Kevin Patrick Reacts To His New WWE Raw Commentary Role

As of today, a significant rearranging of the WWE commentary teams has taken place, with Wade Barrett replacing Pat McAfee on "WWE SmackDown," Booker T replacing Barrett on "WWE NXT," and Byron Saxton leaving the "WWE Raw" commentary booth while Jimmy Smith departs the company altogether. Taking their spot as Corey Graves' broadcast partner is Kevin Patrick, who has only been with WWE since 2021, but excelled at calling WWE Main Event and serving as a backstage interviewer on "Raw." Patrick's promotion seems to indicate that newly-installed Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque and co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have faith in his abilities.

Patrick himself took to his Twitter account to react to the news. "My heart is racing," he said. "Truly honored and so excited. WWE Raw season premiere is this Monday from Brooklyn, NY. Let's get to work, Graves. Cheers "

Saxton, who has been announcing and doing commentary since 2012, will now conduct backstage interviews on the red brand, alongside a returning Cathy Kelly. The shakeups to the commentary teams come not long after beloved "SmackDown" personality Pat McAfee stepped away from his role at the commentary table to work on ESPN's "GameDay." When the former NFL kicker dropped the news, he assured fans that he would return to WWE, but it's unclear where he will fit into the re-worked announce teams, or if he will return to the company in a different capacity. It's also been announced the commentary teams will combine during premium live events, with Graves representing "Raw" and Cole representing "SmackDown."