As per the recent spree of WWE releases, we say goodbye to Tom Phillips, former Raw commentator and backstage correspondent. He leaves the company after nine years of service. Phillips went from working for the WWE app to commentating on Raw and NXT UK.

Longtime commentator Tom Phillips released by WWE

WWE has cleaned house once again, and many employees are now out of jobs. The company did not spare wrestlers, referees and even senior management. Prior to Phillips’ release, we saw Adnan Virk leave the commentary desk and claimed the split was mutual. The news of Phillips’ release was revealed by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling.

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Phillips has a pretty decent experience in broadcasting, extending to his pre-WWE days. He got his break in his sophomore year of high school when he was a public address announcer during a football game. He achieved his broadcast journalism degree from Penn State University, after which he called women’s basketball games.

Phillips began his career in WWE by taking backstage interviews for the new WWE app. He then branched into commentating alongside Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler and Byron Saxton for Main Event, Superstars and SmackDown. Prior to Charly Caruso’s hiring, Phillips was a part of the Kickoff Show panel and the social media lounge.

In 2021, WWE announced that ESPN’s Adnan Virk would replace him on the commentary team, and Phillips would take a role backstage. According to Ringside News, WWE gave him the role of Senior Manager of on-air talent. Unfortunately, his release came a month after they took him off the team.

UFC announcer Jimmy Smith heading to WWE

With two commentators exiting, WWE is bringing a huge name on board. Jimmy Smith, former Bellator and UFC analyst, will join the Raw commentary team alongside Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. Smith is the third replacement in the Raw team, after Samoa Joe replaced Jerry Lawler, Adnan Virk replaced Joe and now Smith will replace Virk.

Jimmy is a former host of American Ninja Warrior and most recently, he served as a host for NXT Takeover’s pre-show panel. He’s even a former fighter, but his MMA career did not pick up, forcing him to join the analyst’s team.

He joined UFC in 2018, but after a promising year, they did not renew his contract. After that, he joined Invicta FC as a commentator but will leave that gig to gain the most coveted analyst job in wrestling history.

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