WWE SmackDown is moving to Fox Sports on October 4, 2019, after a lucrative contract was signed between WWE and Fox, and all necessary steps have been taken by the company and the broadcasting network to produce a blockbuster debut show on Fox Sports 1. Incidentally, the debut show will also be the 20th-anniversary show of the Blue Brand. There will be an addition of new competitors from WWE Raw in the new Friday Night SmackDown roster in an attempt to cause a hike in the television ratings as the show makes its debut on Fox.
Apparently, there will also be a change in the new Friday Night SmackDown broadcasting team according to WrestleVotes and other WWE news sources. It has been rumored that veteran WWE commentator Michael Cole will be joining the SmackDown commentary team after SmackDown moves to Fox on October 4. The current SmackDown Live commentary team consists of Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton, and the commentary team shakeup has not been officially announced by WWE yet. However, it has been speculated by WWE news channels that WWE 205 Live and NXT UK commentator Vic Joseph will be taking Michael Cole’s place in the Raw commentary team. Vic Joseph commentated on the August 19, 2019, episode of Monday Night Raw and made a good impression on the WWE Universe.
A lot of changes can be expected to be seen in the broadcasting teams of all the shows televised by WWE after WWE SmackDown’s move to Fox. Renee Young, who is a member of the WWE Raw commentary team is rumored to be leading a WWE studio show on Fox Sports 1 after WWE SmackDown goes off the air. Another WWE news source has informed us that the two-man commentary booth might return for WWE SmackDown on Fox. This as well has not been confirmed by any official statement from WWE yet, but with the huge Fox premiere show of WWE SmackDown on the way, it has paved way for a lot of potential changes to be made in the WWE broadcasting teams.
Michael Cole joined WWE in 1997 and received popularity as a backstage interviewer during the Attitude Era. He joined the broadcasting team of WWE SmackDown as an announcer in 1999, when the show made its television debut. He commentated during the latter part of the Attitude Era on WWE SmackDown alongside Jerry “The King” Lawler and later with Tazz. Cole and Tazz were also the commentators on WWE SmackDown during the Ruthless Aggression Era.
Michael Cole has been a constant member of the Raw broadcasting team since 2008 and it will be for the first time in 11 years that he will be an exclusive member of the WWE SmackDown brand if the commentator shakeup actually takes place. Cole was a member of the original WWE SmackDown broadcasting team when the Blue Brand made its TV debut and has since then become “The Voice of WWE.” One reason that WWE news sources are considering Cole to join the new Friday Night SmackDown broadcasting team is because of his commentary style, which majorly consists of endorsing various WWE products.
Although his banal business-like commentary style has been criticized by WWE fans for several years, Michael Cole is considered to be the top commentator in WWE not only because of his experience but also due to the fact that he works as the mouthpiece of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
