If you follow professional wrestling long enough, you’ll inevitably learn to expect the unexpected.
Friday night on WWE Smackdown was yet another example of that, as CBS Sports’ Brad Nessler appeared on the show on FOX and promoted Saturday’s Army/Navy game.
Nessler even stayed with the commentary team to call a match between wrestlers Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross.
WWE ran its annual ‘Tribute to the Troops’ event Friday night in Providence, leading to Nessler, who was in the area already for Saturday’s Army/Navy football game in Foxboro to make the cross=network guest appearance.
Well…didn't have this one on our 2023 BINGO cards.
CBS Sports' Brad Nessler is currently on Fox's WWE Friday Night Smackdown, promoting the Army-Navy football game for tomorrow in Foxboro, MA.
Smackdown is currently airing a 'Tribute to the Troops' special honoring the United… pic.twitter.com/07Vdf7tDP6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 9, 2023
Nessler hoped that CBS was taking notes on some of the WWE entrances, saying, “When Cody [Rhodes] came out, I thought, ‘Why can’t they do that when Gary and I come out? That’d be pretty awesome!”
"When Cody [Rhodes] came out, I thought, 'Why can't they do that when Gary and I come out? That'd be pretty awesome!'" pic.twitter.com/wRNC5kxzSY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 9, 2023
Nessler, naturally, was a natural fit as a wrestling commentator. His delivery was perfect and he also clearly kept up with WWE, accurately noting that Kross had been on TV since August. He also seamlessly tied in the event’s name to the match’s finish, calling it a “spear for the troops” when Lashley speared Kross to pick up the pinfall.
It’s unclear how the deal came about considering Nessler works for CBS and the event aired on FOX, but it’s nice that it could happen. Nessler is a long-time wrestling fan and good friend of former WWE announcer and Oklahoma Sooners superfan Jim Ross.
