Ex-WWE Announcer Todd Grisham Says Kevin Dunn Told Him to Smoke Cigarettes to Fix His Voice

Todd Grisham just revealed one of the strangest pieces of career advice he ever received during his WWE run—and it came from none other than longtime production chief Kevin Dunn.

In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Grisham shared a bizarre story from his early days on commentary, when Dunn criticized the pitch of his voice and offered a solution that left the room stunned.

“This is a funny story. Kevin Dunn said, ‘Listen, you’re really good, but your voice is too high-pitched. You got to get it lower.’ And I go, ‘Well, what do I do?’ He goes, ‘Maybe you should start smoking cigarettes.’”

Grisham assumed Dunn was joking—but he wasn’t.

“I said, really? And everyone laughed. And he’s like, ‘I’m serious, you should start smoking cigarettes.’ Because JR was chain-smoking all day long.”

Thankfully, Grisham didn’t take the advice literally.

“I was like, should I start smoking cigarettes? But thank God I didn’t do it.”

Kevin Dunn, who left WWE in 2023 after nearly four decades with the company, had a reputation for being brutally direct and occasionally unorthodox with his suggestions. This moment adds another layer to the stories surrounding the longtime executive’s influence behind the scenes.

What do you think about Kevin Dunn telling Grisham to smoke to fix his voice? Crazy old-school advice or just typical WWE backstage weirdness? Drop your take in the comments below.