Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
It seemed like a decent decision on paper. The WWE announced the hiring of former American Gladiators announcer…Mike Adamle in 2008. In the 7 seasons he anchored American Gladiators…Adamle showed a keen knowledge and pacing in broadcasting. While Adamle had zero background in professional wrestling, his skill level in broadcasting was pretty solid. Not only did he do Gladiators…he also worked for ESPN, the USFL and even the XFL.
The WWE were in search of a new voice for the company. Jim Ross was seemingly being phased out. A few years earlier, (2005 to be exact) Vince McMahon tried to hire UFC announcer Mike Goldberg to a lucrative 6 figure deal to announce on Monday Night Raw. When Goldberg turned them down, the search went on….Enter Mike Adamle.
When Adamle was signed…it actually made the mainstream media’s news. He was to debut at The 2008 Royal Rumble. He would start out as an interviewer and surely, but slowly creep into the lead announcer’s role. There was just one problem with that plan…he “botched” a wrestler’s name only 6 seconds into his debut.
As you could see above…calling Jeff Hardy…Jeff HARVEY…was just the beginning of countless botches he would make in his WWE tenure. It was that initial flub, however that set the tone for Adamle’s brief…yet tumultuous WWE stay. Once he blurted out the wrong name…his credibility was instantaneously shot….
……..but was it justified?
Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not…Ladies and gentlemen…I give you a gif circa 1994. It was during an episode of WWF Superstars where a young, 16 year old Jeff Hardy wrestled as a jobber under the moniker “Jeff HARVEY.”
I can assure you that name wasn’t photo shopped….if you don’t believe me, rent “A Twist Of Fate: The Matt And Jeff Hardy Story” DVD….that exact scene appears around the one hour and 8 minute mark.
Jeff Hardy was indeed…Jeff Harvey for at least one match in the WWE. So technically, Mike Adamle wasn’t wrong. He was just 14 years late calling him that name. It was obvious from the second he “screwed” up the name, the thunderous boos from fans rattled him and he never recovered.
Mike Adamle became a running joke within WWE for the remainder of his time with the company. Vince tried to salvage the Mike Adamle experiment by making him an on screen character…the Raw General Manager to be exact. The problem was, no matter what role he was put in, Adamle stuttered, stammered and continually botched names and moves. He eventually left the company that same year in 2008.
At the time, fans were somewhat relieved that they no longer had to watch and listen to Adamle bomb on air. It was simply chalked up that Adamle just wasn’t familiar with WWE’s product. After leaving the WWE he returned to his natural roots….sportscaster. Adamle worked as a sportscaster for NBC 5 Chicago until his retirement in 2017.
Sadly, Mike Adamle revealed that he suffered from Epilepsy and eventually was diagnosed with dementia. He believed it was all due to a number of undiagnosed concussions he suffered during his years playing football. The once running joke in WWE, suddenly wasn’t funny anymore.