I was a ring announcer for the WWF from 1983 to 1995, and a few years ago I was asked to announce matches inside the Octagon for an MMA Card at the San Jose Area, home of the San Jose Sharks.
At the end of one of the fights, I walked over to the judges’ table, as I was instructed to do, to receive the scores and the winner’s name.
I came back tot he center of the ring, and as both fighters—along with their corner people and the referee for that particular fight—waited for the decision, which was unanimous, I proceeded to announce the wrong fighter as the winner. The winner’s name was right in front of my eyes, and all I had to do was read it. But I announced the losing fighter as the winner. As the fans in attendance started to boo, all I could think of was if I could climb up and over the Octagon cage and run away, I would have. But I couldn’t; I had to stand there. After the boos dissipated, I corrected my mistake and announced the correct winner of the fight.
This incident happened at the same time that Southwest was promoting possibly their first “Wanna Get Away” campaign. I have told this story probably 50 times, and I always say that it truly was my “Wanna Get Away” moment.
... View more
