Joe Tessitore Admits WWE Debut Wasn’t Great
Raw in Denver will be a memorable night for years to come for Joe Tessitore who followed in the footsteps of Jim Ross and Michael Cole on his first night as a WWE commentator.
Joe Tessitore shared announcing duties with Wade Barett following WWE making a commentary shake-up with Michael Cole joining Corey Graves on SmackDown.
These changes come at a time of major changes in the company with NXT and SmackDown set for imminent moves to new networks while Raw will make its multi-billion dollar move to Netflix in January 2025 when the commentary teams will change again.
But the 2nd of September edition of Raw will live long in the memory of Joe Tessitore who debuted at the announce desk in WWE. Speaking in a Raw Exclusive, Tessitore shared just what the night meant to him:
How do I feel? [Points to the fans] This is how I feel. You feel alive. You feel passion, and you feel intensity. You want to live in the red in life. That’s what this is, Raw, live in the red. This was an awesome night.
I was very into [the fans], it was a great reception. It meant a lot to me. I brought out the little kid in me tonight. I went and I grabbed a bunch of t-shirts and merchandise. I spread the love, and I wanted to see smiles on these children’s faces. From start to finish, I thought that what was thread this evening was very special, and it was great to see it. Night one in the books, let’s have many more.
Joe Tessitore Lets Passion Reign In Raw Debut
Tessitore was asked what memories came to mind on his first night as a WWE commentator and he recalled missing school to meet the stars and admitted he was not a fan who always cheered the good guys:
It‘s the kid who skipped school in eighth grade to go meet Big John Studd. It’s the kid who was rooting against the faces to root for Paul Orndorff. That’s the kid that you got tonight. I wasn’t great tonight, I wasn’t great tonight, but I was a passionate fan tonight.
Joe Tessitore’s first night on the job saw him get an up close and personal look at the action as Drew McIntyre violently assaulted CM Punk before making Punk eat the bracelet the two men have been at odds over for several months.