WWE announced Tuesday that commentator Adnan Virk would no longer be a part of Monday Night Raw after just seven shows.
“WWE and Adnan Virk have mutually agreed to part ways,” the organization said in a statement. “WWE thanks Adnan for his work.”
Virk told Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina he landed the play-by-play gig with WWE because of a longtime relationship he had with Nick Khan, the president of WWE. Khan was Virk’s former agent.
“This is a relationship business, so you have a good relation with somebody, that means something,” Virk told Traina.
“I’ll always be so grateful to Nick and his stewardship and mentorship, and I said something to the effect of, ‘Hey, if there’s anything for me, let me know.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, O.K., sure.’ Never thinking it would come to fruition and my understanding is the WWE brain trust wanted a new voice, wanted something different, and Michael Cole, in addition to being the voice of SmackDown, is obviously a part of the brain trust.”
Virk had experience commentating baseball and boxing but none with wrestling. But Virk was hired to replace Tom Phillips and made his debut on the first Raw episode after WrestleMania in April.
“Raw after Mania is a huge deal,” Virk said. “I’m of the opinion it’s baptism by fire. I called a few matches off a monitor, but you’re really only gonna learn it once you’re in the chair.”
Adding Virk to the Raw broadcast table was part of a larger WWE commentary shakeup that saw former Raw commentator Samoa Joe released and Pat McAfee added to the team on SmackDown.
Virk’s style of broadcasting was significantly different from his peers who had WWE experience in the past, but three hours of wrestling commenting was a huge transition from 12 rounds or nine innings.
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