Adnan Virk says Joe Tessitore was a great hire by WWE.
In April 2021, Adnan Virk began working as the lead announcer on WWE Raw. Virk did not have any previous experience as a wrestling announcer, but he had worked for ESPN and other networks. WWE released him on May 25, 2021. had worked for ESPN and other sports networks before joining WWE. In July 2024, WWE announced that Joe Tessitore, who works as a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing, would be joining the company. Tessitore debuted on the September 2nd episode of WWE Raw.
Speaking on the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch, Adnan Virk was asked whether Joe Tessitore had talked to him since he joined WWE.
“Of course, Tess and I are old friends from our ESPN days. Both of us are very fond of Nick Khan. When things went down for me, when I got the job, I remember Tess called me, and then when I lost the job, Tess called me, so he was great counsel both ways. Then this time, when he got the job, I was thrilled for him. Basically, when I talked to him, I said, ‘I’m surprised it took so long, quite honestly.’ I’m like, ‘You are so gonna be great at this job where I wasn’t,’ and he’s laughing, but I said, ‘What have I done? Baseball, college football, college basketball, studio, primarily. You’re primarily a play-by-play guy. Already different animal, post versus play-by-play. Secondly, what sports have you done? Joe Tess is better at boxing than anybody arguably. Tess is a great boxing play-by-play guy. I know boxing and wrestling is different, but it’s a combat sport. You will know how to rise and the ebbs and flows, and then most importantly and most impactfully, I loved wrestling as a kid, but I didn’t follow it as avidly when I got older. I believe Tess has always been a fan," Virk said.
Virk went on to say that he thought that Tessitore had been doing a great job. He highlighted how wrestling fans were hard to impress. Virk then said that he believed that Tessitore could potentially reach the levels of Michael Cole.
"I think he’s done great. That’s a very tough audience, they are tough to impress, so if you can come in and let’s say 60% of them like Tess, that’s a resounding victory. I’m sure that number is higher, but eventually they’ll understand Tess and his cadence. Like I said, the fact that he’s passionate about it and he knows it, and he’s a hell of an announcer, I think Michael Cole’s outstanding, but I’m sure Tess at some point can reach those levels as well. It’s obviously a great hire for Nick," Virk said.
Peter Rosenberg recently said that Tessitore had the best commentary debut that fans had seen in a long time. Check out his comments here.
Virk previously discussed his experience in WWE. Click here to see what he had to say.
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