A couple of weeks prior, the news broke that Joe Tessitore, a well-known ESPN announcer, had been designated as the latest addition to the WWE commentary team. It was during the pre-show countdown leading up to WWE SummerSlam 2024 that Michael Cole formally welcomed Tessitore to the team and revealed his imminent debut.
As per Cole’s announcement, Tessitore’s tenure with WWE is set to commence with Monday Night RAW at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on September 2, 2024. Post that, Cole is expected to transition to Friday Night SmackDown, presumably taking charge of the play-by-play commentary position.
What remains undisclosed, though, is the structure of the announcing teams going forward. Is it possible that Wade Barrett and Corey Graves will team up with Tessitore? Might Pat McAfee shift to SmackDown to join forces with Cole? Alternatively, could McAfee’s prior engagement with College GameDay quicken his departure, leading to a new team dynamic with Graves and Cole on one team, and Barrett and Tessitore on the other?
A recently made official by @MichaelCole, @JoeTessESPN will be commencing his gig with the commentary team on #WWERaw on September 2, live from Denver, CO with Cole returning to #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/OGgCMtJHTI
— WWE (@WWE) August 3, 2024
One way or the other, don’t miss Tessitore’s monumental first appearance on RAW, and stay tuned to eWrestlingNews.com for any further updates concerning this major shuffle in the WWE commentary team.
In the meantime, we want to hear from you. Are you excited to listen to Tessitore at the commentary desk? Share your views and opinions in the comments section below!