When WWE had its season premiere week beginning on Sept. 30, changes were made to the announce teams. Corey Graves, Michael Cole and Renee Young were moved off of Raw. Graves and Cole headed to SmackDown while Young took over as host of WWE Backstage.
WWE has been utilizing three-man booths for years, but has gone with the two-man booth of Graves and Cole for most episodes of SmackDown on Fox.
Speaking on WWE After The Bell, Graves weighed in on the differences between the two and three-man booths.
"[Cole] and I have worked together long enough that we have that chemistry and I sort of learned commentary from his style so it's a lot easier to flow back and forth. It's weird, when you have three voices, sometimes you're struggling just to get a word in edge-wise or to complete a thought and you've got two other people to worry about rather than just one. It's a different vibe than the three-man table, and I prefer it for sure."
He continued, "I have a hard time without having you [Renee] or a third person because Cole is so hard to break. He can keep straight face through anything. I always used to gauge if something had landed because I could look at you, Byron [Saxton] or Tom [Phillips] and have the giggles. I get him from time to time but it's a lot harder."
The three-person team of Cole, Graves, and Young began with much fanfare but criticisms quickly arose when Young was often reduced to the background, only sneaking in quick lines when she could. Young has previously said that she never felt comfortable on commentary. You can read her full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
