Corey Graves has revealed his true feelings behind the WWE commentary shakeup that took place following the arrival of Pat McAfee.
Following a feud with Adam Cole in NXT in 2020, McAfee would join the SmackDown announce team in April 2021 and would remain a regular fixture until September 2022 when he took a hiatus to present ESPN’s College Gameday. Due to McAfee joining the Friday night show, Graves was moved over to Monday Night Raw, something that he was not happy about.
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, Graves revealed that he felt mistreated when he was informed of the news as he put a lot of work into calling multiple shows each week:
“So believe it or not, I’m blowing up my own stuff here. I think the world of Pat (McAfee). He, again, is such a strong persona, it’s easy for me play off of and rib him and get under his skin. I was a little upset professionally, that I found out, hey, you’re going from Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, the network show that you kicked off with Michael Cole and then, I took it a little personally (when McAfee replaced me).
“Not because of Pat but it was sort of, I’ve paid my dues here. I’m the guy that shows up week after week. I’m the guy that did both Raw and SmackDown for two years straight, never complained and this is how you do me?
Corey Graves Seeked Guidance From Veteran WWE Announcer
Looking to voice his issues with higher-ups within the company, Graves first confided in his wife and long-time announcer Michael Cole about the situation. It was at this point that Graves realised that the move was not an attack on him personally but it was the company doing what’s best for business:
“And again, I remember I was talking to my wife and just going, ‘This isn’t right. I have to do something about this. This isn’t fair.’ I really took it hard. It had nothing to do with Pat being Pat. It was just sort of a professional issue and she talked me off a ledge and I had a few conversations with Cole. Michael Cole is my boss slash therapist. So he talked me off the ledge as well and looking back, it’s business.
“Kurt (Angle), you know better than anybody here. Sometimes you gotta do the stuff you don’t wanna do so you can do the stuff that you do…
“It was a shock that I didn’t see coming but, you know what? I dealt with it. We’re all better off for it I think.”
As of November 2023, Graves is back on SmackDown and is calling the action alongside Michale Cole and Kevin Patrick while Cole and Wade Barrett provide announce duties each week for Raw. Pat McAfee has recently given an update on his broadcasting future.
H/t to Post Wrestling.