Exclusive Interview: Sean Mooney On Life After WWE, Podcasting, MLW Radio, Conrad Thompson & More
Highlights from a July 2019 phone interview with the legendary WWE broadcaster.
In the late 1980s and/or early 1990s, if you were a fan of the WWE -- then known as the WWF -- then you ought to be very familiar with Sean Mooney. Mooney not only anchored the "Event Center" for WWF, but his other responsibilities for the McMahons included play-by-play announcing, conducting backstage interviews with wrestlers, and hosting a variety of releases for WWF's home video division known as Coliseum Video.
Mooney parted ways with the WWE in 1993, but he never stopped working as a broadcaster or on-air talent. Beyond returning to WWE over the years for the occasional cameo appearance, Mooney has worked with the likes of Fox Sports Arizona and News 4 Tucson for KVOA.
Around two years ago, seemingly out of nowhere, Mooney made a proper return to the wrestling world as a podcaster. As the host of Prime Time With Sean Mooney on the MLW Radio Network -- which he initially co-hosted alongside WWE Hall Of Famer "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan -- Mooney regularly speaks with pro-wrestling greats. The great response to Prime Time led Mooney to recently launch a second (non-wrestling-related) podcast titled Upside Of 40 With Sean Mooney. On the Upside Of 40, Mooney interviews experts who are there to help you live your best life possible.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Sean Mooney by phone in July 2019. Some highlights from our interview are transcribed below for your reading pleasure, while audio of the full chat -- joined in-progress, hence the initial laughing at the beginning -- is embedded below courtesy of YouTube. More on all things Sean Mooney can be found by following him on Twitter via @SeanMooneyWho.
You seem to be one of the people that nobody has a problem with in the business. You are occasionally popping up on WWE Network, you're cool with MLW... Is that a strategy? Or is it just organically that everyone kind of likes Sean Mooney?
Sean Mooney: No, I think they can only take so much, so I pop in and out. (laughs) "I can take so much Mooney... Take it easy, bring him back and it's like, 'Oh man, where'd he go? Oh I see him again." (laughs) Believe me there's no strategy at all. It's just that, I think that I've always been an honorable person and I think I'm OK to be around here and there and have made friends over the years and it's nice. I've got a lot going on and doing the podcast and being able to pop in and do these things, it's been great.
About your morning show, what market is that in? Phoenix?
Sean Mooney: No, I'm in Tucson, which is about 90 miles south of Phoenix. I think we're like the number 69 market or something like that, but it's where I grew up I grew up here and my family's here and I raised my kids here and it's just a nice community. It's always been home. I was gone for a long time. I was out east working for about 20 years and came back here '99 and now this is home.
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