Tag: Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith Announces He Is Leaving WWE

Jimmy Smith announced on Twitter that he is leaving WWE. The news comes on the heels of a major shakeup for the commentary teams across all of their shows.

Smith tweeted, “Just wanted to say, now that the story is officially out, that my time with the WWE is officially done. Had a lot of fun and met some great people. Really and truly blown away by the acceptance from the WWE fans! You folks make it work every week and your enthusiasm was amazing!”

As was noted earlier, the Friday Night SmackDown commentary team will consist of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett with Samanta Irvin continuing her ring announcing duties. Kayla Braxton and Megan Morant will conduct backstage interviews.

Over on Raw, Corey Graves and Kevin Partick will provide play-by-play and Mike Rome will continue as the ring announcer while Byron Saxton will do backstage interviews. Also, Cathy Kelley is returning to do backstage interviews.

On NXT, Vic Joseph and Booker T will provide the play-by-play and Alicia Taylor will continue as the ring announcer. McKenzie Mitchell will continue in her role as a backstage interviewer.

For Premium Live Events (pay-per-views), Michael Cole and Corey Graves will handle the play-by-play and Pat McAfee is expected to return after he wraps up his ESPN College GameDay commitments.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

WWE Announces Jimmy Smith As Adnan Virk’s Replacement On RAW

WWE has officially announced Jimmy Smith as the new member of the RAW announce team.

Smith will debut as the play-by-play voice of RAW beginning this Monday, May 31. He will call the action every Monday night with Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

WWE acknowledged in their announcement issued last night that Smith worked as an analyst for WWE NXT, serving on the “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” pre-show panels, and working on special projects for the black & gold brand, which included the video package for Finn Balor vs. NXT Champion Karrion Kross. WWE also pointed to how Smith is the host of SiriusXM’s Unlocking The Cage, and previously hosted American Ninja Warrior.

As reported earlier, Smith has been working with Michael Cole and other WWE staffers as of late to train for a potential announcing role. Cole has reportedly praised Smith heavily, and found him to be very versatile.

The 43 year old Smith is best known for his run with Bellator MMA from 2010 – 2017. He worked as an analyst with Bellator and UFC. In addition to Unlocking The Cage, Smith also hosts ESPN International’s UFC Fight Camp show. He retired from MMA fighting in 2007, with a 5-1 record, and has also done commentary for pro boxing, and other combat sports leagues.

Smith will be replacing Adnan Virk, who parted ways with WWE on Tuesday after less than two months on the job.

Source: Wrestling Inc.