On Monday night, WWE announcer Corey Graves issued a public statement regarding his status with the company following his recent move back to the NXT brand. Graves teased that he would have “a lot to say” on the January 14, 2025, edition of WWE NXT, but he did not appear on the show, and his social media posts were subsequently deleted.
During his podcast, AEW personality Jim Ross weighed in on the situation.
Graves’ future with WWE remains unclear, and fans are left wondering whether this is part of a storyline or reflective of genuine tensions within the company. Ross’s comments add an interesting perspective to an already compelling situation.
Ross said, “How many times has that happened to me? [Co-host Conrad Thompson says several.] Yes, and here I am, jolly, happy, healthy as an old horse, and I got nothing to bitch about. It’s just part of the…I remember this classic line from ‘The Sopranos,’ where Tony was talking to his cousin Tony. Cousin Tony, he wanted to start a massage parlor, a legit therapeutic massage parlor. He just got out of prison, was trying to get his life started, but he needed some extra cash. Extra cash came in the form of a hit. He started complaining about that life, and this classic line from Tony Soprano was, ‘This is the life we chose.’ That is very synonymous with some issues in wrestling that many of us have gone through. So I feel badly that he feels like he’s been left behind, and maybe he has. Would you trade Pat McAfee and his broadcast platform for Corey Graves? I wouldn’t, to be honest with you, and Corey Graves is more learned, and has a better skillset in terms of his internal knowledge than Pat McAfee, but Pat McAfee’s got a platform that reaches from border to border. He’s got a huge footprint. I applaud Pat McAfee for his entrepreneurship and his promotional instincts. So it’s a good deal. I wish he wasn’t unhappy, I’ll say that.”
JR also commented on if it could be an angle for WrestleMania:
“I’d be surprised if that happened. The responsibilities of the broadcast team and broadcasters like Pat, who doesn’t have years of experience, he’s still getting his footing but doing a hell of a job, it’s a load that day for the announcers. It’s a crazy world, so that day is not the day you want to be adding new projects in a skillset that you’re not totally first in.”
(quotes courtesy of Jeremy Lambert)
