Wade Barrett will fill in for Pat McAfee on commentary during Monday's "WWE Raw." It was confirmed earlier this week that McAfee would be unavailable for the show as he would be working the College Football Championship. Typically, Corey Graves would have been considered a forerunner to stand in for McAfee, but after he recently took issue with his moving to "WWE NXT" he was reportedly sent home ahead of this week's show and has yet to have been used by WWE in the meantime. As such, it was announced during Friday's "WWE SmackDown" that Barrett will be filling the role on Monday, returning to the red brand's booth for the first time since moving last year. 

It was reported after Graves' single appearance on "NXT" that he was legitimately dissatisfied with being moved to the brand, which appeared to present itself during the broadcast itself between himself and Booker T. He was returning to the brand where he started his commentary journey — after hanging up his boots — and having since commentated for both "Raw" and "SmackDown" from 2016 onwards. Graves reportedly re-signed with the company in January 2024, believed to run at least for the next few years.