nation! So being large in Ottumwa was in style. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Also comedian Tom Arnold grew up there (note his weight).



Mark: Exactly how did you get in contact with WWE to get signed by them?

Todd: A buddy of mine saw that WWE had an opening and thought because of my on-air personality here at KOLD-TV thought it would be perfect for me.

I sent in a tape and resume back in May or June and after an interview in October they offered me the job.

Apparently they got over a thousand tapes so I consider myself very lucky. I've always loved watching wrestling and as a little kid I used to call the action right by the television using a hairbrush for a microphone. (Or so my mom tells me)



Mark: Were you a huge fan of wrestling as a kid?

Todd: I was a HUGE fan when I was a kid. When "Saturday Night Main Event" would come on I would shoot milk out of my nose I was so excited.

The sport has changed a lot since then. I'm getting back into it now. I've really enjoyed it the last few years. There was a time there in the late 90's that I didn't keep up with it that much. I was too busy chasing girls. But now I'm back into it. Although I still manage to find time for the ladies.



Mark: What are your major influences in your chosen profession?

Todd: To me wrestling is the ultimate trash talking sport and the ultimate trash talker is Ric Flair.

I love him. "To be the man, you've got to beat the man." It doesn't get any better.

As far as commentators.... Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon have always been my favorites. Bobby the Brain and Jerry the King are great color guys too.

Unlike in other sports, I don't recall any WWE announcers that really annoy me. Hopefully I won't be the first.



Mark: If you were in charge of making major political decisions (such as the President has to make on a daily and weekly basis) would you have made any of the recent decisions any differently? I.E. the decision to go to war with Iraq?

Todd: Don't ask me about that kind of stuff. I have a hard time deciding whether I should get up and go to the bathroom or go back to sleep.

All I know is that everyone wants to save the world but no one wants to help mom with the dishes.



Mark: Well I would like to thank you for your time. And would like to give you a chance to give us some personal reflections and or thoughts on your current situation and where you want to be in ten years from this point.

Todd: Well I'm 28 now and if I stay focused and do my best, ten years from now I have a chance to be 38.

Seriously though, this really is a dream opportunity for me and I'll do my best not to blow it. Hopefully in 10 years I can be one of the main announcers for "Raw" or "Smackdown"......or who knows maybe I can be the next Eric Bischoff.

I'll take it day by day and just try to learn everything I can along the way. And at the same time try not to get punched in the face.