In January WWE released lead SmackDown commentator Kevin Patrick who had been with the company since 2021. The news came very last minute and it took many WWE Superstars by surprise, including WWE Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch who called it “heartbreaking” to see him go. Patrick joined the Raw announce team in 2022 but was moved to SmackDown thereafter with Cole and Corey Graves.
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Following his release, he opened up about being let go from from WWE, explaining that he “knew it was coming” as he wasn’t their “long-term guy.”
“Football was always gonna win, if there was ever a collision, and there was one on the horizon, very clearly on the horizon,” Patrick told The Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. “If I’m in Boise, Idaho, on a Friday night, for example, doing SmackDown, how am I gonna be in the studio in New York at one o’clock on a Saturday? This was coming. I also wasn’t their long-term guy. They need someone who’s all in. Michael Cole has missed two shows in 27 years.”
Patrick continued, complimenting Michael Cole for being the best boss he’s ever had and that there’s no ill will between himself or the company. “They deserve more. That chair deserves more. For me, it was time. I wanted to leave. It got to a place where I had a chat with Michael Cole weeks before and I said, look, if there’s a thinking here that I move on, I’m good. Let’s hug it out, let’s be on our way. I still talk to Michael Cole. On the phone, when we went through with the release and everything else, I told him he’s the best boss I ever had, and I stand by that. He’s a tremendous guy. Everyone worked with was great. It’s a chapter in your life. I wasn’t overly upset about it at all. I don’t think they were. I think it worked out for the best, for the product on TV and for me. I’m all in on what I’m doing now, and I love it. When WWE’s in Atlanta, I’ll pop down, I’ll say hello to some friends.” (h/t: Fightful)
Patrick’s release the beginning of an ongoing company-wide shakeup that has seen many come and go in recent months. Several tenured employees in the talent relations department were let go as well as Sue Aitchison who had been with the company for decades. As WWE puts an emphasis on the “Paul Levesque era” it appears they’re wiping themselves clean of any lingering Vince McMahon hires. Also released were several main roster superstars as well as some NXT talent who were fired following this year’s WrestleMania 40. On the opposite side of things, a long-time NXT ring announcer was recently appointed to SmackDown, joining Samantha Irvin on the main roster.
