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A major WWE name may have to miss some upcoming shows for the company. The promotion is on the road to Royal Rumble 2026 next month in Saudi Arabia.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, WWE commentator Joe Tessitore may be unavailable soon due to his commitments outside the company. Tessitore also works as a broadcaster for college football, which may require adjustments to the commentary team during his absence.
It was reported earlier this week that Michael Cole and Corey Graves will be calling RAW beginning on January 5, 2026, and Tessitore will be working with Wade Barrett on SmackDown beginning next month as well.
Pat McAfee used to call the action alongside Michael Cole, but the former NFL punter stepped away from the promotion earlier this year due to exhaustion. Corey Graves seemingly had an issue with not working in NXT in 2025, but it appears that situation has been resolved. Graves is married to former WWE Superstar Carmella in real life, and the happy couple has two children together.
Former WWE writer criticizes Joe Tessitore
Wrestling legend Vince Russo criticized Joe Tessitore's commentary and suggested that he was insulting the intelligence of WWE fans.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's BroDown show earlier this year, Russo questioned Tessitore's commentary following an episode of SmackDown. He suggested that he insulted the fan's intelligence and noted that it was a pattern with the broadcast team.
"You're watching this first segment. They're clearly setting up a tag match. So here comes Aldis, he sets up a tag match. The freaking guy, Joe Tessitore has the b*lls to say, 'Who saw that coming?' And I'm like, 'Brother, how about Stevie Wonder?' This is what I mean. Don't insult my intelligence. They do this every single week and you got the b*lls to sit there and say who saw this coming," said Vince Russo.Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer will be on the call for the Orange Bowl between Oregon and Texas Tech. Katie George and Stormy Buonantony will be sideline reporters.
It will be interesting to see if the company winds up making more changes to its commentary teams in 2026.
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Edited by Robert Lentini
English (US)