On Thursday, WWE announced changes to its commentary team as the company gears up for its season premieres of WWE SmackDown and WWE Raw.
When it comes to WWE Raw, Jimmy Smith will no longer serve as the lead play-by-play announcer. Smith took over the role on May 26, 2021, replacing Adnan Virk. Smith will be replaced by Kevin Patrick.
Speaking on his Unlocking The Cage podcast, Smith revealed that he pieced together he was getting fire on Monday before WWE Raw after a conversation with Triple H.
"Triple H accidentally told me before the show on Monday. He screwed up and told me. He didn't mean to. What happened was, I was doing my prep for the show, and we had a production meeting. On-air, Seth Rollins had cut a promo saying, 'DC [Daniel Cormier] hates Riddle just as much as I do.' Everybody in the production meeting turns to me and goes, 'What did he mean? Do they have some kind of personal problem?' I'm the MMA guy, right. I said, 'Well, Riddle has been critical of fighter pay, UFC, and Daniel Cormier is considered kind of a company guy. That could be what he's talking about.' Before the show, I go up to Riddle and say, 'Do you and DC have any beef?' 'No, we're cool, he might be upset that I out-wrestled Jon Jones and he couldn't.' Riddle took first place at state, and whatever place Jon Jones was, he beat Jon Jones at wrestling twice in New York. 'He may be mad I out-wrestled Jon Jones twice.' 'That's a good line, I'm gonna use that.' I go to Triple H and go, 'I just talked to Riddle and he gave me this line about how he out-wrestled Jon Jones.' Triple H goes, 'Okay, cool, give that note to (Michael) Cole.' I went...why would I have to give that note to Cole...I'm calling the match on Saturday. Oh, I'm not calling the match on Saturday. Oh, I'm probably fired. In about two seconds my brain went, 'That's weird...oookay.' I knew, basically the whole show Monday night that I wasn't coming back. When I got the call Tuesday, I wasn't surprised," he said.
Smith said Michael Cole was the one who called him on Tuesday to let him know of the news and that he wasn't mad about anything because he knows how the business works and the life he signed up for.
Before Smith joined WWE, he served as a commentator for UFC, Bellator MMA, and other MMA promotions.
Seth Rollins will face Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit match at WWE Extreme Rules. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier will serve as the guest referee. Fans can check out the lineup for WWE Extreme Rules by clicking here.
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