Joe Tessitore reacts to WWE Raw commentary debut

New WWE commentator Joe Tessitore had an awesome time in his first night on Raw.

Tessitore made his WWE play-by-play debut on Monday, calling Raw alongside Wade Barrett. In a post-show interview, Tessitore reacted to the night and gave an assessment of his performance.

“How do I feel? This is how I feel [points to the crowd]. You feel alive. You feel passion-based, and you feel intensity. You want to live in the red in life. That’s what this is. Raw. Live in the red. This was an awesome night,” he said.

Tessitore said the reaction he received from the fans meant a lot to him. When he made his entrance before the show, Tessitore brought some T-shirts to hand out to kids in the crowd. Tessitore does not think he was great in his commentary debut, but he was passionate about what was going on in the ring.

“Here’s the deal: It’s the kid who skipped school in eighth grade to go meet Big John Studd. It’s the kid who was rooting against the faces to root for Paul Orndorff. That’s the kid that you got tonight,” Tessitore said. “I wasn’t great tonight, but I was a passionate fan tonight.”

Barrett congratulated Tessitore on his debut and praised his new partner’s performance:

Smashed it on his first day.. What an asset! The #WWERaw desk is going to be a LOT of fun over the next few months. Congrats @JoeTessESPN, it’s a pleasure working with ya @WWE! pic.twitter.com/psqLhPpBFP

— Stu Bennett (@StuBennett) September 3, 2024

In addition to his new WWE role, Tessitore is remaining with ESPN and ABC as a college football and boxing announcer. He previously called Monday Night Football from 2018-2019.