 Tenay in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael William Tenay (1955-03-01)March 1, 1955 (age 70) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Mike Tenay |
| Debut | 1994 |
| Retired | 2016 |
Michael William Tenay (born March 1, 1955) is an Americanpodcastpresenter and retiredprofessional wrestlingplay-by-play announcer known for his time as an announcer forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, later Impact Wrestling). Tenay, according to Impact Wrestling, "is known as 'The Professor' for his extensive knowledge of the sport".[1] Former Impact WrestlingExecutive Producer and WCW presidentEric Bischoff has described Tenay as "a walking encyclopedia of knowledge".[2]
Tenay is a five-time recipient of theWrestling Observer award forBest Television Announcer, and was inducted into theImpact Hall of Fame (alongside longtime broadcast partnerDon West) in 2023.
Mike Tenay was born on March 1, 1955, inLos Angeles,California. In 1966, at age 11, Tenay began one of the country's first wrestling newsletters,Mat News. He also made audio recordings of Los Angeles wrestling programs and traded them with fans, a precursor to the tape traders who would follow. In the 1970s, Tenay wrote for theOlympic Auditorium's programs and several national wrestling magazines. After high school, he worked as a repairman and then a betting supervisor for a casino. From 1991–1995, Tenay talked about wrestling with the nationally aired late night sports talk radio show "Wrestling Insiders". He interviewed wrestling stars, includingJesse Ventura,Jim Cornette, andSting. His work on radio ledWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) to hire Tenay to work on the WCW Hotline and do his on-location radio broadcasts at WCW events. This led to Tenay’s first major announcing assignments within WCW.[3]
Mike Tenay made his World Championship (WCW) announcing debut during the WCW co-promotedAAA When Worlds Collidepay-per-view in November 1994.[4] Every announcer in WCW, including lead announcerTony Schiavone, declined to work the broadcast.[4] During this first broadcast, he and Chris Cruise called the match ofLos Gringos Locos (Eddy Guerrero andArt Barr) vs.El Hijo del Santo andOctagón, judged by theWrestling Observer Newsletter as a "legendary"five-star match.[5] Following the success of that event, WCW added more Mexicanluchadores to the roster, and Tenay would appear as a guest announcer during their pay-per-view matches due to his extensive knowledge of holds and maneuvers as well aslucha libre ring psychology. Tenay would later serve as a full-time play-by-play announcer for secondary television shows such asWCW Worldwide andWCW Saturday Night, where he was known as "Iron" Mike Tenay. He was also backstage interviewer forUncensored 1995.
On September 2, 1996 he was moved up to the main show,WCW Monday Nitro, where he served as a third commentator to the team originally consisting of play-by-play announcer Tony Schiavone and color commentatorBobby Heenan.[6] It was there that Schiavone gave him the nickname "The Professor" for his vast and impressive knowledge of the wrestling business, wrestling history, and wrestling maneuvers.[1]
In light of WCW addingThunder as another major weekly show in its lineup, the announce team was pulling double duty during the week. Tenay was named the lead announcer forWCW Thunder, with Schiavone and Heenan serving as the on-screen auxiliaries.[6] He remained an announcer with WCW until its purchase by theWorld Wrestling Entertainment in 2001.[6]
In early 2002, Tenay was approached byJeff Jarrett regarding the play-by-play announcer's slot withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Tenay became the voice of the upstart company when it launched in June 2002.[7] From that point onward, Tenay (now sporting a tuxedo at every event) became the voice of TNA, announcing the weekly pay-per-view events, every single episode ofImpact Wrestling (originallyTNA Impact!) andXplosion, and every monthly pay-per-view until 2015.[1]
Tenay's role for the company beyond that of play-by-play man has developed both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. After TNA decided to switch to a booking committee format in mid-2005, Tenay was named to the committee, enhancing his formerly modest influence behind the scenes.[8] Tenay also became the prominent on-screen personality for TNA, conducting interviews with Jeff Jarrett (who has labeled Tenay as "the voice of the fans") as well as making major announcements (such as the signing ofSting).
Josh Mathews took Tenay's place as commentator on weekly airings ofImpact Wrestling after its move fromSpike toDestination America in January 2015. Following this, he briefly hostedImpact Wrestling: Unlocked until its cancellation,[9] and sporadically appeared as backstage announcer or replacement commentator. As of December 2015, Tenay was still employed by TNA but had not appeared on television since July. Ahead ofImpact Wrestling's debut onPop in January 2016, Tenay said his future as an announcer onImpact Wrestling was uncertain.[10] In 2015, Tenay also inducted Jeff Jarrett into the TNA Hall of Fame.
In June 2016, Tenay appeared on an episode ofThe Ross Report podcast withJim Ross, where he explained that he had quietly departed TNA amicably and has retired from the wrestling business.[11]
On September 8, 2023 during Impact Wrestling'sVictory Road event, it was announced that Tenay and the late Don West would be inducted together into theImpact Hall of Fame to honor them being the promotion's original broadcast team.[12] Tenay and West were inducted into the Hall of Fame on October 21, 2023 during theBound for Glory event atCicero Stadium.
In August 2015, Tenay announced on former wrestlerTazz'spodcast the launch of his own podcast,Professor Vegas, throughCBS Radio'sPlay.it platform, due to launch on August 6 of that same year.[13] It would focus onsports betting, and feature Tenay's own expert analysis (he was abookie inLas Vegas for ten years, and a lifelong betting fan) along with interviews with professional gamblers, bookies, linesmakers and athletes.[14]
On July 22, 2016, Tenay tweeted "Sorry to report that I have not been able to reach agreement with CBS Radio for a second year of podcasts." The last recorded podcast was uploaded on June 14, 2016.[15]
He appeared in the video gameTNA Impact! as adownloadable character.[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | TNA Impact! | Himself/Announcer | |
| 2010 | TNA Impact!: Cross the Line | Himself |
Tenay has been married to his wife Karen since 1987.[17] They currently live inLas Vegas,Nevada.[17]
| Preceded by Inaugural | TNA Impact! lead announcer 2004–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | WCW Nitro co-announcer 1996–2000 | Succeeded by |