Nowadays, Corey Graves has become a natural at the color commentator position for all major WWE shows, but his goal was to always be a wrestler.
On a recent episode of WWE After The Bell, Corey Graves and Renee Young reminisced on what it was like for Corey to have to announce his retirement during the pre-show before an NXT TakeOver event in December of 2014.
?I can actually remember very specifically we were getting set up to do an NXT TakeOver and I remember Hunter pulling you aside and I was watching you guys being like, 'what is happening over there? That's when he offered you your talent deal. Just like such a crazy time,? recalled Renee. "I just remember feeling so like-- I had never been there next to somebody, but it was like a huge deal for you to announce your retirement and to be there while you're doing that, you announced that and it's like, 'okay, now we're doing this show.' It was just such a weird, weird mix of emotions.?
Corey Graves picked up the memory from there, ?It was insane. I like to make the joke now that I look back on it. You know, Daniel Bryan retired in the center of the ring on Raw. So did Edge. I got to announce it at the top of a kickoff show for NXT. God, man! That shows what little impact I had on the business. [laughs] But, hey, all's well that ends well.?
Renee Young would go on to become the first woman to ever hold a regular commentary position in WWE before going on to host WWE backstage on FS1 which was recently canceled. Renee is currently dealing with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Learn more about that at this link.
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