10 Times Wrestling Announcers Really F*cked Up

6. Michael Buffer Fluffs Bret Hart’s Name Twice

Triple H Michael Cole Tom Phillips
WWE Network

Ring announcers aren't safe here either.

Michael Buffer's rich voice and shouts of, "Let's get ready to rumble" added so much credibility to WCW main events during the 90s. His calls made pay-per-view headliners feel like a big deal, so one can only imagine the annoyance backstage when Buff fudged Bret Hart's name not once but twice.

Yes, twice. Buffer hyped up Bret's achievements and called him the "master of the Sharpshooter" before a match with DDP on the 28 October 1998 Nitro. Weirdly, despite reading from cue cards, the announcer then finished his spiel by calling the legend "Bret Clark".

Months later, whilst announcing a match on the 4 February 1999 Nitro, Buffer said the winner would go on to SuperBrawl and face "Bret 'Hitman' Clark". Was this a rib? How could Michael possibly get this wrong twice, especially when he was reading from cards.

Hart's face on the October '98 show was a picture. He had come to expect this sort of thing from WCW.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.