Michael Cole Leaving Raw Commentary Team, More Changes

WWE has announced yet another shake-up to their commentary teams and confirmed that Michael Cole will be leaving Raw for SmackDown in the near future.

The company had announced earlier last month that famed ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore will be joining their ranks this Summer.

The newest WWE broadcast signee made an appearance on the Countdown to WWE SummerSlam pre-show and spoke with Michael Cole.

The longtime WWE announcer welcomed Tessitore, before confirming that the ESPN personality would be starting with the company on September 2 and be part of the Raw crew from Denver Colorado.

Cole then confirmed that he would be leaving his current position at the Red Branded Show at the same time and moving to the SmackDown booth instead.

Joe Tessitore currently appears on ABC and ESPN as a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing. He is expected to continue his current roles alongside his new WWE duties.

The belief is that the current SmackDown broadcast team of Corey Graves and Wade Barrett will be moving to Raw to join Tessitore.

As for Michael Cole, his partnership with Pat McAfee will likely continue with this change. Though the former NFL star’s move to the Blue Branded Show has not been confirmed officially.

These commentary shake-ups come in light of WWE new TV deals. The new deals will see SmackDown returning to the USA Network on September 13, while Raw moves to Netflix in an unprecedented change at the start of next year.