It was a good night for new WWE announcer Joe Tessitore who managed to get through his first three hours of WWE action without any hiccups and a lot of praise from fans online.

Tessitore was interviewed at ringside after Raw went off the air by Jackie Redmond, and said that he feels “alive” when there is the passion and the intensity he felt during the show.

“You want to live in the red in life. That’s what this is. Raw. Live in the red. This was an awesome night,” Tessitore told Redmond.

The life-long wrestling fan admitted that he wasn’t “great” in his debut but he was that passionate fan who in eighth grade, he skipped school to go meet Big John Studd.

Reaction online has been mostly positive, which is a change since wrestling fans tend to react very cold to new commentators who are not brought up in the industry. His distinctive voice has given Raw a more sports-like feel.

Tessitore will continue doing commentary for ESPN and ABC during the college football season and will also remain as the lead boxing announcer for ESPN.