Why Announcer Jimmy Smith Missed Last Night's WWE Raw
Smith was absent as WWE Raw's play-by-play commentator, replaced by Kevin Patrick.
Jimmy Smith was absent from his position in the WWE Raw announce booth last night, replaced, temporarily, by interviewer Kevin Patrick.
While Smith's absence wasn't announced in advance, colour commentator Corey Graves confirmed during Raw that that former Bellator man was on vacation. Thus, Patrick took his position as Raw's lead announcer.
There is currently no word on when, exactly, Smith will return to WWE programming. The 44-year-old has been part of the Raw broadcast team since May 2021, when he replaced the outgoing Adnan Virk. A skilled, experienced sportscaster with ESPN and MLB Network on his resume, Virk's tenure with the promotion lasted just six weeks and was characterised by a string of awkward performances in the booth. Smith, fortunately, has fared considerably better, establishing himself as one of the voices of the company.
Said Smith of his WWE role when speaking to Busted Open Radio earlier this year (h/t Wrestling Inc.):-
“I was ready to really get sh*t on, but I didn’t. But also, when I was doing color, a play-by-play guy who thinks he is color is the worst thing ever. I’m sitting there, 20 years in MMA and I’m like, ‘you tell me how to defend the hold, yeah right?’ I hated that, when there’s a play-by-play who has to show off his knowledge, ‘I know this, and I know that,’ I don’t do that. I let Corey do that, I let Byron do that, I let them be who they are. Corey is constantly crapping on me, it works out great, everyone is always crapping on Byron. I kind of manage the traffic and stay out of the way and let them be experts, man. That’s literally how I see it.”
Patrick, too, has been with WWE since last year, landing a role as a presenter that May. This was his biggest commentary assignment in the promotion to date.