Jimmy Smith Exposes WWE Firing; Rousey on Lesnar vs. Cormier; Gable Steveson Update

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Jimmy Smith Discusses WWE Firing

Jimmy Smith spoke about his exit from WWE on Thursday after the company announced new commentary teams for Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

Smith had been the play-by-play voice of Raw for more than a year, but as part of a company-wide shake-up, he was removed from that role Thursday and replaced by Kevin Patrick, who previously served as a backstage interviewer.

Later, Smith confirmed that he was leaving the company, and he provided his thoughts on how things went down while speaking on Fight Nation on SiriusXM:

Smith noted that getting a job with WWE in the first place was "out of the blue," as was his removal from the Raw commentary team.

Prior to joining WWE, Smith was an MMA fighter and announcer, working for both UFC and Invicta FC in an announcing capacity.

Last year, he was brought into WWE to replace Adnan Virk as the voice of Monday Night Raw after Virk seemingly struggled to transition into the world of pro wrestling.

Smith was brought in during a time when Vince McMahon was in charge, but Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan and Triple H have made many significant changes in the few months since they took power in the wake of Vince's retirement.

While Smith characterized his firing as unexpected, he said on Unlocking the Cage (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News) that Triple H inadvertently clued him in last week that his days in WWE were numbered:

"Triple H accidentally told me before the show Monday. He screwed up and told me [about the commentary changes]. He didn't mean to … I go, 'Hey, I just talked to Riddle and he gave me this line about how he out-wrestled [UFC star] Jon Jones twice,' and Triple H goes, 'Okay, cool. Give that note to [SmackDown announcer Michael] Cole,' and I went, why would I have to give that note to Cole if I'm calling the match on Saturday? Oh, I'm not calling the match on Saturday.

"Oh, I’m probably fired. In about two seconds, my brain went, that's so—okay … and I was like, all right. So I knew basically the whole show on Monday night that I wasn't coming back, so when I got the call Tuesday, I was not particularly surprised."

Smith was a stabilizing force on Raw during a time when the commentary team was in flux, and while he may not go down as an all-time great, he did his job effectively.

Living up to Smith's performance won't necessarily be an easy task for Patrick, but it is clear Triple H believes the Irishman is up to the job.

Rousey Believes Cormier Could Beat Lesnar in MMA Fight

Brock Lesnar is one of the most physically imposing figures in the world, but Ronda Rousey believes Daniel Cormier could defeat The Beast Incarnate in an MMA fight.

During a discussion on her YouTube channel (h/t Mukherjee), Rousey was asked to pick between Cormier and Lesnar in the Octagon, and she went with Cormier, saying: "Well, I would say that DC is a better wrestler because he went to the Olympics. Since that is their kind of root art. I have to go with that [Cormier] then, but I don't know. You never know."

While Rousey has made a successful transition from UFC to WWE as a former champion in both promotions, Lesnar went the other way by being a world champion in WWE and then becoming a heavyweight champion in UFC.

Lesnar has since returned to WWE and established himself as one of the most dominant forces in the history of the company.

Cormier is a former UFC heavyweight champion in his own right, and while he has yet to wrestle a match in WWE, he will be part of Saturday's Extreme Rules premium live event as the special guest referee for the Fight Pit match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle.

DC is a longtime wrestling fan, which should make him a natural fit for WWE, although it is unclear if there are any plans for him to wrestle in the future.

If Cormier does get in the ring at some point, Lesnar would be a natural opponent since UFC seemed to be building toward a Cormier vs. Lesnar fight in 2018 when Lesnar pushed Cormier after DC beat Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 226.

The fight never happened, but with Cormier getting involved in WWE, there is now speculation that Cormier vs. Lesnar could happen under the WWE umbrella.

While the winner of that match would come down to booking, Rousey is of the belief that Cormier would have the advantage in a real MMA fight due to his Olympic background.

Lesnar was an NCAA heavyweight wrestling national champion at the University of Minnesota, however, so he would seemingly have a fighting chance.

Steveson Training at WWE PC After Heart Procedure

Olympic gold medal-winning heavyweight wrestler Gable Steveson divulged Friday why his transition to WWE has been slower than expected.

Steveson told ESPN's Mike Coppinger that he underwent an ablation on his heart last month to treat Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which is a congenital heart defect that causes a rapid heartbeat.

While Steveson said the issue was discovered before he won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo last year, he decided to wait until he could consult with WWE doctors before receiving treatment.

Steveson is now training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, on a full-time basis, and he said the following about his status:

"We're just excited to get this journey started, it's been a long road to get to this point. ... I feel that I'm capable of being in that top spot and I feel that I'm capable of handling that position in the right way.

"I'm a competitor, I'm an entertainer. I can do things that a lot of other big guys can't. I look forward to putting that on display and sooner or later, taking over that top spot and being the guy that people want to see."

Steveson was part of the WWE draft last year, getting selected to Raw, and he appeared at WrestleMania earlier this year, hitting Chad Gable with a suplex following a match.

He has yet to compete in a match for WWE, although now that he is back training in Orlando, it is likely only a matter of time before Steveson is officially on the WWE roster.

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