Major WWE star absent from SmackDown; replacement named

A major change was made on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown. This week's edition of the blue brand aired live from Saudi Arabia and was the final show ahead of Night of Champions 2025.

The SmackDown commentary team typically features Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett every Friday night. However, that was not the case for this week's show. It was reported earlier today by PWInsider that they had not heard about Joe Tessitore being in Saudi Arabia for tonight's show.

Tessitore's absence was confirmed during tonight's edition of SmackDown, when it was revealed that Michael Cole would serve as his replacement. The Voice of the WWE typically calls the action every Monday night on RAW, but filled in for Tessitore during this week's episode of SmackDown.

John Cena will be defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against CM Punk tomorrow night at Night of Champions. Cody Rhodes is scheduled to battle Randy Orton in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament, and Jade Cargill will be facing Asuka in the finals of the Queen of the Ring tournament. The winners of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will earn a title shot at SummerSlam in August.

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