WWE Didn't Train "Weak Link" Adnan Virk For Failed Raw Role
Former WWE Raw announcer Adnan Virk reveals all on his time with the company.
Sportscaster Adnan Virk had a short run as WWE Raw's lead play-by-play commentator earlier this year, entering the promotion on 12 April before being let go just six weeks later on 25 May, with Virk himself claiming the schedule was too demanding for him and his family.
Virk, who has since been replaced by ex-Bellator and UFC man Jimmy Smith, has now spoken of his experience in a new interview with Couch Potato Diary's Peter Klein.
The conversation saw Virk concede that he was the "weakest link" on Monday nights, putting colleagues Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, and more over huge (h/t Fightful):-
"Everyone there is awesome. Corey Graves is phenomenal, I think he's a huge talent. Byron Saxton is a huge talent. You never want to be in a situation where you're the weakest link and I knew I was. That's never a good feeling. Those guys were such good teammates because it's like a baseball team. 'We know you need some help, we're here to help you out. You're new, just lean on us and we're good to go,' which was so generous of them. Kevin Dunn is a great producer. Michael Cole was very very generous. Michael is not only the voice of SmackDown, he's the on-air conglomerate and oversees the talent. He was so helpful every week. I would do the show, I would watch the show, I'd call Michael on Thursday and we'd go through stuff and go through notes. I would try to make as many notes as I could. Everybody there, I have such respect for because they work so hard. It's a huge commitment. Vince McMahon is obviously a very demanding boss, he knows what he wants and is a super smart guy. He's built up an enormous business, but they are hard workers."
Perhaps there's a reason for Virk becoming the "weak link," though.
Later in the interview, Adnan revealed that he wasn't actually trained for the high-pressure role. Regardless, he took responsibility for it not working out:-
"It was great. I didn't see him my first show. Here's the thing, they didn't give me any training, which some people point out was a little unfair. I don't think you hire Jason Witten for Monday Night Football and don't give him training. I recognize that's the way WWE does things so no excuses, that's my fault that I wasn't good enough. It's not like I met with Vince before my first show. I literally was just prepping on my own, doing my best, and Michael Cole was helping out."
Virk, 43, currently works for MLB Network and DAZN.