updated: WWE shake up their commentary teams, diverse I learned exclusively.
Starting with the first episode of this week’s season of “SmackDown,” the show’s commentary team will be as follows:
At SmackDown, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett will be the main commentators, with Barrett moving from the NXT commentary team. Samantha Irvine will serve as the ring announcer, with Kayla Braxton and Megan Morant serving as backstage interviewers.
On “Monday Night Raw,” Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves will serve as the commentary team. Patrick worked as a behind-the-scenes reporter and stage commentator for “WWE Main Event” and host of “Raw Talk”. Mike Roma will be the ring announcer. Kathy Kelly and Byron Saxton will conduct on-screen interviews. Kelly returns to WWE after leaving the company in 2020. Saxton has been working on the “Raw” commentary desk along with Graves and Jimmy Smith recently.
Smith will be exited from WWE. Post the commenter The following statement on Twitter“Just wanted to say, now that the story is officially out, my time with WWE is officially over. I had a lot of fun meeting some amazing people. We were really blown away by the acceptance of the WWE fans! You guys make it work every week and your enthusiasm has been amazing!”
Vic Joseph and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will be the commentators for “NXT” in the future. In addition to his stellar career in the ring, Booker has been a member of the commentary teams on “Raw” and “SmackDown” in the past as well as serving as a panelist on pay-per-view pre-shows. Alicia Taylor is the ring announcer and MacKenzie Mitchell will continue as the interviewer behind the scenes.
For major live events, Cole and Graves will be the commentary team.
News of the changes comes after famed “SmackDown” commentator Pat McAfee announced in early September that he was taking a temporary leave of absence from WWE to work as an analyst on ESPN’s College Gameday. He is expected to return to WWE when the college football season is over.
(Pictured, left to right: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Cory Graves, Wade Barrett)
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