Corey Graves has contrasted how different his experience in the WWE announce booth has been under the Triple H regime.
Following the resignation of Vince McMahon due to the abhorrent allegations that came to light in January, the promotion has undergone a complete overhaul behind the scenes in the first couple of months of 2024. With Triple H completely in control of the creative process, gradual changes have slowly made their way onto the weekly product, most notably from a production aspect.
The changes have also extended to commentary, with a recent example being the acknowledgement of Sting’s final match on WWE Raw, something that would never have been discussed in the McMahon era. While these are all changes that fans can see, there has been another major change backstage.
Under the old regime, McMahon was infamously known to be a control freak on the headset, ordering announcers to say things a certain way and yelling at them if just one word was out of place. Speaking on Short and to the Point, Graves credited Triple H with being more open with letting the broadcast team have free rein and let their personalities shine through:
He also is realy cool and refreshing in a sense that he gives us space. When he’s in Gorilla [position] right where the old boss sat, instead of being told and prompted, ‘Hey, you’ve got to say this, you have to do it this way, you have to use this verbiage,’ He, I think, understands that we’re all fans and we all love this in different ways. And as the business grows and evolves, you kind of have to let go of the reins a little bit.
I still have my guide rails, I just feel like they’re a little bit wider on each side now where rather than trying to stay on a particular path and walk in a certain rhythm and do things a certain way, I have a little bit more leeway to be me and develop my own style. As long as all the boxes that need checked continue to be checked, I don’t have to do them the same way that the six guys before me have done or that Michael Cole does or etcetera.
Graves continued, noting how the headsets have been much quieter in recent months and only hearing from the back when it is something really good or really bad:
I’ve been on TV for, I think, seven years on Raw and SmackDown. And in the last few months, I think my headsets have been as quiet and lucid as they have been ever. I only hear from him if I’m doing something terribly wrong, which knock on wood doesn’t happen too frequently, or the other time I hear from him pretty regularly is if a joke lands. If I say something and it gets him, ‘Oh, that was really good.’ Or he’ll double down. He’ll follow up on my joke in my headset. And sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh man I wish I could tell the people this but it just doesn’t fit.’
In a new interview, Becky Lynch is the latest to praise Triple H.
WWE Hall Of Famer Notes Dramatic Change In Leadership Under Triple H
Along with Corey Graves, many names from WWE have gone on record to state how the working environment has drastically improved under the change in leadership, with the majority stating that it is a lot less stressful behind the scenes. Following a recent visit to WWE, The Undertaker described the drastic change in leadership with Triple H in charge.
H/t to F4WOnline.