WWE shakes up Raw and SmackDown commentary teams with big changes for Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick and more

Michael Cole is going to be a very busy man (Picture: WWE)

WWE veteran Michael Cole is reportedly going to pulling double duty from now on as the lead commentator for Raw and SmackDown.

The legendary play by play broadcaster, who first joined the company as a backstage interviewer in 1997, is said to be taking over the Monday Night Raw announce team alongside Wade Barrett.

However, he will still be appearing on SmackDown every week as part of a new three man booth alongside former Raw duo Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves.

The changes will come into effect from Monday, August 7, while Cole and Graves are expected to be the team for tonight’s SummerSlam premium live event.

As reported by Variety, a source suggested the move could be part of the company’s plans to continue Patrick’s ‘growth as a broadcaster’, with the insider saying WWE ‘remains high’ on the Irish star.

It’s thought that pairing him with a mainstay like Cole ‘will only benefit’ his development.

Wade Barrett and Michael Cole are moving to Raw (Picture: WWE)

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It’s another shakeup for the company just months after the announce teams underwent a much bigger change back in October.

At the time, Barrett – who was previously on NXT – joined Cole on SmackDown, while Patrick replaced then-lead announced Jimmy Smith on Raw, with Corey Graves completing the partnership.

Byron Saxton was instead moved away from the commentary desk to focus on being an on screen interviewer, while NXT’s Vic Joseph has been joined by Booker T ever since.

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Many people have praised Cole’s talents as a broadcaster, including AEW’s Renee Paquette, who has recalled a perfect example of his genius when technical issues meant their monitors weren’t working.

She previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘So, we couldn’t see the replays – and he would still call the replays as if he was watching it! I’ve never seem anything like that in my life, it was like a magician pulling something out of a hat. “What are you doing?! Are you seeing something I’m not seeing?!” He’s just so good at what he does.’

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