On Saturday, it was first reported by Variety that Raw and SmackDown were going to undergo changes to their announce team lineups. Raw will now be commentated on by the current SmackDown team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett, while Raw’s commentary partnership of Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick will instead work on Smackdown. However, Cole will remain on SmackDown, making them a three-person announce team.
And now PWInsiderElite.com has reported behind their paywall that the decision came directly from Endeavor and WWE’s broadcast partners, who want Michael Cole to be the face of the company from now. It was also added that Barrett being moved to Raw was because of his on-screen chemistry with Cole, which they want to be demonstrated on the three-hour broadcast.
56-year-old Cole, real name Sean Michael Coulthard began working for WWE in 1997 as a backstage interviewer, and over the subsequent 26 years, he has worked his way up in the company to became a prominent figure respected by his peers and also fans. Nevertheless, so far, he has called fallen short of matching the iconic status of names like Jim Ross and Gordon Solie; still, to a generation, he is the voice of pro wrestling and is clearly a favorite of his bosses.
