Folks, it was a wild night on WWE SmackDown as viewers tuned in expecting to hear the dulcet tones of Joe Tessitore—only to be greeted by NXT’s own Vic Joseph, who may or may not have gotten lost on his way to the Performance Center.
At the top of the show, Wade Barrett introduced Joseph as his temporary co-pilot for the evening. Joseph, ever the professional, made it clear he wasn’t there to replace Tessitore—just to keep the seat warm, like a dad babysitting his kid’s goldfish for a weekend. Meanwhile, WWE has kept tight-lipped on why Tessitore was absent. Maybe he was sick, maybe he got stuck in catering, or maybe—just maybe—he’s on a very serious side quest involving Paul Heyman’s hair secrets.
Joseph, known for his work alongside Booker T and Corey Graves on NXT, has been a staple of WWE commentary since 2017, bouncing between brands like a poorly booked mid-carder. He’s called 205 Live, NXT UK, WWE Main Event, and even had a cup of coffee on Raw before settling into NXT, where he spends most of his time translating Booker T’s wisdom into human language.
The biggest surprise? WWE didn’t call up Corey Graves for the gig—possibly because he’s still recovering from his social media outburst over his move to NXT. After tweeting some truly spicy takes that made even X (formerly known as Twitter) do a double take, Graves disappeared from WWE programming for a bit before resurfacing on NXT. Perhaps WWE figured Vic Joseph was the safer bet—because, let’s be honest, the last thing they needed was Graves dropping a hot take about Roman Reigns’ hairline during primetime.
As for when Tessitore will return? No one knows. But for now, Vic Joseph is enjoying his brief stay in the big leagues—at least until Michael Cole decides he wants another show to run.