Video: Jimmy Smith On Preparing For Tonight's RAW Debut, What He's Most Looking Forward To
Former MMA fighter and broadcaster Jimmy Smith is making his WWE TV debut on tonight's RAW. Smith will be replacing Adnan Virk as the lead RAW voice, calling the show with Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.
As seen in the video below, Smith was interviewed for the WWE YouTube channel ahead of tonight's debut. He was asked how it sounds to be making his debut tonight.
"Man, it sounds new," Smith responded. "It sounds like I'm just getting started, diving into the deep end of the pool. Man, but it's great."
Smith was also asked about emotions in his head on this first night of RAW.
"I'm thinking about my preparation," Smith said. "That's always key, every time I've ever done anything, fighting, broadcasting, anything else, you think about the things you did to get ready, and right now those are the emotions going through my head. I'm thinking about everything I did to get ready and all the prep, and that's all going through my brain, but it all goes away when the show starts."
Smith, who was just announced as Virk's replacement last week, was asked to give some of his background information to the WWE Universe.
"I've been in broadcasting for 13 years," he said. "I've been in MMA for 20 years, as a fighter and jiu-jitsu, and then I got into MMA broadcasting about 13 years ago. I've worked for the UFC, I've worked for Bellator, I've worked for M-1. I did American Ninja Warrior. I've done everything in combat sports you can think of, so now I'm moving onto WWE."
Finally, Smith was asked what he's most looking forward to in WWE.
"What I'm most looking forward to hear in the WWE is A, getting all the storylines and all the characters, and everything, watching them flush out right in front of me," Smith said. "I'm really, really looking forward to that. Because I've been following the product, getting ready for this gig, and I have the same questions as everybody else does, about how a match is going to end, and what's going to happen, and who's going to go where, and all these things getting clarified. To see that with my own eyes, right in front, that's an amazing thing. I'm really looking forward to that."
Stay tuned for more and join us for live RAW coverage at this link. Below is the full video with Smith: