Corey Graves has issued an apology for a recent Tweet critical of Mauro Ranallo’s commentary work on the NXT Takeover: WarGames show. Graves kicks off this week’s episode of his podcast “WWE After the Bell” by addressing the controversy.

“Before we go any further, on a personal note, I need to address something,” Graves said on the show. “This past Saturday, during the TakeOver: War Games event, I sent out a Tweet. It was an unpopular opinion, as I often do with the intention of just stirring up a little controversy, maybe have something fun to talk about on TV or here on the show.”

“It was maybe not the most professional way to go about things and it was never meant to offend, or disrespect or disparage anybody, that was never my intention. If it was taken as such, I apologize deeply, that was not my intention. I would never intentionally cause anybody any undue stress, especially a co-worker, so I apologize.”

It has since been reported that Mauro Ranallo will not be back on NXT tonight from Full Sail University. Ranallo’s status for upcoming NXT shows is currently unknown.

• Mauro Ranallo Will Not Return For This Week’s NXT (Report)

Corey Graves is dealing with some backlash from fans online at the moment. Graves Tweeted during the NXT TakeOver: War Games event expressing his opinion that Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuiness were not being given many opportunities to speak. Shortly following Graves’ Tweet, Ranallo deleted his Twitter account.

Mauro Ranallo is a mental health advocate who lives with bipolar disorder. Ranallo left the WWE main roster for NXT after a much-publicized conflict with WWE which likely had to do with criticisms from JBL directed at him.

Graves has been active on social media today in regards to the situation. He took aim at the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer with the following Tweet:

Meltzer had the following to say regarding the Graves/Ranallo situation on Wrestling Observer Radio last night/this morning:

“I was furious when I saw this and it’s got nothing to do with the idea of Mauro Ranallo being above criticism but we know what happens when a co-worker does it,” Meltzer said. “Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock went to the building I guess, the gist of everything was that they left and they were very, very upset.”

“It was the Tweet and that’s why he didn’t do the show,” Meltzer continued. He would also say that Ranallo is expected back on Wednesday for NXT, however.

Meltzer later tweeted:

Ranallo’s longtime friend and MMA legend Frank Shamrock reminded Graves of a quote that Graves had Tweeted out shortly before directing the Tweet towards Ranallo:

In this Tweet, Graves states that Ranallo was making too many references to the Chicago rap scene.

Following this past Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: WarGames event, passionate NXT commentator Mauro Ranallo deleted his Twitter account. This came in the wake of comments made by SmackDown announcer Corey Graves.

Graves shared some critical observations over Ranallo’s commentary during the broadcast of TakeOver: WarGames. Taking to Twitter, Graves suggested that Ranallo wasn’t giving his fellow commentators, Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuinness, an opportunity to provide their thoughts on the action.

He wrote, “Just for the record guys, I know you wouldn’t know it, but there’s actually a WWE Hall of Famer AND a former Ring of Honor Champion on commentary. I’d imagine they have a lot to offer.”

Replying to a fan’s question over how many Chicago rap references Ranallo had made, Graves stated: “Far, far too many.”

At the time of writing, Ranallo’s account is still deleted. His close friend and manager, Frank Shamrock, actually responded to Graves’ comment. He uploaded a picture that read “Social media has made too many of you comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the mouth for it.”

Lost Voice

During last night’s Survivor Series pay-per-view, Ranallo was noticeably missing during the show. He was replaced during the NXT matchups by Michael Cole.

In case you missed it: during the NXT Championship matchup between Adam Cole and Pete Dunne, Cole explained to the WWE Universe why Ranallo wasn’t present.

Acording to Cole, Ranallo was so passionate during the previous night’s TakeOver event that he blew his voice out and was therefore unable to provide the kind of commentary NXT has become known for. It was noted that Ranallo would be back on commentary duties for this week’s episode of NXT.

Ranallo is an open, active mental health advocate. He has previously documented his own personal battles in his well-received documentary, Bi-Polar Rock ‘N’ Roller.

Wrestling is a business of speculation and the latest one of them is the discussion on whether or not CM Punk’s role at WWE Backstage will lead to an in-ring return for the former World Champion.

Corey Graves discussed the Straight Edge Star’s return to the WWE fold in the latest episode of his new After The Bell podcast and he also gave his thoughts on his possible return to action.

Graves first admitted that he was shocked like everyone else when he first heard the news on Punk joining WWE Backstage and said that it’s a great move by Fox to gain viewers and get eyes on FS1.

Discussing how this comeback has fuelled the rumors of Punk’s in-ring return in future, the SmackDown commentator explained that his appearance proves that you can never say never in WWE:

“This, of course, has fueled rumors and speculation plenty – is Punk coming back to the WWE fold? Is he going to compete again? Punk himself has said that he’s not interested in wrestling anymore, but as his appearance alone proved, you can never say never in the WWE.”

CM Punk himself was also recently asked about possibly entering the Royal Rumble next year but the former Champion declined the possibility of it.

However Punk did not completely rule out the possibility of an in-ring return in future during his WWE Backstage interview. So fans should not lose the hope of seeing him in a WWE ring somewhere down the line.

Corey Graves has shared which WWE Superstar he believes deserves a significant push within the company. Talking on the WWE podcast he hosts, After The Bell, Graves spoke highly of New Day member Big E, stating that the Superstar is primed for a breakout singles run.

“This should be the opportunity for Big E’s big, singles breakout performance,” Graves said. “Now, I’m not saying to break up The New Day. They’ve gone on the record a million times and said, ‘Nope, they want to stay a unit forever’, and I don’t want to be the one to argue. But people forget that Big E was a former NXT Champion, Big E was a former [Intercontinental Champion] very shortly into his WWE career and that was when he was still figuring things out.” 

Graves believes that after a lengthy career on the main roster, Big E now has the “seasoning” he needs to be working main events. He also believes working alongside Kofi Kingston has done wonders for Big E’s development. .

“Big E has future WWE or Universal Champion written all over him,” he said. “As entertaining as all three of The New Day members are in front of the camera, we haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg of what Big E is capable of as a performer.”

New Day members Big E and former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston are the reigning WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions. They are scheduled to compete in a Tag Team Championship triple threat match at Survivor Series. They face off against RAW’s Viking Raiders and NXT’s Undisputed Era members Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. 

WWE Survivor Series takes place this Sunday night from Chicago, IL.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

Adam Cole defeated Daniel Bryan on Smackdown this week. It was the first time the two have ever faced each other and according to Cole, Bryan is as good as everyone says he is. Cole appeared on “WWE After the Bell” with Corey Graves recently and talked about his experience having to rush to the show.

“I got a text message about 2:15 saying ‘hey, there’s a chance you might be needed for Smackdown’ and then 2-minutes after that it was ‘you’re needed for Smackdown and a plane leaves in an hour and a half.”

“Fortunately, I was home. So, I quickly get all my stuff together, get all rushed, we get there and we’re waiting for the plane to show up because the plane’s late. Then the plane gets there, we end up landing, and we’re kind of figuring out the idea of what we’re going to be doing while we’re in the air. When we do land we land at about 7:30 but again this is in Buffalo so there is a decent little trip yet to get there.”

“We walk into the arena at around 8:15/8:20, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were just finishing in the ring and that is kind of how the whole process started. It was definitely one of the wackiest days of my career because I think at that point, me and Bryan ended up walking out to the ring around 9:30 so I had about an hour to get ready and get focussed and get in the zone and all that jazz. Totally wild day.”

The conversation between Graves and Cole can be listened to in the player below:

On the latest episode of WWE’s After The Bell podcast, Corey Graves spoke in-depth around the travel nightmare that unfolded after last week’s Crown Jewel event from Saudi Arabia.

Graves opened the show addressing the “elephant in the room” and aimed to clarify what he dubbed as “conspiracy theories” fueled by online wrestling news outlets. He prefaced his rant by saying that he’s read the online rumors and is not here to tow the company line. He experienced it all first hand and wants to set the record straight.

Overall, his experiences with WWE in Saudi Arabia have been awesome. The travel is usually easy and fun. He had reservations before the first Saudi trip, but the people over there have been nothing but gracious. The service, the food, everything has been high class and enjoyable. The Crown Jewel show was awesome and surpassed his expectations. The elephant in the room is the “travel snafu” after the event, as they are calling it internally.

“It was weird,” Graves said. “It was definitely unusual.” There were a litany of delay and nobody could get a straight answer about what was causing the delays. They heard about 10-15 different reasons as to why thee plane wouldn’t take off. Everyone was exhausted and just wanted to get back to the States.

The WWE crew boarded the plane to leave and got in their seats ready to take off. The flight crew came around took everyone’s food orders. Soon thereafter, there was some confusion involving the pilots, who were going in and out of the cockpit. He heard about some sort of mechanical issue. They shut the plane down and restarted it. They were later told the plane would not be taking off and everyone deplaned.

At this time, WWE and Fox executives began scrambling to figure out how to salvage Friday’s SmackDown broadcast. A select group of people were chosen to board a separate charter plane and fly back to the United States while everyone else stayed in Saudi Arabia. There were reports that VIP talent got the preferential treatment, but Graves says this is completely untrue.

Certain people like Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar, Tyson Fury, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair made their own arrangements to leave the country. More on that below. However, the WWE crew that flew out early on a separate flight, they were not getting preferential treatment. The goal of WWE and Fox was to present SmackDown as advertised to the best of their abilities. As a result, the wrestlers who were advertised for that show got on the first big flight out. This had nothing to do with who was the ‘most important’ or the biggest star.

Graves addressed the rumor that “Mr. McMahon abandoned everyone in Saudi Arabia.” Graves said this is a completely twisted narrative. Every week, as soon as the final bell rings at WWE television, Vince gets on his jet and goes to the next city. That’s because he is busy running WWE. He understands it is a sexy headline to say, “Vince left everyone” but that’s just how it works.

He acknowledges, “It sucked.” Talent was pissed. But there’s no conspiracies at work here. Graves then said, half of the rumors came from the “boys” who were on the plane and blasted the WWE talent that was tweeting about their frustrations.

“If you are that insecure and you feel so strongly that you’re going to get on Twitter and complain, because our flight got screwed up for whatever reason would be, what’s Twitter going to do?” Graves asked. “All of it is fuel for these ‘journalists’ so to speak, then everyone gets on the Internet and puts their two cents in and starts coming up with their conspiracy theories, and if you’re mad because your flight got delayed and you weren’t important enough to get on the jet, that’s on you. Crying about it on Twitter.”

Graves continued, “You’re a WWE Superstar. This happens. This is part of our life. We all have travel woes. We all have travel issues. You know who wasn’t complaining? Randy freakin’ Orton. If anybody has the cache and the right to speak his mind and raise hell it would be Randy Orton. He’s got a bit of a reputation for doing that. But Randy got it. It wasn’t because any of us that were on that smaller charter were more important than anyone else. It was about doing the damn show. It was about being a professional. Delivering what’s advertised. It was the company and the network trying to decide how we can make the show as close to whole as possible.”

He added that there’s nothing he can do about conspiracy theories out there, but he was there and how everything actually unfolded.

You can listen to the latest WWE After The Bell below:

During the premiere episode of WWE’s official podcast, After The Bell, host Corey Graves opened up about two current Superstars he feels are being underutilized by the company.

“In my opinion, Cesaro is the single-most underrated superstar, most underutilized superstar, not only in WWE but in the entire wrestling industry,” Graves stated. “[…] There was something about him; everything about Cesaro is this business. We always say it about Randy Orton – if you were to design a sports entertainer from the ground up, to me, Cesaro is kind of that same ilk.”

He described Cesaro’s physicality and technical ability in the ring, highlighting how he has dedicated his life to the craft of pro wrestling. 

“[…] there is literally no one you can put into a ring in WWE with Cesaro that won’t tear it down,” Graves claimed. “Cesaro is incapable of having a bad match; I mean, he may tell you otherwise. I’m telling you from my perspective as a guy that’s watched every second of WWE for the last three-and-a-half, four years. Cesaro is the guy.”

The Real Deal

The second Superstar Graves mentions is WWE’s former Cruiserweight Champion, Drew Gulak. Whereas he believes Cesaro is let down by his skills on the mic, Graves stresses that Gulak doesn’t suffer from that same problem. For him, Gulak is as good on the mic as he is in the ring.

“His presentation, the way he goes about things in the ring, [he’s] another one that if given the right stage and not getting killed by Braun Strowman, or the Lucha House Party, or whoever else that week, Gulak can talk,” he said. “I don’t know if the PowerPoint presentations are going to be his keys to the kingdom. But if you’ve gotten to see anything he’s capable of on 205 Live or during his reign as cruiserweight champion – remember the match where he won the Cruiserweight Title and it was a triple threat match? Gulak is the real deal. And I’m glad, at least, that he caught the attention of somebody to earn a roster spot on SmackDown.”

Graves then noted how the idea of Gulak wrestling against Cesaro gave him “goosebumps.” He stressed that if fans wanted to see two guys “manipulate the hell out of one another’s bodies and hurt one another in the most unique, interesting ways” then Cesaro and Gulak were the Superstars to do it.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

The Saudi Arabian shows of WWE are one of the most successful but controversial events produced by the company. While many of the top talents have decided to keep their distance from these shows, no star has publicly revealed their feelings on the matter.

Corey Graves spoke to Sports Illustrated recently in order to promote his upcoming “After the Bell” podcast where among other things the SmackDown commentator also explained how the WWE stars feel about going to the country.

The former NXT star said that most of the talents like the trip because of it being a good payday. He then went on to claim that it’s a super exciting show if you take the political feeling out of it:

“It’s a long, grueling trip over there, but most of the talent like it because it’s a pretty good pay day, to me, it’s super exciting to have these totally unusual attractions like Cain Velasquez-Brock Strowman and Tyson Fury-Braun Strowman.

If you take any sort of political feeling out of the equation, aren’t you, as a fan of WWE, aren’t you curious and excited to watch these attractions?”

While the Saudi Arabian shows continue to feature many big names, the controversy surrounding the original Crown Jewel event made some stars reconsider their decision.

Names such as Daniel Bryan and John Cena have avoided working in the country since then but these stars have never commented on the matter publicly.

The After the Bell podcast will premiere this Wednesday and the inaugural episode of the show will feature stars such as Triple H, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley.

Carmella received death threats after she was wrongly accused of breaking up Corey Graves’ marriage with his wife.

That’s what the Princess of Staten Island said when appearing on the latest episode of Total Divas.

She also officially confirmed her relationship with the WWE announcer, while speaking to coworker Sonya Deville.

The rumors of Carmella having an affair with Graves started circulating when Graves’ wife Amy Polinsky published a now-deleted post on Instagram where she accused her husband of cheating on her with Carmella. Graves later addressed the situation and revealed that he is going through a divorce with his wife and that message was sent out during a particularly messy time when the two of them were not in a good place.

Carmella later went on The Bellas Podcast back in May where she said that she is not a homewrecker and that she’ll reveal the full story on Total Divas.

The episode has recently dropped on E! and on the show, Carmella cleared the air around her relationship with Graves.

“When Corey and I started dating, he was already going through a divorce and he’d moved out,” Carmella shared in a confessional. “He has his own place. She has hers. Man, I mean, there’s really nothing else to say about it.”

“I always follow the rules. I never f–king do anything wrong. I’m very like, by the book,” Carmella confided in Total Divas co-star Sonya Deville. “I even had anxiety [at] the thought of even entertaining the idea of dating him.”

However, the accusatory post by Graves’ ex-wife had done the damage. She was judged online and even received death threats from people, whereas her partner didn’t have to face the backlash.

“I’m uncomfortable. I feel like everyone is staring at me. I feel like everyone is judging me,” Carmella added later on. “It’s just crazy that they’re coming after me and for him it’s like, ‘Oh! Cool! Corey Graves got with Carmella. Good for him.'”

“Why the f–k would she go on social media and put that out there? I’m not kidding. This is not ok,” Carmella stated to Corey regarding the post. “I’m not ok right now. Literally, I’m getting death threats.”

Carmella broke down in tears even though Corey urged her to ignore the online drama.

“It’s like the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. I don’t even know how to deal with it because I’ve never been through anything like this,” Carmella further expressed. “All I know is like, I love him and he loves me and we’re happy and I didn’t do anything wrong.”

WWE RAW and SmackDown commentator Corey Graves was a guest on this week’s episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast.

During the show, Graves opened up about WWE’s hiring of Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman. Both men are now Executive Directors of SmackDown and RAW, respectively.

He stated that everyone in the locker room is excited over the possibilities both men can bring to the product, adding that he hopes it is the start of “something cool that is going to permeate inside the entire company.”

“I know that the boys and girls that bust their ass every night all around the world that they are fired up now, and it is exciting to see, and it’s obviously a small change, and it is going to take time and take a lot of effort but hopefully, yes, in a short answer it is the change of something ,” Graves said.

“[…] we’ve got the biggest collection of talent that we’ve ever had and some of the most incredible workers you’ll ever see, and it is just a matter of turning a few things around and getting everybody back on the same page. I know it is kind of or sounds like I am giving you the PC answer, that is is not for lack of wanting on any part.”

Graves said that whatever change will come will arrive slowly, as things take time. He added that everyone is reinvigorated and that there is an undeniable buzz, before stating that whatever changes take place will be for the good of not only WWE but for the wrestling industry and fans everywhere.

H/T to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling for the transcription.

Corey Graves continued his outspoken ways on social media this weekend.

Fresh off of his controversial appearance on WWE RAW last Monday night, where Graves used profanity live on the air during the WWE RAW broadcast on the USA Network by yelling out, “Holy sh*t!” when the Braun Strowman / Bobby Lashley stage explosion segment happened.

While that was, in fact, part of the script, Graves went off-script on Twitter on Sunday when responding to a fan who was critical of his on-air chemistry with fellow WWE RAW announcer Renee Young.

“[Stephanie McMahon] as a female fan of [WWE], I would really appreciate if you could ask [Corey Graves] to talk to [Renee Young] like she’s a human being and not a doormat when on commentary,” a WWE fan wrote to Stephanie McMahon on Twitter, tagging Graves and Young in the process. “She deserves a better.”

Corey Graves Fires Back At WWE Fan Like Only He Can

Graves, never shy to go public with his unfiltered opinion, responded to the fan in typical Corey Graves fashion.

“As Corey Graves, I would REALLY appreciate if you’d just let my best friend [Renee Young], and I do our jobs and have fun,” wrote Graves in response to the WWE fan on Twitter. “Instead of trying to turn it into a f*cking social issue.”

What do YOU think about Corey Graves’ argument from the story above? Do you think he went too far in his response to the WWE fan? Sound off in the Comments section below.

Carmella and Corey Graves are finally going public with their relationship.

The two WWE performers have been dating for some time now. Their relationship first became public knowledge when the two were accused of being involved in an affair by Graves’ ex-wife. The two would ultimately deny the claims.

This week, Carmella took to social media to finally post the first public photo of the two together. She posted a photo of the two laughing together on her official Instagram page on Friday with a caption that reads as follows:

“The goal is to laugh forever with someone you take serious.”

Check out the first public photo of the happy WWE couple below.

The goal is to laugh forever with someone you take serious. ?

A post shared by Leah Van Damme (@carmellawwe) on Jun 21, 2019 at 3:08pm PDT

What do you think of the Corey Graves and Carmella news? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

On last week’s Raw, Brock Lesnar appeared and teased to cash in his Money in the Bank contract but decided against it later that night when he learned that he has a whole year to decide which champion he wants to face.

Stephanie McMahon, for some reason, called out Lesnar for, you know, playing by the rules and said that Lesnar and Paul Heyman have disrespected the WWE Universe and they are going to take action against them.

Stephanie said in the video, “They disrespected what the money in the bank contract represents. They disrespected both the Universal champion as well as the WWE Champion. I think they disrespected WWE and the entire WWE universe.

So on behalf of our organization, on behalf of all of our fans, I am going to take this matter up officially and we are going to take action.”

This move by the company which left many heads scratching, including announcer Corey Graves.

Graves tweeted out the following about WWE’s disregard for the previously set MITB rules:

“So, he’s is cashing in because the boss was mad at him for not cashing in when he said he was, even though the point of the contract is to cash in at the holder’s discretion? ?

Where’s my new chair?”

Heyman has said that Lesnar would cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the upcoming June 3 episode of Raw, with the time and moment of his choosing, against WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins. This remains to be seen, along with what actions Stephanie is going to take against Lesnar.

Corey Graves belonged to the same class of NXT recruits as The Shield and Bray Wyatt and he was on the verge of a main roster callup before his medical condition forced him to retire from in-ring competition.

During a recent interview on Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia podcast, Graves talked about his time in the development territory and also revealed how he was given the news.

According to the Raw Commentator, he had been out for a few weeks and when asked, the WWE doctors were not giving him a straight answer. They instead told him that they were waiting for the results of a few more tests.

Then one day, Graves walked past Triple H who was working out in the performance center gym and he was unprepared to tell the truth to the former NXT Star.

However H didn’t want to lie or sugarcoat things either and so when Corey asked the WWE Vice President if he had any update on his condition, Triple H told him that he should expect the worst.

The former NXT Star explained that the news hit him hard. He felt like the whole world came crashing down on him and he couldn’t breathe.

Corey Graves then went to the locker room and broke down in front of William Regal who counselled him the best he could by hugging him.

Later in the interview, Corey talked about the following months after his retirement, how he got to spend a lot of time with Dusty Rhodes while helping him in the promo classes and how this eventually led to his commentary spot.

Carmella is not a homewrecker.

That’s the message from the former Smackdown women’s champion as she addressed rumors that she started dating WWE commentator Corey Graves while he was still married to the wife of his children.

Earlier this year, Graves’ wife Amy unleashed an explosive post (that was later deleted) on her Instagram where she accused him of cheating on her with Carmella.

Graves later addressed the situation by revealing that he’s going through a divorce with his estranged wife and that message was sent out during a particularly messy time when the two of them were not in a good place.

Now Carmella is responding during a recent appearance on ‘The Bellas Podcast’ where she spoke to retired WWE superstars Nikki and Brie Bella.

“Let me just first and foremost say I would never wreck somebody’s home. That is not the life that I’m about,” Carmella stated. “I would never in a million years do that. I don’t care how hot the guy is, how in love I think I am, that is not the life I’m about.

“So I’m going to kill that rumor right now. That absolutely did not happen, I did not wreck a home.”

Based on Graves’ previous statement about his divorce, it would appear that a potential relationship with Carmella sprung up in the aftermath of his marriage ending.

Still, Carmella promises that there is more to this story than what has been exposed publicly because apparently all of the drama will unfold during the new season of ‘Total Divas’ on the E! network.

“I will say there’s always so many sides to each story so if you do want to know the truth about this story, you guys already mentioned I will be on ‘Total Divas’ this season, so the whole story plays out on ‘Total Divas’,” Carmella said. “So if you do want to know, you’ve got to tune in.”

Carmella had previously appeared on a past season of ‘Total Divas’ and then did not return to the show. Now she is back as one of the regular cast members for the next season of ‘Total Divas’, which will debut on E! later this year.

WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live commentator Corey Graves is known for speaking his mind both on television as well as social media. When it comes to interaction with fans on Twitter, Graves doesn’t hold back and gives honest feedback to fans who troll or make remarks he disagrees with.

On Sunday, the former NXT star went off in an odd rant that had both comments and responses to fans. He also went on the attack towards Deadspin writer David Bixenspan where he ripped him for being the most inaccurate, biased “reporter” that he has known since getting into the pro wrestling business for over a decade now. He also went as far as stating that Bixenspan is a cancer to the wrestling business.

You can check out some of his Tweets here:

I’m not sorry for anything.

I once had an ACCESS card.

I had public assistance.

But never ONCE, did I blame anybody for my problems or shortcomings but myself.

And I did better.

So before you continue your “triggered Twitter campaign” do your ****ing homework.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 10, 2019

Twitter: Where everyone has the answers, but nobody bothered to ever actually ask the question.

😘

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 10, 2019

I’m not really old enough to claim “back in my day,” but what I remember as “coaching” or “motivation” is now considered “bullying.”

I turned out just fine. And my kids are probably tougher than yours.

Can you please pass the blue crayon for these adult coloring books?

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 10, 2019

Good parents. https://t.co/Q6E8SfZ2RJ

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 10, 2019

https://twitter.com/WWEGraves/status/1094776334105096193

https://twitter.com/WWEGraves/status/1094798689376354304

His career as an active wrestler was cut short due to a history of suffering several concussions. It was a bittersweet moment as the door on his wrestling career shut while his career as a commentator began.

Since being moved up from NXT to the main roster, Graves has brought his entertaining analysis to the main roster by breaking down the matches and storylines on both RAW and SmackDown Live.

WWE RAW and SmackDown Live color commentator Corey Graves got some backlash from fans on social after he decided to give some high praise to one top WWE NXT Superstar.

Graves praised The Velveteen Dream following the broadcast of Sunday’s Halftime Heat during the halftime of the Super Bowl. This special aired on platforms such as WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, YouTube, and social media accounts. The match saw Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, and Ricochet battle it out with Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa in a six-man tag team match.

Graves was so impressed by the performance of The Velveteen Dream that he expressed his belief that Dream should be on the main roster. Whether that be on the flagship show of WWE, Monday Night RAW, or Smackdown Live. For the announcer, he questioned why Dream isn’t on the main roster yet.

Graves started the series of tweets with, “Tell me again why @VelveteenWWE isn’t on #RAW or #SDLive yet?#HalftimeHeat/. Wow. The internet sure has an amazing way of turning a compliment into something negative. I shouldn’t be surprised, but for some reason, I still am.”

Wow. The internet sure has an amazing way of turning a compliment into something negative.

I shouldn’t be surprised, but for some reason, I still am.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 4, 2019

Dear @VelveteenWWE,

I apologize. You should NEVER aspire to take your talents to the global stage, or the money that comes with it.

The internet has taught me that it’s bad for you.

Sincere apologies,
Graves

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) February 4, 2019

Becky Lynch and Corey Graves are going at it once again. Last month, Lynch and Graves exchanged words on Twitter after “The Irish Lass Kicker” responded to some negative comments from the WWE commentator. Graves said that Lynch was too cocky, to which Lynch responded by mocking Graves’ “Heenan-lite” routine. Now, Graves has sparked another back-and-forth.

He recently responded to a Tweet from Bayley, who reflected on her 2018 with the new year kicking off this week. Graves joked that he can’t wait for their “romance” angle. A fan responded by saying he’d like to see Graves in a romance angle with SmackDown Live’s Lynch. Graves said that he would too, and suggested that Lynch “could use it.” The Irishwoman responded by calling Graves a “middle-aged emo poured into skinny jeans”.

Graves fired back by suggesting Lynch is ripping off UFC mega-star Conor McGregor’s gimmick. Since Lynch and McGregor have seemingly become friends in recent weeks, Graves said she should be better at the act. Check out the whole exchange below:

“I can’t wait for our “romance” angle.”

I can’t wait for our “romance” angle.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) January 2, 2019

“Me too. She could use it.”

Me too. She could use it.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) January 2, 2019

“Of all the things I could “use” in my life right now, a romance with a middle-aged emo poured into skinny jeans isn’t one of them. Maybe you should wait till Monday to reply, you know, when you’ll have help with what to say.”

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1080605480903499781

“New Year. Same bootleg @TheNotoriousMMA act. You’re friends with him right? You should be better at it. @BeckyLynchWWE”

New Year. Same bootleg @TheNotoriousMMA act.

You’re friends with him right? You should be better at it. @BeckyLynchWWE https://t.co/vk6de3c6bx

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) January 2, 2019

“…and I look damn fine in these skinny jeans.”

…and I look damn fine in these skinny jeans.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) January 2, 2019

What do you think about Lynch and Graves exchanging words with one another?

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch got fans talking over a recent tweet that she sent out towards WWE color commentator Corey Graves, who calls both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live.

Lynch is preparing to make her next title defense against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in the first-ever TLC Match at the TLC pay-per-view event on Sunday, December 16th, 2018 in San Jose, California at the SAP Center that will air on the WWE Network.

This is the latest step in her career under the WWE banner as she continues to be one of the biggest stars that the WWE has right now not only on SmackDown Live but on the entire roster.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lynch decided to have some fun at the expense of Graves when she mocked him in a tweet that appeared to be random. She wrote, “So Graves has been saying I’m too cocky, and I talk too much on social media – like that’s a bad thing. I drum up more interest in 1 tweet than you do with 5 hours of your Heenan-lite routine every week. Listen, I’m here to make history, you’re just here to observe me do it.”

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1072979658113802242

This is when Graves responded to her message by writing, “I’ll admit it. It’s tough to go FULL-Heenan when the boss is actually paying attention to your work. You’ll realize that someday.”

I’ll admit it. It’s tough to go FULL-Heenan when the boss is actually paying attention to your work. You’ll realize that someday. 🤷‍♂️@BeckyLynchWWE https://t.co/8nyd5BzkB5

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) December 12, 2018

Corey Graves Praises 205 Live Match

WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live color commentator Corey Graves recently took to his official Twitter account to praise a match that took place on this week’s episode of WWE 205 Live in Denver, CO at the Pepsi Center on the WWE Network. The match saw Hideo Itami battle Mustafa Ali in a singles match.

He wrote the following, “Go out of your way to watch @WWE205Live tonight. @MustafaAliWWE & @HideoItami tear the freaking house down. I promise.”

Go out of your way to watch @WWE205Live tonight. @MustafaAliWWE & @HideoItami tear the freaking house down. I promise.

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) September 26, 2018

Details On WWE2K19 Universe Mode

The first details about the Universe Mode in the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game have been released. In these details that were made public through 2K Games on Thursday, there have been some changes made to the mode for the latest installment of the franchise. Those changes include the championship system being expanded to allow six championships per show, new customization options to make it possible to assign multiple women’s titles or tag titles to a show, and Money in the Bank briefcases, which are now fully customizable, will take a championship slot.

The game will be released on October 9, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As noted, WWE Champion AJ Styles will be on the cover of the game while Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey will be featured as the pre-order bonus characters. Here are some other changes made to the game but you can see the full list here:

– Managers are now available to assign to Superstars. In fact, you can assign up to three of them for any given Superstar. Managers will appear alongside the Superstars in One on One and normal Tag Team matches.

– Promos now incorporate recent events. A former champion will talk about losing the title and ask for a rematch. Rivals will talk about wins and losses, interferences or blindside attacks that happened last week. Many new promo animations have been added. While every Superstar comes with a pre-set “Promo Attitude,” you can customize any of them so that they behave the way you want.

– Last but not least, you can go through matchups in your Universe and decide the winners and losers of the matches without having to play the match yourself or rely on a random result!

On Monday’s RAW, tensions between The Shield and Braun Strowman’s new faction continued to grow. Strowman has now aligned himself with RAW Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. He has now evened the odds against Roman Reigns and The Shield. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came to Reigns’ aid when Strowman attempted to cash-in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.

Now, Strowman will get his one-on-one shot at Reigns’ Universal Title inside Hell In A Cell. As we build to that, however, The Shield continue to feud with Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre. This week the two factions collided to open up RAW.

Acting General Manager Baron Corbin ushered out the entire locker room to separate the six men. They continued to fight into the backstage area, but eventually The Shield were arrested and taken away for most of the show.

Towards the end of the night, Michael Cole announced that The Shield had been released from jail. They returned in a cop car and made their way to the ring to meet Strowman, McIntyre and Ziggler.

Before that could happen, however, all the heels in the locker room came out to ambush The Shield. The show went off-air as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose laid lifeless on the floor.

The Explanation

Several days removed from RAW, we finally have an explanation as to how The Shield got out of jail. Corey Graves took to Twitter and suggested that WWE’s David Otunga phoned in a friend in the legal community to get The Shield released.

Here’s Graves’ Tweet:

Made a few calls this morning. Turns out @DavidOtunga has a judge friend in Columbus and called in a late night Labor Day favor for The Shield.

Everybody can relax now. ?

@MikeRomeWWE #RAW

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) September 4, 2018

Discussion: What do you think of WWE’s explanation of how The Shield got out of jail? Let us know in the comments below!

Corey Graves Might Have Quit Social Media

Corey Graves might be done with Twitter. The Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live commentator’s latest Tweet suggests he could be done with the platform. Graves pointed to “toxic people” crossing the line for his apparent decision.

Here’s what he had to say:

Unfortunately, social media has become a very toxic place. People don’t know where to draw the line.

It’s become more exhausting than productive to me. Some things in life are more important than “likes” and “followers.”

I urge you to explore that.

Deuces! ?

— The Great Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) August 5, 2018

“Unfortunately, social media has become a very toxic place. People don’t know where to draw the line. It’s become more exhausting than productive to me.

“Some things in life are more important than “likes” and “followers.” I urge you to explore that. Deuces!”

Tenille Dashwood Reunites With WWE Commentators

Former WWE Superstar Tenille Dashwood (formerly known as Emma) recently reunited with a few WWE commentators. Dashwood reunited with Corey Graves and Renee Young at a Wrestling Under The Stars event.

Graves and Young even modeled for Dashwood’s sunglasses line. You can check out photos of their reunion here below:

What do you think of the new models for my exclusive Tenille Dashwood sunglasses line!?
I have them with my merchandise at every show! The sunglasses that is, not @ReneeYoungWWE and @WWEGraves unfortunately! ? pic.twitter.com/tqQwQvjuLo

— TENILLE DASHWOOD (@TenilleDashwood) August 4, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Huge weekend coming up with @newwrestling1!
Saturday August 3rd Meet & Greet starts at 5pm Show @ 8pm
Sunday August 4th Meet & Greet starts 3:30 Show @ 7pm!
Awesome line up! Can’t wait to see everyone! pic.twitter.com/a75umptL3J

— TENILLE DASHWOOD (@TenilleDashwood) August 3, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Last night was a blast in Norwich, CT! Let’s do it again tonight! Come say hey to @ReneeYoungWWE & Me!

(And pick up a pair of those dope @TenilleDashwood shades!)@newwrestling1 pic.twitter.com/HatrghbdsV

— The Great Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) August 4, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

#Repost @theheelmarks with @get_repost ??? @wwegraves is the ultimate gentleman! ?? ?:@njk822

A post shared by Corey Graves (@wwegraves) on Aug 5, 2018 at 7:42am PDT

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Unfortunately for fans of Corey Graves, his T-shirt is no longer available at WWEShop.com. The shirt had featured a picture of Graves with the words “Shut Up Saxton” on it.

“Sorry guys, no #ShutUpSaxton shirt,” Graves tweeted. “Out of my hands. We tried.”

Saxton had been campaigning for the shirt leading up to its release earlier this month. Graves added that he needs something else – “something different.”

Corey Graves Comments on CM Punk

Last month, Corey Graves made several Tweets after CM Punk’s second straight loss in the UFC.

“Maybe abandoning everybody who stood by your side, even when we weren’t supposed to, only to have you turn your back on us wasn’t the right move after all?” Graves Tweeted short after the end of the fight. “No anger. Only sadness.”

“The first rule of ‘punk rock’ is loyalty, and this guy betrayed it all,” Graves continued. “I still love you, “friend” and I’m sorry you got lost.”

Graves continued to comment on the matter.

“Awww. Seems the “fans” are disappointed. Maybe you guys should know that “That Dude” held my first son before I did because I was on tour and I trusted him,” Graves continued. “I had dinner with him the week after he quit.”

The next day he spoke with Fightful.com

“What really set me off was this week when he essentially disowned the business that made him,”Graves said. “My only issue with him was that he turned off people that actually loved and supported him. Beyond “the business” and he never wanted anything to do with us…yet continued to present himself as this ‘Punk’ hero.”

He clarified his comments had nothing to do with Punk’s recent trial.

“Dude, this has ZERO to do with court, or testimony or any of the above. Nothing that I tweeted was corporate,” said Graves. “I’m simply hurt/pissed off that a guy that I looked like as a big brother-type has turned his back on me and everyone that loved and supported him only because of the name on my paycheck. I’m definitely not the only one. I won’t name names, but there is a large group of us to this day that inexplicably lost a solid friend because of where we work.”

Corey Graves Loves Anti-Saxton Merch

When Corey Graves and Byron Saxton shared the WWE commentary booth on Monday Night RAW, the former NXT star loved to burn his colleague. Now, of course, they work together on SmackDown Live after some things were moved around for the Superstar Shake-Up.

Despite the move to Tuesday nights, Graves’ love for burning Saxton remains the same. He recently showed his support for a “Shut Up Saxton” t-shirt idea on WWE Shop which was suggested by a fan:

Yeah, @WWEShop…? https://t.co/MGRkAvrHWS

— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) June 27, 2018

Undertaker & Michelle McCool Celebrate Wedding Anniversary

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker and former WWE Women’s Champion Michelle McCool recently celebrated eight years of marriage. She shared some photos from the occasion on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkgs8j8BR4l/?utm_source=ig_embed

Ember Moon Has Bank Account Shut Down Without Notice

RAW Superstar Ember Moon took to social media to call out Chase bank for closing her bank account unexpectedly and without explanation after seven years of business. She posted the following:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkgHyjihrYV/?utm_source=ig_embed