WWE announcer Tom Phillips has reportedly been released after almost a decade with the company.

The news has not officially been announced yet. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful first broke the news on Thursday, before many outer outlets confirmed the story.

Phillips - whose real name is Tom Hannifan - first got his break in WWE as a backstage interviewer in 2012 before becoming an integral part of the announce team.

He boasts a pretty incredible achievement of having spent time on commentary for every weekly show WWE produces, with tenures on RAW, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK and Main Event.

Most recently, Phillips was the lead announcer on RAW, holding that position from January 2020 to April 2021. 

He was replaced by Adnan Virk following WrestleMania 37, but he only lasted eight weeks in the job before mutually parting ways with WWE. 

Once Virk's departure was made official, many fans expected Phillips to move back into his lead announcer role on RAW, however that hasn't happened. 

Phillips has been let go by WWE

Instead, WWE confirmed former UFC and Bellator broadcaster Jimmy Smith will be taking the job from next Monday. 

Shortly after, news broke that Phillips had been let go by the company. Following the reports, many fans and even WWE legend Mick Foley took to social media to praise the work Phillips did. 

"I’m surprised to see that WWE let Tom Phillips let go," Foley wrote.

"I always enjoyed his announcing and thought his chemistry with his fellow commentators was professional, informative and entertaining. Announcing in WWE is not easy, and he did it very well."

Foley responds to Phillips sacking

As of writing, neither WWE nor Phillips have acknowledged his departure from the company. It will certainly be interesting to see where Tom goes next, and how Smith gets on in the lead announcer role on RAW. 

WWE Monday Night RAW returns next week, airing live in the UK on BT Sport