Mark Nash joined WWE earlier this year as the newest ring announcer for SmackDown, following in the footsteps of legends like Howard Finkel, Tony Chimel, Samantha Irvin, and others. In an interview with You Know I’m Right, Nash shared the surprising way his WWE journey began—with a text from Triple H that he initially thought was a scam.
“I almost didn’t pay attention to it because I thought it could’ve been like a political solicitation—like, ‘Give me $50 for this politician.’ But I read the whole text, and I was like, ‘What? All right, cool.’”
The message arrived at a pivotal moment, just as Nash’s role with Top Rank Boxing was ending. Within days, he transitioned from boxing to a new chapter as a WWE announcer.
“They told me, ‘You’re going to take the final SmackDown in London.’ To host anything, let alone a SmackDown at the O2 with such an iconic fan base—was something special.“
Like many, Mark Nash uses a stage name in WWE, but wanted to use his real name of Mark Shunock. After being told that wasn’t an option, Nash’s name didn’t come from a certain Diesel-powered WWE Hall of Famer, but from closer to home.
“My mother’s maiden name is Nasser, and my father’s last name is Shunock. So I took the first two letters from my mother’s maiden name and the last two letters from my dad’s surname and put them together.“
The name received the approval of Nash’s family who have been supporting his WWE journey every step of the fan. Now fans can look ahead to many more calls from WWE’s newest announcer.