Report: Reason For WWE's Commentary Team Shake-Up

Changes are being made to the commentary desks in WWE in the immediate future, as Michael Cole will be pulling double duty weekly on both Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown going forwards.

As announced by Variety, the voice of WWE will now be appearing on both of WWE’s marquee weekly shows. On Raw, he will be alongside Wade Barrett, whereas on SmackDown he will be next to both Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick, with the three-man booth making a comeback. This change will see the two teams swap sides over the red and blue brands (apart from Cole of course who will be on both). These alterations will be taking place as soon as this upcoming Monday.

Variety went on to note that WWE were very high on Kevin Patrick, with the belief that working alongside Cole will bring nothing but positives to his development as a commentator, with it being clear that he is being primed for the future - perhaps even a future without Cole as the lead announcer. PWInsider provided some further information, stating, “We are told that Wade Barrett being moved over to Raw is in part because his chemistry with Cole is so great that they wanted it on the three-hour broadcast.”