Key backstage figure unexpectedly appears on commentary alongside Michael Cole on SmackDown

There has been a bit of a shake-up in the commentary team amid Corey Graves' absence, and a key backstage figure sat alongside Michael Cole and Kevin Patrick on WWE SmackDown this week.

As you may know, Carmella recently gave birth, and her husband, Corey Graves, has understandably been given some time off. While the normal SmackDown commentary team features Michael Cole and Wade Barrett, the latter has been shifted to WWE RAW (at least temporarily), and Kevin Patrick has also been on SmackDown.

This week, Road Dogg, a key WWE backstage figure after Triple H brought him back last year, joined the blue brand's commentary team:

Why he's on commentary isn't known, but he has been having a bit of a minimal role as of this writing, letting Kevin Patrick and Michael Cole take the reigns of commentary while he chimes in.

As for the first segment he was on commentary for, it was the segment where Damage CTRL came out with all five members.

It was a tense segment that saw Dakota Kai and the rest of Damage CTRL tease that Bayley is increasingly out of place in the faction despite being the founder.

What do you think about Road Dogg on commentary? Sound off in the comments section below.