WWE has now officially replaced Michael Cole on RAW. After having announced it previously, it finally happened.
It was announced earlier by WWE that, thanks to Pat McAfee being part of College GameDay, he would not be part of the official broadcasting team for RAW for the next few months. While he was stepping away from the RAW team, he was not the only one. Also leaving the red brand was Michael Cole, who would join Corey Graves for SmackDown for the remaining months of the year.
Instead, Joe Tessitore would step into his place. At the time, it was not known who would replace Pat McAfee, but as it turned out, it was none other than Wade Barrett, crossing over from SmackDown.
To kick off RAW, Cole's replacement finally arrived, and it was finally made official. Joe Tessitore stepped in as the one leading the play-by-play commentary for the Monday Night Show. This will be the case going into the New Year.
Tessitore has kicked off his RAW stint, bringing his iconic voice to the red brand's show. Once Michael Cole and McAfee are back together, it's assumed that he will be part of SmackDown, but that has not been confirmed at this time, as it would require a shakeup of the commentary teams.