ESPN college football announcer Joe Tessitore is adding WWE announcer to his list of jobs this summer.
WWE announced on Tuesday that Tessitore will serve as a play-by-play broadcaster on a team with analysts Corey Graves and Wade Barrett.
Triple H, WWE's chief content officer, issued a statement in the announcement:
"Whether it's a world title fight that's got the globe buzzing or a college football rivalry that's grabbed the nation's attention, Joe's voice provides that big event feel each time he is behind the microphone. We're excited for Joe to join legendary WWE broadcaster Michael Cole and our esteemed announce team, bringing his signature energy and meticulous preparation to our WWE telecasts each week."
Tessitore, who will continue in his role with ESPN, also issued a statement:
"It's an honor to be a part of WWE. The recent success and trajectory are undeniable. Being there at WrestleMania XL, one could feel it—from Cody, Seth, Roman and The Rock, to creative and production, these are some of the very best storytellers in TV. Corey and Wade are absolute stars and it is my privilege to join their team. Pat and Cole are just magical together and Cole is the greatest to ever sit in that chair. As a lifelong viewer, I'm humbled to join this team and to serve our fans."
An official date for Tessitore's first show was not given.
The last time WWE hired someone from outside of the wrestling world to be a play-by-play person on television, things didn't go as planned.
Adnan Virk, who worked at ESPN from 2010 to 2019, replaced Tom Phillips as the lead announcer on Raw in April 2021. The experiment quickly failed and he parted ways with the company six weeks after his debut.
Following his departure, Virk admitted he didn't regularly keep up with the current WWE product. That situation also occurred when Vince McMahon was still running WWE.
Triple H seems to have things running much smoother since he took over as the primary voice in production. It also helps that Tessitore said in his statement he's a lifelong fan, so he will presumably have a better understanding of how the job works.
Another key difference is that Virk has been primarily a studio host throughout his career, while Tessitore has been a play-by-play announcer for ESPN since 2002 when he was calling boxing for the network.
Tessitore spent two seasons as the play-by-play voice for Monday Night Football in 2018 and 2019. He has been calling college football games for ESPN and ABC since 2020.
Graves and Barrett have been the announce team for SmackDown since February after Kevin Patrick was released.
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