Corey Graves On If He's A Heel Commentator, His Busy WWE Schedule
Corey Graves is currently the hardest-working commentator in WWE as he calls the action for both RAW and SmackDown Live and every pay-per-view match. As a recent guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast, Graves said he has no problems with his current commentating position within the WWE.
Initially a color commentator only for RAW, Graves was eventually added to the SmackDown Live broadcasting table. He's become a sort of "ironman" of commentating, especially now that the WWE is doing dual-branded pay-per-views. Graves was on the call for every match at WrestleMania 34, which lasted nearly five hours. Graves said he doesn't even think about how much he's working.
"I still don't look at what I do now. I think it's just like anything; it's my job, and I just do it. I try not to get caught up in it. The first time that it really kicked in was after this year's WrestleMania where I called the entire show, with the exception of the first two Kickoff matches," Graves said. "I then did all of RAW and all of SmackDown, and I remember finally getting home after going to Florida for voice overs thinking how I had never been this tired in my entire life. I wonder if everyone else is this tired? Probably not. I am just in a groove. I don't think about it."
As opposed to playing the role of a typical heel commentator, Graves favors superstars from both sides of the coin. Graves said he identifies more as a heel but he doesn't necessarily consider himself the "bad guy" of the broadcast table.
"I side with a lot of heel mentalities. I can justify it because I generally was a heel as a wrestler, so I can justify just about anything," he said. "A lot of times it is outrageous and ridiculous which is why I love to say it because it is funny for me to be able to give a backhanded justification for something that was clearly messed up and out of line, but that was just me entertaining myself. I am not the 'bad guy' Commentator. That is passe."
If any of these quotes are used, be sure to H/T the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast via Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.