WWE is once again making changes to its on-air commentary teams.
According to an ‘exclusive’ report from Variety, beginning this Monday, August 7, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett will serve as the new commentary team for WWE Raw on the USA Network.
This will be Barrett’s first time doing commentary on the Monday night flagship show. Prior to doing commentary on Raw, Barrett joined Michael Cole on SmackDown on FOX in late 2022 after Pat McAfee left to do commentary work on ESPN’s College GameDay.
Barrett, prior to joining Cole on SmackDown also did commentary on WWE’s NXT alongside Vic Joseph. He has also done commentary for the NWA, which was under his real name of Stu Bennett.
The report also notes that Cole will remain on the commentary team for SmackDown, where he will be joined by Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves beginning Friday night, August 11 when the show airs live from the Scotiabank Bank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Variety concluded by noting that that Patrick and Graves will be shifting from Raw over to SmackDown. It was also stated by Variety those who are close to the situation, said that WWE thinks highly of Patrick and the thought with pairing Patrick with Cole will benefit his growth as a broadcaster. Cole has been with WWE for over 25 years and has only missed two shows in that time.
The news of the commentary changes come just hours ahead of tonight’s big SummerSlam premium live event, which airs from Ford Field in Detroit, MI. The show can be watched on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else, beginning at 8:00 pm ET.