WWE announced a significant overhaul to its commentary teams on the September 5 edition of SmackDown. Michael Cole and Corey Graves will now serve as the voices for both SmackDown and Raw, a move prompted by Joe Tessitore stepping away from his duties to cover the upcoming college football season.
Tessitore’s absence is expected to last for the next few months. His departure comes after a one-year run with the company, and it is currently unclear when he will return to WWE television following the conclusion of the football season.
The shake-up also marks the end of Wade Barrett’s time on main roster commentary. The new pairing of Cole and Graves officially replaces the previous SmackDown team of Tessitore and Barrett.
According to a report from PWInsider Elite, the current plan is for the duo to call both brands for the foreseeable future, with Barrett being removed from the commentary desk and taken off the road. During the SmackDown broadcast, Michael Cole confirmed he and Graves would be calling the blue brand for at least the next “couple of months.”
While the specific reason for Barrett’s complete removal from the commentary rotation has not been publicly disclosed, the change solidifies Cole and Graves as the lead broadcast team across all of WWE’s main roster programming.