WWE Raw: Joe Tessitore Believes He "Wasn't Great" in Commentary Debut
Tessitore is the new voice of WWE Monday Night Raw.
WWE Monday Night Raw has a new voice. ESPN's Joe Tessitore made his official WWE debut on this past Monday's edition of the red brand broadcast, calling the action alongside color commentator and former WWE superstar Wade Barrett. Tessitore was signed by WWE this past summer and was immediately shuffled into the sports-entertainment giant's future broadcast plans, as WWE planned to utilize his play-by-play skillset on either one of its main roster shows. For now, that means WWE Monday Night Raw, but it is known that Tessitore will migrate over to WWE SmackDown to run a three-man booth with Barrett and Corey Graves once WWE Monday Night Raw heads to Netflix and Pat McAfee returns to commentary.
Joe Tessitore Reflects on WWE Raw Debut
The red brand's new voice believes he has room for improvement.
Speaking to WWE cameras after WWE Monday Night Raw went off the air, new WWE play-by-play broadcaster Joe Tessitore reflected on his commentary performance, noting he believes he "wasn't great" in his first outing.
"I wasn't great tonight, but I was a passionate fan tonight," Tessitore said. "It's the kid who skipped school in eighth grade to go meet Big John Studd. It's the kid who was rooting against the faces to root for Paul Orndorff. That's the kid that you got tonight."
WWE rolled out the red carpet for Tessitore's debut, having him kick off the show by addressing the Denver crowd from inside the ring. This is the most that WWE has done for a new commentator's debut in years, as past new play-by-play men like Jimmy Smith and Adnan Virk simply slotted into the announce table without really any acknowledgement that the team had changed.
"I was very into [the crowd. It was a great reception. It meant a lot to me I brought out the little kid in me tonight," Tessitore continued. "I went and I grabbed a bunch of t-shirts and merchandise. I spread the love, and I wanted to see smile on these children's faces. From start to finish, I thought that what was thread this evening was very special, and it was great to see it. Night one in the books, let's have many more."
Tessitore returns to the booth next Monday, September 9th when WWE Monday Night Raw returns to television.
