Tag: Adnan Virk

Adnan Virk says he appreciated how direct Vince McMahon was with his feedback. 

Virk was the play-by-play commentator for WWE Raw from April 12, 2021, until he was released on May 25, 2021. He appeared on the Sports Media podcast recently and spoke about his short time in the company. 

“I was only there for seven weeks, but I tell ya, it was such an overwhelming experience,” Adnan said. “Obviously, I was being criticized heavily in all corners.”

He continued to say that the current Raw commentator, Kevin Patrick, offered him some advice during this time. 

“He came over to me and he was like, ‘Listen, I know what you’re going through. We are not from this world.'”

“In that wrestling world, you’re not one of us, you don’t belong here. And he goes, ‘I feel that too, I’m coming from MLS and soccer, you’re coming from baseball and ESPN, so I sympathize with you. Every time I hear you calling this stuff, I’m like, man, don’t check Twitter.'” 

Virk continued to talk about what it was like working with Vince McMahon. 

“Vince was very cordial. He was respectful. He’s not hobnobbing in the locker room asking what I think about the [Toronto Blue] Jays but at the same time, he wasn’t screaming at me every five minutes. He does his own thing and he would be very direct, he was very blunt with his feedback. He’s not in the mood to offer pleasantries but at the same time, I appreciate a direct approach.” 

Adnan Virk recently spoke with Peter Klein of Couch Potato Diary about his short stay in WWE.

Although he mostly spoke positive about his time with the company, he noted that they “didn’t give me any training” and that some people thought that was “unfair.” He pointed out that while other sports don’t throw people into the fire like that, he ultimately recognized “that’s the way WWE does things so no excuses. That’s my fault that I wasn’t good enough.”

Virk and WWE parted ways in May, less than two months after he started as the lead commentator on Raw. MMA commentator Jimmy Smith, also new to WWE and pro wrestling announcing, replaced him.

Virk also spoke about his relationship with Vince McMahon, noting that he didn’t meet the WWE chairman right away which he had noted in the past.

“It’s not like I met with Vince before my first show. I literally was just prepping on my own, doing my best, and Michael Cole was helping out. My first show was April 12. I didn’t meet Vince. I heard his voice in my ear at one point and he was giving some direction during the show. I met him after the second show. He summoned me in. I met him. He was very polite and very respectful and he basically just gave really good feedback. He went through everything….very detailed. At the end, he said, ‘You’re doing a good job. Best of luck.'”

There was an struggle for Virk to adapt to the wrestling commentary style which he attributed to not learning the “moves and mechanics.” Virk also noted that he was used to other sports commentary where he would receive notes on each athlete and their stats.

It was also made very clear by Virk that he couldn’t do the 52-week schedule, noting that he “really didn’t like” the travel aspect of the job.

Although he praised fellow commentators Byron Saxton and Corey Graves, he said he always felt like the weakest link.

“Everyone there is awesome. Corey Graves is phenomenal. I think he’s a huge talent. I think Byron Saxton is a huge talent. You never want to be in a situation where you’re the weakest link and I knew I was. That’s never a good feeling to have. Those guys were such good teammates because it’s like a baseball team. ‘We know you need some help, we’re here to help you out. You’re new, just lean on us and we’re good to go’ which was so generous of them.”

This story was updated at 1:55 PM Eastern.

Adnan Virk’s WWE on-air tenure is over after less than two months as the company announced Tuesday that they and Virk “have mutually agreed to part ways.”

“WWE thanks Adnan for his work,” the brief statement read. In a tweet, Virk thanked WWE, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton and said, “The weekly travel along with my other jobs was a grind for me and my family. “

Virk was hired in April as the new lead announcer of WWE Raw despite having no previous experience in wrestling. A former Nick Khan client while the WWE president was at CAA, Virk had signed a multi-year deal and started on the April 12th Raw alongside Graves and Saxton.

It’s unknown who will replace Virk on the announce desk. He had replaced senior manager of on-air talent Tom Phillips who was moved to 205 Live and overseeing “special projects for WWE’s programming on Peacock and at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.”

Virk was a Michael Cole hire after a mid-February audition that didn’t directly involve Vince McMahon. He approved after reviewing audition tapes with Khan and Cole after the audition and didn’t actually meet Virk until after his second night on Raw.

Virk has several other media jobs including with MLB Network, NHL Network, DAZN, and several podcasts he hosts.