Sean Edmund Mooney (born May 21, 1959) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
news anchor
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
and former
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWF, now WWE)
play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event.
Television and other media
Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...
. He now works as an anchor for
KVOA
KVOA (channel 4) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on West Elm Street north of downtown Tucson, and its primary transmitter is ...
, the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate in Tucson, Arizona and the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
. He was born in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
.
WWF career
Mooney debuted on the May 15, 1988 edition of ''
WWF Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
'', replacing announcer Craig DeGeorge.
During his time in the WWF, Mooney's primary duties included play-by-play announcing for matches aired on ''
Prime Time Wrestling
''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...
'', ''
WWF Mania
''WWF Mania'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on Saturday mornings on the USA Network between 1993 and 1996 and summarized the weekly events in WWF programming. In ...
'', ''
WWF All-American Wrestling'', as host of
Coliseum Video
WWE Home Video is a video distribution and production company that distributes WWE programming. A division of WWE formed on April 16, 1997 as WWF Home Video, it replaced a similar independent company owned by Evart Enterprises, Coliseum Video, ...
releases (where he also provided commentary for "exclusive" matches), and hosting the "Events Center" segment during the WWF's
syndicated TV shows, such as ''
WWF Superstars
is a List of wrestling video games, wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcade game, arcades in 1989. It is the first WWE, WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the WWF Superstars (Game ...
'' and ''WWF Wrestling Challenge''. The "Event Center" was a segment used to promote feuds and house shows. During a moment where Earthquake squashed
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
’ pet snake Damian, cuts were made to Mooney in the "Event Center" to censor out the moments of impact. Mooney made his pay-per-view debut at
the first SummerSlam in August 1988 as an interviewer.
On occasion, Mooney portrayed his fictional siblings, an
identical twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
sister named Betty on ''Prime Time Wrestling'' (alongside heel wrestlers including
Sensational Sherri
Sherry Schrull ( née Russell; born February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri.
Martel began her professional wrestling career in t ...
) and identical twin brother Ian Mooney while co-hosting ''
Wrestling Spotlight''. Mooney's last major appearances were at
the 1992 Survivor Series and early episodes of ''
WWF Monday Night Raw'', with his actual last appearance on WWF TV as the host of the countdown show to
WrestleMania IX
WrestleMania IX was the ninth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 4, 1993, at Caesars Palace in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradi ...
. In April 1993, his contract expired and he opted not to renew it.
He was replaced by
Todd Pettengill
Todd Clark Pettengill (born April 18, 1966) is a former American radio disc jockey who most recently worked for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. From 1993 to 1997, he also served as an on-screen backstage interviewer for the World Wrestling Federa ...
as an interviewer and Event Center personality and by
Gorilla Monsoon
Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker.
Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...
on ''WWF Mania'' and ''WWF All-American Wrestling'' for play-by-play.
Later appearances
He reappeared on WWE TV in October 2005, during the pre-show to ''WWE Raw''s "
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia.
...
" to the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
. The pre-show simply ran through some past moments of ''RAW'' on the USA Network, with several people involved with the WWE during the first years of ''Monday Night Raw'', including Mooney, sharing their memories of the WWE during that period.
Mooney once again returned to WWE on July 23, 2012, for the 1,000th episode of ''Raw'' by interviewing
Daniel Bryan backstage.
Mooney returned again on the “Old School” edition of ''
The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness
Edge & Christian (E&C) were a Canadian professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where they won the WWF Tag Team Championship on ...
'' and later in a 2017 DVD release called ''WWE Unreleased 1986–1995'' co-hosting with Charly Caruso. Mooney also appeared on the Top 25 Raw moments celebration which was shown on the WWE Network on January 15, 2018.
Pre and post-WWF career
Mooney worked as an on-camera host and producer for
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
Productions in the early 1980s before working for the WWF. In 1994, he became an anchorman for
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Te ...
, based in
Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,[Ernie Anastos
Ernie Anastos (born July 12, 1943) is an American news anchor and the host of the show ''Positively America with Ernie Anastos''. He anchored the news at 6 p.m. on WNYW in New York City. He was also the anchor of the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Fo ...]
. He moved that year to
WBZ in Boston where he served as anchorman for just under a year.
Mooney has been a reporter with
Fox Sports Arizona
Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts pro ...
since July 2000 focusing on
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
football and basketball. In 2010, he presented Fox Sports coverage of Rugby around the world and the Rugbyville USA camp in
Glendale, Colorado
The City of Glendale is a home rule municipality located in an exclave of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 4,613 at the 2020 United States Census. Glendale is an enclave of the City and County of Denver and i ...
.
He was hired by
KVOA
KVOA (channel 4) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on West Elm Street north of downtown Tucson, and its primary transmitter is ...
TV in 2012 to become a weekend news anchor for News 4 Tucson.
He also hosts a podcast on the MLW Radio Network called Prime Time with Sean Mooney, which was co-hosted by former WWE wrestler
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan for its first 18 episodes.
On July 13, 2018, it was announced Mooney will commentate the
ALL IN broadcast with
Don Callis
Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager, color commentator, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the on-screen manager of K ...
,
Ian Riccaboni
Ian Riccaboni (born January 13, 1987) is an American sportscaster and author, currently signed to Ring of Honor.
Personal life
Riccaboni was born January 13, 1987 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Salisbury High School in Salisbu ...
,
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
, Alicia Atout,
Justin Roberts
Justin Jason Roberts (born December 29, 1979) is an American professional ring announcer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Roberts regularly announced for its pay-per- ...
, and Bobby Cruise.
On January 27, 2020, it was announced that Mooney would be joining the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
broadcast team. He debuted on the January 28 episode of
NWA Powerrr
''NWA Powerrr'' is a professional wrestling streaming television program produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that premiered on October 8, 2019. The series currently streams on FITE TV, where episodes are also made available on-deman ...
interviewing
Nick Aldis
Nicholas Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is also known for his time in Impact Wrestling under the ring name Magnus.
Aldis made his debut on t ...
.
References
External links
Prime Time with Sean Mooney on MLW Radio Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Sean
1959 births
American color commentators
American podcasters
Living people
Television personalities from Phoenix, Arizona
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling podcasters
Television anchors from Boston