WWE Name Opens Up On Legitimate Recent Issues With The Company

Published: Mar 27, 2026 by Connel Rumsey | Last Updated: Mar 27, 2026 by Connel Rumsey

Connel has over five years of wrestling journalism experience writing about some of the biggest stories from across the wrestling world. Being a fan for 20 years, Connel has an expansive knowledge from a wide range of various wrestling promotions, including WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and Joshi.

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WWE

A WWE name has opened up on recent legitimate issues they had with the company last year after being ‘demoted’.

Ahead of WWE’s move to Netflix last year, the company had announced a shake up to it’s commentary teams for Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

WWE announced that Michael Cole and Pat McAfee would call Raw, while Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett would call SmackDown, with Corey Graves being moved to NXT alongside Booker T and Vic Joseph.

Corey Graves’ Issues With NXT Move

Shortly after the changes, Corey Graves would take to social media, where he voiced his frustrations with the move, and the company claiming he ‘wasn’t famous enough’ to call Raw or SmackDown.

He tweeted, in a now deleted post:

Imagine chasing your dream.

Then being TOLD (not deciding) that you’re no longer physically able to pursue your dream.

Then you dedicate your life to something ‘dream adjacent’ and being pretty f**king awesome at it.

And then, when it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, being told you’re not famous enough for your own job.

Just in case you’ve wondered where I’ve been.

Graves now currently calls Monday Night Raw alongside Michael Cole in Pat McAfee’s absence, with it not being known if or when Pat may return to the booth for Raw, as well as being concerned the voice of AAA.

Corey Graves Reflects On Legitimate Frustrations

In a new interview with TV Insider, Corey opened up on being legitimately frustrated, and whether or not it led to him having a chip on his shoulder.

He said:

“Definitely. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. If anything else, that whole period in my career I looked at it and thought, ‘this isn’t where I want to be. This isn’t what I want to be doing. I’m going to show them.’ This goes back to the outworked next guy. I will be the hardest worker in the room. I will say yes to stuff people don’t want to do. Sure, it gets me in trouble with my wife from time-to-time. I’ve missed a lot of events in life that I’m not super excited about.

“At the end of the day, this is what I have done with my life. This is my life’s work. Yeah, when I got bounced so to speak, from that very first time, I intended to say, ‘I’m coming into NXT and will reinvent myself and show you guys I’m the best in the world at this.’ I kind of approached this with that mentality. It was very much a chip on my shoulder situation. I like to think I still have some of that chip on my shoulder because I’m still not quite back to where I want to be.”

More Changes Coming To WWE’s Announce Teams?

While the current announce teams on Raw, SmackDown and NXT are well established, every now and then the voices we hear in the booth could use some changes.

WWE has a number of potential options for announcers, including current names such as Big E, who provides analysis on the premium live event kick-off shows, and former NXT Level Up announcer Blake Howard, who now voices WWE Main Event on YouTube as the play by play commentator.

While names such as McAfee and Tessitore add name value to the announce teams, Graves’ role on commentary remains an import one, due to his decade of experience in the booth after his in-ring career was unfortunately cut short due to a series of concussions.