Who Will Replace Kevin Patrick On WWE SmackDown Commentary This Week?

Joining Corey Graves on the call for WWE SmackDown this week will be...

by Andrew Pollard
Michael Cole
WWE

With yesterday bringing the news that Kevin Patrick will no longer be part of the commentary team for WWE SmackDown, there's now an update on who will be replacing Patrick for this Friday.

Via PWInsider.com, Michael Cole will join Corey Graves on the call for this week's SmackDown. Of course, Cole will be in the Florida area for the Royal Rumble on Saturday, so it makes sense for him to fill in alongside Graves for now. SmackDown emanates from Miami's Kaseya Center, whilst the Rumble PLE is to be held at St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field.

One has to imagine that Michael Cole won't be the long-term replacement for Kevin Patrick, although he would certainly be a smart fit in the immediate future; whether that's just for this week or possibly even for a few weeks.

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As of now, there's no word on who'll be replacing Patrick on a full-time basis. With the likes of Kevin Patrick, Jimmy Smith, Adnan Virk, and Pat McAfee in recent years, WWE has shown that it's not shy of bringing in commentators who don't have a major background in the wrestling business. That said, this might also be an opportunity for NXT's Vic Joseph to be brought back to the main roster, with Joseph previously having done play-by-play on Raw for a spell.

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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.