Corey Graves Addresses WrestleMania Main Event Commentary Botch

WWE commentator Corey Graves has discussed the historic WrestleMania 37 main event, addressing the Michael Cole’s botched call.

The first night of WrestleMania ended with Bianca Belair pinning Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. A dramatic finish to a historic match, Michael Cole incorrectly noted that Banks had kicked out, as the ref counted to 3.

Cole received criticism online from a portion of the fanbase who claimed that his call ruined the moment. Corey Graves addressed the situation, admitting that things did look different from the commentary desk.

Speaking on WWE After The Bell, Graves explained that Cole felt terrible for the mistake. Reminding fans that commentators have lots on their mind, Graves asked fans to leave Cole alone.

Here is the full quote:

“If there’s anybody that’s truly unshakable, it’s (Michael) Cole. Cole felt bad, he felt terrible but I can relate. I almost thought the same thing, from our vantage point, it was not crystal clear. I’m not making excuses cause it was what it is, it didn’t take anything away from the amazing moment, it was reality. It was a very genuine real reaction, take into consideration, yes we have the monitor, yes we have audio in our headphones, but we’re also in a stadium full of 20,000 people.

“Any wrestler’s book that you have ever read says being in a stadium is very different than an arena because it takes a second, the sound has to leave and come back before anybody can truly register. I myself, wasn’t sure. Hey, it’s the main event of WrestleMania, people have kicked out of each others finishers 35 times already tonight, why wouldn’t this be any different? It was a genuine shock after that so everyone, leave Michael Cole alone.”

Recently, Pat McAfee was announced as the new SmackDown commentator. McAfee made his first appearance behind the Blue Brand desk on Friday, alongside Cole. Cole recently gave McAfee a lot of encouragement and job insight, when he was invited onto McAfee’s own show.

On SmackDown, Bianca Belair celebrated her WrestleMania championship victory. According to a new report, Belair and Banks’ feud will continue, and is being treated as one of the biggest current stories in WWE.

Quote via Wrestling Inc. 

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• corey graves
• michael cole
• WrestleMania
• botch

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