Last night on WWE Smackdown, it was revealed that the Smackdown commentary team would move forward as consisting of Michael Cole and Corey Graves. With Wade Barrett not mentioned, it was originally assumed that perhaps WWE was once again shaking up its commentary booth and moving him over to WWE Raw especially with Joe Tessitore leaving to cover college football and Pat McAfee still away indefinitely.
However, a report from pwinsider.com notes that Graves and Cole are expected to be calling Raw as well, leaving Barrett "without a role" and suggesting that he would be off the road "for a bit" going forward. The report stated that it was unclear if the shakeup is due to comments Barrett made towards Nikki Bella at Clash in Paris during the pre-show that rubbed Bella the wrog way and prompted her to talk about it on her podcast.
Barrett posted on social media earlier today, clearing up the rumors and confirming that while he is off the commentating team for now, it is due to a planned personal leave of absence and has nothing at all to do with his comments towards Nikki or any sort of punishment:
"I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it’s causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with. WWE have kindly given me a couple of weeks off for personal time (booked nine months ago), and then I’m back to business as usual. A complete non-story. The end."
I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it’s causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with.
WWE have kindly given me a couple of weeks off for personal time (booked nine months ago), and then I’m back to business as usual. A complete non-story. The end. https://t.co/ZPcBQatnCK— Stu Bennett 🏴🇺🇸 (@StuBennett) September 6, 2025
