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Over the weekend PWInsiderElite.com reported the following:
"As announced last night on Smackdown, Corey Graves and Michael Cole will be calling that brand.
Wade Barrett will be off the road going forward for a bit PWInsiderElite.com has been told. He will not be calling Raw either so its not a commentary change.
Some have asked if this is fallout of Barrett's comments about Nikki Bella at the Clash in Paris event pre-show, but we haven't confirmed that is the case and I don't believe to be the case. Bella noted on her podcast she wasn't thrilled about Barrett's comments about her age at that show and stated he "avoided" her at Raw. Barrett stated on Twitter he didn't avoid her and would happy to speak with her then noted that they had spoken and the issue was squashed.
We are told the current plan is for Raw will remain Michael Cole and Corey Graves as well, so Graves went from being moved off the main roster announce team to being back on both shows.
Barrett is not gone from the company and we are told he will be back but not in next few weeks."
Despite our report being very much forward and easy to follow, somehow on social media (specifically Twitter, which has a wealth of accounts aggregating news that fail to actually have reading comprehension at the same time) this was twisted into claims we reported Barrett's announcing run was done, which led to reports he was gone from the company and that Nikki Bella was somehow to blame - all citing our report, even though our report specifically stated we DID NOT BELIEVE there was any connection. Barrett and I both responded on social media, pointing out those reports were wrong. Once we did so, the offending account that started the false story just deleted their Tweets, so they still made money on the lies via their tweet impressions, then deleted the statement citing PWInsider, of course without even an apology.
Given how many outlets picked up the incorrect versions from social media and have yet to correct them, I have been shaking my head for days at all of this utter stupidity. So, if you see anywhere claiming we reported Barrett was removed from announcing and/or gone from the company, crediting PWInsider.com, it is total absolute trash.
***
We've been asked about Joe Tessitore. We are told he likely has other commitments to college football and will be back when his schedule allows. We are told he may be popping in on Raws but haven't confirmed that 100% as of this posting.
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