Update On WWE Raw's Major Commentary Changes

Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Renee Young will soon ALL be off Raw commentary.

by Andrew Pollard
Michael Cole Renee Young Corey Graves
WWE

As WWE gears up to make major changes to its current product, many are wondering just which announce teams will end up calling the action on Raw and SmackDown Live. Well now, there’s a new update on who’ll be taking up a spot at the announce table for these shows.

According to the usually reliable WrestleVotes, the current plan for Raw is that Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin will be on commentary duties while Michael Cole and Corey Graves will be calling SmackDown.

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Given how SmackDown’s $1 billion move to Fox is essentially making the blue brand the new A show, it’s no real surprise to see Cole and Graves tasked with handling the commentary for that show. For Raw, though, Maddin in particular is a surprise.

Vic Joseph has cut his teeth on 205 Live and impressed during a one-off Raw appearance recently, and he’s proving himself to be an extremely promising lead announcer. With Dio Maddin, the charismatic former football player only began his commentary career last week with a spot on 205 Live – hence why it’s a surprise to hear him being talked about for a Raw position already.

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At present, Cole, Graves and Renee Young provide the call on Raw, and it’s Graves, Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton taking care of business on SmackDown.

Young is due to host the impending FS1 studio show that WWE is launching, but these rumoured moves certainly leaves questions over the roles of Phillips and Saxton moving forward.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.