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The first night of WWE WrestleMania 37 is in the books, and based on all the social media reactions, Michael Cole seemed to have had a night to forget.
SmackDown's Michael Cole called every match on the show - including the ones from RAW - but that was never the original plan.
Dave Meltzer reported on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that Michael Cole was not slated to work the entire WrestleMania 37 show. The unforeseen situation surrounding Tom Phillips changed WWE's plans.
Wrestling Inc. was the first to exclusively report that Tom Phillips was pulled from WrestleMania 37 due to COVID-19 protocols.
Dave Meltzer verified the report and added that Tom Phillips could be done with WWE. Meltzer said that he didn't get full clarification on Tom Phillips' WWE status and expects to receive more details before the next RAW episode airs after WrestleMania 37.
As disclosed by Wrestling Inc., ESPN's Adnan Virk will reportedly replace Tom Phillips starting Monday.
Here's what Dave Meltzer had to say on the Wrestling Observer Radio:
"Michael Cole did the whole show, which was not the plan, but Tom Phillips, who apparently may not be back. I don't know what the story is; I was trying to check all day, but everybody was so busy with the matches that I never really got an answer, and people didn't know. I mean, people who I talked with had no idea if there was going to be a change, but Tom Phillips apparently, it was a COVID protocol issue for tonight, and then the story is that on Monday, Adnan Virk from ESPN starts as the new announcer on RAW. I don't know that. That's the story going around. I cannot say 100 percent, hopefully, tomorrow, I'll have that confirmed, but that was the story. So, Michael Cole had to do the whole show."
WWE's commentary team shake-up
Tom Phillips has been with the WWE since 2012, and as of this writing, he is not expected to be back on WWE TV. If he does leave, the on-screen talent will join a relatively lengthy list of personalities who have departed the WWE in recent memory.
Tom Phillips' reported replacement, Adnan Virk, will take over play-by-play duties on Monday Night RAW.
Andrew Zarian from the Mat Men podcast additionally reported yesterday that Corey Graves would be making a move to RAW to form a three-person team with Byron Saxton and Adnan Virk.
Samoa Joe's rumored removal from the RAW commentary team has also opened the door for a potential in-ring return for the former United States champion. Another possibility is for Samoa Joe to go over to SmackDown and join Michael Cole on the commentary table.
WWE looks ready to freshen things up in the commentary department, and it will be interesting to see whether the new dynamic works out.
