logo Featured Topics Film WWE TV Gaming Comics Music Offbeat Quizzes 15 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Smackdown By Grahame Herbert / October 11, 2014 4. Michael Cole And Jim Cornette Were Smackdown's First Commentary Team Jim Cornette was on commentary for the April 1999 Smackdown pilot. Jim Ross took over for the network premiere, before Cole and Jerry Lawler became the early staple. Pagination ←Previous Next→