Joe Tessitore has already made his mark as a pro wrestling play-by-play announcer in WWE. Screen grab: WWE Raw
WWEBy Ben Axelrod on

For years — perhaps decades — pro wrestling promotions have promised to embrace a “sports-like” presentation.

But much like a heel cutting a carefully crafted promo in the ring, such talk was often just that — talk — empty promises with no sustained action to follow. Only now, WWE is actually backing up such statements.

The latest example of WWE’s sports-like approach comes in the form of Joe Tessitore, the longtime ESPN college football and boxing announcer who became the lead voice of the company’s flagship show, WWE Raw, earlier this month. To say that Joe Tess has been an immediate hit calling shows alongside former wrestler Wade Barrett would be an understatement, as he’s already received plenty of praise just three weeks in.

The July announcement of Tessitore’s new WWE gig was met with no shortage of skepticism, which was understandable considering the natural comparisons to Adnan Virk, whose underwhelming run as Raw‘s lead announcer lasted just six weeks. It’s one thing to have a background in sports broadcasting, but another to make it translate in a way that works in pro wrestling, especially considering the unique space the industry occupies in between fiction in reality.

But in the matter of just a few short weeks, Tessitore has seemed right at home calling choreographed fights with predetermined outcomes. While other wrestling announcers have often straddled the line between work and shoot as if to not call attention to the absurdity of it all, Tessitore has embraced even the most bizarre aspects of the pro wrestling world.

If a wrestler attacks another wrestler with the ring steps, Tessitore calls it as if he’s on the verge of witnessing a homicide. And if a wrestler uses a hooded sweatshirt to disguise himself while performing a sneak attack on a rival, he doesn’t unnecessarily wait for the drama to build before revealing what everybody at home already knows.

Calling pro wrestling in a literal fashion is one thing and it’s understandable why others have been more wary about such an approach. But there’s something about Tessitore’s delivery that makes it work — perhaps because there’s always been a theatrical aspect to his broadcasting style.

“It’s the best debut we’ve had in a long time,” Peter Rosenberg, who routinely appears on WWE programming as an analyst, told Awful Announcing’s Short and to the Point recently. “He’s built for this. He has a pro wrestling style. Like it’s built into it. It’s built into it when he does boxing, when he did football. You can hear it right now when he does college football.”

In today’s day and age of pro wrestling, nearly every aspect of the industry has become polarizing, especially on social media. But while it’s only been a few weeks, Tessitore has proven to be the exception, as you’d be hard pressed to find many fans critical of WWE now having a voice that matches its sports-like approach.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod