Adnan Virk Recalls Why Michael Cole Believes That Vince McMahon Will Love His Look
WWE Adnan Virk joined Sportsnet's Boomer in the Morning podcast to talk about his new job as play-by-play commentator on RAW. Virk wasted no time delving into how he got hired.
"The brain trust there (at WWE) made the decision late last year," Virk said. "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 Blazer. 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. And 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."
Virk detailed that the WWE schedule will not be an easy one. But ultimately, the opportunity to call Monday Night RAW was too good for him to pass up.
"It's 52 weeks a year, there's no vacation time," Virk said. "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."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sportsnet's Boomer in the Morning and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription