WWE Commentary Teams To Be Shaken Up In 2026

With 2026 on the horizon, it seems WWE is making more changes to its commentary teams.

Decades ago, it seemed so simple; Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler called the action on Raw while Michael Cole and Tazz were the commentary duo for SmackDown. But these days, WWE can’t seem to settle on commentary pairings for its main roster shows.

Pat McAfee had joined Michael Cole at the commentary desk when Raw debuted on Netflix, but McAfee has moved away from his role in WWE, and it seems a new shake-up means he might not be coming back on a regular basis.

Cole and Corey Graves had been calling SmackDown together in recent months, with Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett the duo calling Raw.

WWE Flips Commentary Teams

WWE has taped its shows until the end of the year, with live events resuming in early January 2026. PWInsider has now reported that when the new year begins, Michael Cole and Corey Graves will return to the announce desk on Raw, with Tessitore and Barrett moving to SmackDown.

It was Joe Tessitore’s college football commitments that caused WWE to flip the teams on the shows in the fall of 2025. The NXT pairing of Booker T and Vic Joseph remains unchanged.