Tag: corey graves

Corey Graves says issues with CM Punk are ‘water under the bridge’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Corey Graves addressed his friendship with CM Punk during a recent interview.

Speaking with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Graves said that when Punk returned to WWE, the two apologized to each other and “let it be water under the bridge.”

Asked about Punk heading into WrestleMania as champion, Graves said:

“It really is wild. Life in this business is so unusual. Everyone has a different story, but to have someone who I bond with so deeply when I was trying to get ahead of the business. He was always a step or two ahead of where I was. I looked up to him for that. I sort of tried to follow in his footsteps. I patterned myself after him, right, wrong, or indifferent. I’m sure I learned a few bad habits along the way, but he was sort of my wrestling big brother. That’s how I looked at it. Then life happens.”

“There are the well-documented issues he had with WWE. He and I fell off for a while, but when he came back, I made it a point to talk to him. It’s one of those things where I believe time heals all wounds or at least most wounds.”

“We had a heart-to-heart. Both of us apologized for a couple of different things and let it be water under the bridge. Since then, we’ve continued to grow close again.”

“He is one of my favorites to this day, despite the fact he is my friend. As a talent, I’ve always been a fan of CM Punk.”

In 2024, during an interview with Ariel Helwani, Punk said he stopped talking to people associated with WWE due to his legal battle with WWE doctor Chris Amann over comments he made on Colt Cabana’s podcast in 2014.

According to Cagematch, Punk and Graves wrestled three times from 2002 to 2004 on International Wrestling Cartel shows in Pennsylvania, with Graves, then wrestling as Sterling James Keenan, holding a 3-0 record over Punk. Graves’ full interview with TV Insider is available here.

Corey Graves shares more details on his Point Park University teaching role

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE commentator Corey Graves shares more details about his teaching role at Point Park University.

Earlier this year, Corey Graves found himself at Point Park University teaching broadcasting students on Wednesdays called Live Sports Production.

In a new YouTube video shared by the university, Graves shared more details about his new academic profession and explained his teaching role.

“I am teaching a class about live sports production with a heavy focus on storytelling throughout a broadcast. I joined WWE as a wrestler, but since then, I’ve transitioned to a commentator, and I’ve been the lead, I’ve been the color analyst, I’ve worn many hats in WWE,” Graves said.

“Above all, I focus on storytelling. That’s the main focus of my job. I believe the opportunity to tell stories across sports can really enhance the viewing experience to anybody. It’s really important for me that my classroom is very collaborative. I don’t wanna stand in front of a room full of people and just preach at them. I want to know what they want to know. I want to know what I know that I can pass on to them. I really think that the more we collaborate and learn from one another, the better everybody is.”

Graves signed with WWE in 2011, where he competed in FCW and NXT. After suffering a second concussion in 2014, he transitioned from in-ring competition to a broadcast role. In 2016, he was appointed as a full-time commentator, a position in which he has continued to thrive ever since.

Corey Graves talks teaching sports broadcasting at Point Park University

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Corey Graves has a new role: college professor.

Triblive has a story on Graves teaching broadcasting students at Point Park College in Pittsburg. The class, a three-hour course on Wednesdays called Live Sports Production, currently has twelve students signed up. What started out as speaking to students turned into a new teaching role following an exchange between university officials. While Graves described the idea as “absurd” at first, the chair of the university’s school of communications department, Dr. Bernie Ankey, thought otherwise.

“I was really impressed with the way he interacted and mentored 18-, 19-, 20-year-old students and just watching the energy he brought to his presentation,” Ankney said. “I thought it would be worth looking into Corey teaching a class. Somebody like that, if you put him in the classroom, students are familiar with his work.”

WWE’s parent company TKO, according to Graves, supports the idea, something he thinks wouldn’t have happened under the previous regime.

“TKO has seemingly been a lot more open to collaboration and allowing talent to step outside WWE, more so than the old WWE regime,” Graves said. “Anybody who works for WWE has had an opportunity of some sort that they’ve had to turn down because they couldn’t get permission, or it was a conflict of interest. This really isn’t a wrestling class; it was a broadcasting class. I took it to my manager, and they’ve been supportive to help me with making this happen.”

Graves is currently one of the voices heard on Monday Night Raw, but also occasionally is heard on SmackDown and on other WWE events.

Sam Adonis says being Corey Graves’ brother has hurt his career

Posted on by Ian Carey

Sam Adonis says that being “Corey’s brother” has negatively impacted his career.

The 36-year-old Adonis is the younger brother of WWE commentator Corey Graves. On Tuesday, he posted a statement to social media saying that being known as Graves’ brother has negatively impacted his career.

Adonis wrote:

“NOTHING has negatively affected my career more than being ‘Corey’s Brother’ Few wrestlers have accumulated the diverse knowledge and experience I have worldwide aside from drawing actual money Still, to so many I’ve been reduced to nothing more than ‘Corey’s brother in Mexico’”

Adonis continues to wrestle for AAA at various shows but has not appeared on its programming since WWE announced it had purchased the company. In November, he responded to a fan on social media about the possibility of him being added to a Gringos Locos 2.0 faction with Dominik Mysterio. Adonis said there had been plans for him and QT Marshall to be the new version of the group.

Adonis’ statement is below:

Report: WWE commentary team changes coming in 2026

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE is shaking up its announce teams beginning in 2026.

According to a report from PWInsider on Tuesday, Michael Cole and Corey Graves will be the Raw commentary team beginning with the January 5 show. On SmackDown, it will be Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett for what will again be a three-hour show beginning January 2.

Graves being announced as on the Raw commentary team for the Netflix one-year anniversary show comes nearly a year after he was moved to the NXT brand and Pat McAfee joined Cole on Raw. Later that month, Graves posted his frustration at the situation to social media and briefly was absent from his NXT commentary role as well.

This is the second change to the commentary assignments the company has made in recent months. Cole and Graves were announced as the new SmackDown team in September as Joe Tessitore moved to Raw to allow him to also cover College football.

Corey Graves & Carmella welcome birth of new child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Corey Graves (Matthew Polinsky) & Carmella (Leah Van Dale) shared some great news on Friday, revealing that they’ve welcomed a new child into the world.

“Bram Julian Polinsky you’ve changed my life forever, baby boy,” the former WWE women’s division star wrote while sharing a photo of her, Graves, and the new baby.

This is Graves & Carmella’s second child together, with Carmella also being a stepmother to Graves’ three kids from a previous marriage. She and Graves have been married since 2022. Their first child — also a boy whose name is Dimitri — was born in November 2023.

Since giving birth the first time, Carmella has dealt with a post-pregnancy complication called drop foot. She’s able to live a normal day-to-day life but does experience issues with things like running.

Carmella departed WWE earlier this year when the company decided not to renew her contract. She is hopeful that she’ll be able to wrestle for the promotion again one day.

Last month, WWE ran an angle where Graves was attacked by Brock Lesnar, which served as a way to explain him being gone from his commentary role for a little while for the birth of his child.

Brock Lesnar attacks WWE SmackDown commentary team

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Brock Lesnar made a statement on the final SmackDown before Wrestlepalooza.

The open to Friday’s show saw Michael Cole meet Lesnar as he was making his way to the ring. Lesnar grabbed Cole and carried him into the ring, dropping him on the ground. He was about to go in for the attack when Corey Graves entered the ring and attempted to calm Lesnar down, causing Cole to flee the ring. Attempts to calm Lesnar down failed as he quickly laid out Graves with an F5, then followed with another after medical staff went to check on Graves. Lesnar yelled at Cena through the camera and told him he was coming for blood at Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza.

After the commercial break, Lesnar was seen walking to the back when he came across Paul Heyman, making his television return after selling a Roman Reigns attack at Clash in Paris. Lesnar told Heyman they’d have to talk before making his exit.

The Miz would eventually join Cole’s side to call the rest of the show.

Graves was initially a wrestler in NXT before retiring in 2014 due to concussion issues. Back in 2022, it was reported that Graves was cleared by WWE doctors and is no longer on WWE’s no-contact list. Despite this, Graves said at the time it wasn’t an immediate goal of his to get back into the ring.

Report: Update on WWE Raw and SmackDown commentary shakeup

Posted on by Ian Carey

Update:

Wade Barrett has issued a statement that he has been given a couple of weeks off from his commentary role and will return after that:

“I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it’s causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with. WWE have kindly given me a couple of weeks off for personal time (booked nine months ago), and then I’m back to business as usual. A complete non-story. The end.”

Original:

According to a recent report, Wade Barrett is no longer part of the WWE SmackDown commentary team and is not currently part of the WWE Raw team either.

On Friday, WWE revealed that Michael Cole and Corey Graves will handle the SmackDown broadcasting duties for the coming months as Joe Tessitore leaves to cover college football. PWInsider is reporting that Graves and Cole will be the commentary team for Raw as well, leaving Barrett without a role. The report states that it’s not clear if Barrett’s recent comments regarding Nikki Bella played a role in this decision.

Earlier this year, it was Graves who was left without a main roster commentary role after a commentary shakeup. Upon Pat McAfee’s return to the company for the Netflix debut, Graves was moved to NXT while Barrett remained in his role on SmackDown. Graves returned to Raw broadcasting duties after McAfee left this summer.

https://twitter.com/FadeAwayMedia/status/1964371850399555858

WWE reveals change to commentary team on SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Changes are being made to WWE’s announce teams.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves opened Friday’s WWE SmackDown and welcomed us to the program. Cole informed viewers that they would be the announce team going forward in the coming months as Joe Tessitore covers college football, which just started.

The announce teams for both Raw and SmackDown have shifted in the last year. When Tessitore came on board with WWE, he and Wade Barrett were made the SmackDown announce team while Michael Cole and Pat McAfee served as the voices for Raw. However, earlier this summer McAfee announced that he would be taking a break from doing WWE commentary, with Graves being called back up from NXT as a fill-in.

Graves was initally moved from the main roster to NXT as a result of Tessitore joining the broadcast team last year. He voiced his frustrations with the move online and was briefly removed from NXT commentary before eventually returning.

Barrett did commentary with Cole for the Clash in Paris PLE and this past Monday’s Raw in Lyon, France.

Report: English lead announcer set for AAA Triplemania XXXIII

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The lead announcer for Triplemania is reportedly set.

PWInsider reported on Saturday that Corey Graves will do the announcing duties for Triplemania XXXIII, which takes place on August 16 in Mexico City. This will mark the second time he’s done commentary for the promotion, with his first being at the joint WWE/AAA show Worlds Collide back in June alongside AAA legend Konnan, who provided color commentary.

This year’s Triplemania, traditionally Lucha Libre AAA’s biggest show of the year, will be the first under the WWE banner with the purchase taking place back April. The show will be headlined by El Hijo del Vikingo defending the AAA Mega title in a four-way match against Dragon Lee, Dominik Mysterio, and El Grande Americano.

The show, which will have both English and Spanish commentary, is set to air on YouTube and will be held at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.

Here is the updated card for Triplemania:

AAA Triplemania XXXIII (Saturday, August 16):

  • Four-way match for AAA Mega title: El Hijo del Vikingo defends against Dominik Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and El Grande Americano
  • Mixed tag team match: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, and Raquel Rodriguez) vs. Mr. Iguana, Nino Hamburgeresa, and Lola Vice
  • Street fight for AAA Tag Team titles: Los Garza vs. Pagano & Psycho Clown
  • AAA Latin American title: El Mesias defends against El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
  • Triple Threat match for AAA Reina de Reinas title: Lady Flammer defends against Faby Apache and Natalya 
  • Konnan to be inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame by Rey Mysterio

Corey Graves fills in for Pat McAfee on WWE Raw for second week in a row

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Corey Graves was on Raw for a second week in a row.

Graves filled in for Pat McAfee, who hasn’t appeared on the show in three weeks, with Wade Barrett replacing him on the June 9 edition of Raw. His absence has not been explained, though was mentioned in commentary during the Penta vs. Bron Breakker match that opened Monday’s show.

McAfee previously took time away from WWE to cover college football last year. Once the season was over, he made his return to Raw’s announce team on the show’s Netflix premiere on January 6. Following WrestleMania 41, he became involved in a feud with Gunther that led to a match at Backlash, with Gunther emerging victorious.

When WWE moved their shows to their new homes late last year, changes were made to the commentary teams. McAfee & Michael Cole became the Raw announce team, while Barrett & Joe Tessitore became the SmackDown team. Graves joined Vic Joseph and Booker T on NXT commentary. After airing his dissatisfaction with the move on social media, Graves was briefly taken off television before eventually making a return.

Corey Graves says WWE x AAA Worlds Collide role helped renew his passion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Corey Graves had a great experience calling WWE & Lucha Libre AAA’s World Collide event.

Graves & Konnan were the English-language commentary team for the show, helping to introduce WWE fans to the stars of AAA. Worlds Collide took place in the Los Angeles area on Saturday afternoon and was the first collaborative event between the two promotions since it was announced that WWE is purchasing AAA.

In a tweet reflecting on the weekend, Graves thanked AAA for welcoming him into their world. Graves said the show helped refill his passion after he had been going through a rough patch.

“Sometimes, you run low on passion. But then, something like this weekend happens. Gracias por permitirme entrar en tu mundo, @luchalibreaaa. I only wanted to do your culture & business proud,” Graves wrote.

“Thank you to @Konnan5150 for dropping the important knowledge and being a genuinely first class human being. He loves this more than any of us will ever understand. Can’t wait until the next one. Thanks to you guys, for reminding me that a rough patch isn’t the end of the road. [Love] Pro Wrestling”

Graves calls WWE NXT every week alongside Vic Joseph & Booker T. Earlier this year, Graves’ WWE status was briefly put into question when he voiced his frustration on social media over no longer doing main roster commentary. But Graves returned to NXT the next week and has remained with WWE, including filling in for Pat McAfee on an episode of Raw this March.

The 41-year-old Graves has now been doing commentary for more than a decade. His performance at Worlds Collide received strong reviews from fans, with Konnan also showing appreciation for how much Graves helped him.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better partner,” Konnan tweeted. “You are super professional and helped me alot… I’m very passionate about Lucha and u did our culture proud plus I made a new friend…Thank You”

Worlds Collide streamed on YouTube for free and was headlined by El Hijo del Vikingo retaining his AAA Mega Championship against Chad Gable.

Carmella & Corey Graves expecting second child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Leah Van Dale (former WWE wrestler Carmella) and Corey Graves are celebrating some big personal news.

The couple announced today that Van Dale is pregnant with their second child together and is expected to give birth this fall. Their son Dimitri was born in November 2023, and Van Dale is also a stepmother to Graves’ three kids from a previous marriage.

“All in perfect time,” They wrote on Instagram. “Our new chapter begins this fall.”

Graves (Matthew Polinsky) is a commentator for WWE currently working on the NXT broadcast team with Vic Joseph & Booker T. Van Dale spent more than a decade with the company before departing WWE earlier this year when her contract was not renewed.

It’s been more than two years now since Van Dale last wrestled. Since giving birth to Dimitri, she’s been dealing with drop foot, a post-pregnancy complication that makes it difficult for her to lift her foot. Van Dale is able to live a mostly normal life but has issues with things like running. While it’s taking longer than she or her doctors expected, Van Dale has expressed optimism that she’ll be able to wrestle again someday.

Corey Graves filling in for Pat McAfee on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With Pat McAfee not making the trip over to Brussels, there will be a change to the WWE Raw commentary team for this week.

PWInsider reports that Corey Graves will be filling in for McAfee on today’s Raw episode, calling the show alongside Michael Cole. The epiosde is taking place from Forest National in Brussels, Belgium and will air live on Netflix starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time. It’s the first of three straight Raws that will be airing in the afternoon on WWE’s European tour.

McAfee is in the United States hosting his ESPN show as usual today. Raw is in Glasgow next week and London the week after that, so it’s possible he will be missing one or both of those shows as well.

This is Graves’ first time back on main roster commentary since the social media posts he made in January voicing his displeasure at being moved to NXT. Graves missed one week of NXT commentary following that controversy, but the situation was resolved and he returned to his role broadcasting NXT with Vic Joseph & Booker T.

Today’s Raw is being built around John Cena’s first appearance since turning heel. Here is everything that’s been announced for the show:

  • John Cena and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will be under the same roof
  • Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Finn Balor
  • WrestleMania contract signing for Women’s World Champion IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair
  • No DQ match: Penta vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • Jey Uso vs. Austin Theory
  • Ivy Nile vs. Dakota Kai
  • Seth Rollins appears

Fight Game: Can Jey Uso win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back to talk about the major topics in the world of wrestling on this week’s Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off the show with our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before going through our Top Five topics which included:

  • The Omega Powers
  • What’s the end game for the Death Riders?
  • WWE’s main roster plan for Trick Williams
  • The Corey Graves situation
  • Saturday Night’s Main Event preview

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)