Later this year, the WWE will move Friday Night Smackdown from FOX to the USA Network, however, they are making some changes before that as well. On Tuesday morning, it was reported that the WWE would remove Kevin Patrick as the lead announcer of Smackdown.
According to Aaron Varble of SEScoops, the play-by-play announcer will be removed effective immediately. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer confirmed the plan.
Kevin Patrick first joined the WWE as a backstage interviewer in 2021. He had become the lead announcer alongside color commentator Corey Graves on Monday Night Raw in October 2022, before the duo was moved to Smackdown. They initially joined Michael Cole on Friday. Though, the veteran announcer was removed at the beginning of 2024.
Many fans have not enjoyed the broadcasts with Patrick as the lead announcer. As of now, there is no word on who the replacement may be. Though, some could expect that Michael Cole would be among the names the WWE might look to have. Other names could include Byron Saxton, who has had good chemistry with Graves in the past, or Vic Joseph. The former has most recently been used as a backstage interviewer for Raw. Joseph is currently the play-by-play announcer for NXT.
If Kevin Patrick remains with the WWE, he could likely return to doing backstage interviews. Jackie Redmond is the only full-time interviewer, so adding another seems likely. Though, it’s unclear if he will stay with the company.
In addition to the WWE, Patrick, real name Kevin Egan, has announced a prolific number of events. He has worked play-by-play for Major League Soccer broadcasts on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass since last year. Though, his resume also includes stops with the BIG 10, the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, beIN SPORTS, CNN International and Sirius XM.
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