Joe Tessitore Called His First Monday Night Raw, And WWE Fans Are All Saying The Same Thing

The WWE announced its latest commentary shakeup months ago, but it wasn't until Monday Night Raw's Labor Day 2024 telecast when wrestling fans could hear Joe Tessitore call matches for the first time. The longtime sports commentator delivered play-by-play while Wade Barrett handled color commentary, and the verdict appears top be in for wrestling fans on how well he did.

If Tessitore will indeed be on the mic for upcoming WWE events, it seems many fan chiming in on X are thrilled about the prospects. Actor and wrestling fan O'Shea Jackson Jr. kept his thoughts short and sweet and noted how cool it was just to have a longtime sports personality on Monday Night Raw:

I think with Adnan Virk left WWE not long after joining Monday Night Raw, there were reservations from fans about bringing another marquee name from the professional sports world to the commentary table. It didn't take long for many to toss that notion out the window, however, with some even saying Tessitore came across as if he'd learned the ropes, so to speak, during wrestling's silver age, such as the opinion below:

The WWE has gone through many commentators since the 1980s, so there's no shortage of past legends to compare him to. I do find it interesting some are likening him to someone with a sound from that era, especially given his sports background. At the time, wrestling was presented as more of a sport than storyline-driven entertainment, so that tracks.

It also may be why Tessitore was gassing up Maxxine Dupri for hitting some big moves on Ivy Nile during Monday Night Raw:

It's also possible that once he gets some time to get acclimated, we might see Joe Tessitore fall into being more of a wrestling commentator versus a sports commentator. There were more than a few people who clocked that he broke a common commentator trend amongst during CM Punk and Drew McIntyre's segment:

I'll tip my cap to Tessitore for that one because I can't count the number of times I've watched an old PPV with my Peacock Premium subscription and rolled my eyes because the commentator wouldn't reveal who was under the hood until they pulled it off. Who else would be attacking CM Punk during his segment? This feud has been going on for months!

Of course, the usual sports and WWE guy on commentary, Pat McAfee, is off elsewhere because he doesn't want to juggle College Gameday and his WWE obligations at the same time. That didn't stop Monday Night Raw viewers for making comparisons between the two and making a bold statement I'm not quite sure I'm on board with yet:

Don't get me wrong, Joe Tessitore did a great job. Pat McAfee is the biggest name in sports commentary at the moment, however, and while his commentary style can be polarizing, I don't think there's any dispute in which of the two's involvement brings more prestige to the WWE as a brand.

It will be interesting to see if Tessitore continues to thrive, with Raw coming to Netflix in 2025. I assumed McAfee and Michael Cole would get the honors of hosting that new era, but could it be the current team of Tessitore and Wade Barrett get the gig?

I can't wait to find out, and I'll continue to watch Monday Night Raw on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the meantime. I would love for Joe Tessitore to be as great as everyone is acting after his first night on the job, but I'll have to reserve my judgment until I at least see him on an upcoming PLE.