During a recent interview with the “Bommer In the Morning” podcast, new WWE RAW commentator Adnan Virk commented on landing a job with WWE, why Vince McMahon “loves” his look, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On how he got hired by WWE: “The brain trust there (at WWE) made the decision late last year. They said, ‘We want to kind of get a legit sportscaster guy.’ Like an actual sportscaster to come in and offer a different feel. Nick Khan was my former agent at CAA and he’s the current President of WWE. Michael Cole is of course the voice of Smackdown on Fridays, and he’s in charge of all the talent in the division. He reaches out to my guy, asks ‘Would I be interested?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s give it a shot.’
“So I auditioned in early February. And the audition was just amazing. I’m calling matches, previous matches, off the monitor that had happened the previous weeks on RAW and Smackdown. And I approached just as I would if I were calling a (Calgary) Flames/(Edmonton) Oilers game. I just went on the website and went ‘Okay, here’s Shayna Baszler. She’s been with WWE for this many years, her featured move is Kirifuda Driver.’ And I just called the action. Play by play follows a three at structure; introduce the characters, establish the characters and put a bow on it. That’s what I did. Afterwards I interviewed a couple of the WWE stars.”
On Michael Cole’s reaction to his look: “At one point Cole goes ‘Your look is great.’ And I’m laughing and asking, ‘What do you mean by that?’ And he said, ‘Your height. Mr. McMahon loves that because it makes the wrestlers look even bigger!’ That’s the first time ever being a little guy is a win. I went home, they called a few weeks later, said, ‘Hey you got the job.’ The real trick is, I want to think MLB Network. They had to sign off on me traveling every week, COVID protocols, vaccinations; it was a process. I’m really grateful they let me do it. It’s been a cool journey. Obviously the he biggest part was the surprise; I couldn’t tell anybody. Nick said I could tell five people; your parents, your wife, your brother and one of your kids. I was like ‘okay.’ Then Saturday afternoon some reports of it started getting out. I literally flew to Tampa under the cloak of darkness. I’m wearing a fedora, I’m sitting in the back of the plane, trying to keep a low profile. And then on Monday they revealed it.”
On the heavy WWE schedule: “It’s 52 weeks a year, there’s no vacation time. Vacation is going to be Tuesday through Saturdays. But just because Al Michaels calls Sunday Night Football doesn’t mean he’s not prepping all week and studying. I think on the one hand, I still love being a conventional sportscaster. But when you look at exclusively, exposure, just opportunities, this is a whole new bat. This is something I never would’ve dreamed of. And who knows what opportunities it could be? I love movies; what if all of a sudden someone says ‘that guy on RAW, we’ll make him a commentator in an Adam Sandler movie.’ And all of a sudden that goes to something else. I’m dreaming now, but who knew this was going to happen? This is all a dream at this point. Maybe this goes into more entertainment roles, video game stuff, I have no idea. That’s why in my head I was like ‘I’ve got to snatch it.’ I had to do this. This was not something I could say no to.”
(Transcript h/t – Wrestling Inc)
