Corey Graves is a changed man after his honeymoon.
Fans may have entered WrestleMania Backlash with low expectations but most fans responded well to the show and praised the in-ring action.
On WWE After The Bell, Vin Joseph and Corey Graves had a conversation about fan expectations and Graves stated that fans should have high expectations when it comes to WWE.
"You should come in with high expectations, particularly in this day and age. This is WWE, we are the worldwide leader in sports entertainment. WWE is a global entity. It is okay to have high expectations for everything we do. The onus is on us as WWE to provide the fans and meet their expectations because it's not like we're this fledgling thing. 'Oh, there are growing pains. We're gonna get there.' I understand sometimes when people get frustrated or are unhappy with how things are presented from time to time because sports entertainment, as a whole, has some of the most passionate fans about anything in entertainment. Sports entertainment fans are right up there with your comic book fans or hardcore music fans or people that really care and live and die by this stuff. I believe that the weight is on our shoulders, and I don't think it's unfair. Yes, there are variables and circumstances. Yes, we're beholden to advertisers and business contracts. There is a lot more that goes into making the stew that most fans don't realize, nor should they have to. Our fans should be able to sit down on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET and get lost in a show. That's on us. We should always be presenting ourselves and forcing ourselves to meet the expectation of the fan as opposed to saying, 'this is what we're giving you, you either like it or don't like it," he said.
Joseph said asked "shouldn't fans just enjoy the ride and not be cynical, to a degree?" Graves offered up the following response and personal belief.
"That's a personal choice. I'll draw this analogy. 'The Flight Attendant' is what Carmella and I have been watching lately. I like the show, I'm a fan of it. I also enjoy it because it gives me an opportunity to shut my brain off for an hour and get lost in the show and not pick apart, 'I don't know if I like the set design. I don't know if Kaley Cuoco really nailed that line.' That's just me. Some people enjoy micromanaging and focusing on minutia. if that's your thing, God bless you, you have fans that truly care more about movesets than the story being told, and that's okay. They're not wrong. It's flavors of ice cream, the oldest analogy in the business. We're Baskin Robins. Whatever you are into, we got you covered. It's a cornucopia of what sports entertainment is and it's constantly growing and evolving. I, for one, don't get any enjoyment out of picking things apart, that's just me, but I probably do it with something different. How many of us are Monday Morning Quarterbacks or you watch a baseball game and go, 'why are they shifting?' You like to get lost and pick apart things you are passionate about," he said.
Graves noted that his honeymoon in Hawaii with Carmella and new grill has made him a new man with a new outlook.
Graves is the lead color commentator on WWE Raw. Fightful provides live coverage of WWE Raw every Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
