Corey Graves says Triple H lets WWE commentators have more freedom.
In February, Corey Graves and Wade Barrett were officially named as the new SmackDown commentary team. Graves had already been working under WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H, as he has spent time on the Raw and SmackDown commentary teams. He also had plenty of experience working under former Vince McMahon.
Speaking with Jessica Kleinschmidt on Short and to the Point, Corey Graves was asked to discuss his relationship with Triple H. After noting that he owes him a lot, Graves stated that Triple H gives the announcers space.
“Triple H is another guy that I owe a great deal, if not everything in my career, to. He’s the one that took a chance on me as a wrestler in NXT. I know we’ve had a few conversations since then. Him having to shut me down broke his heart as much as it broke mine. He’s always been sort of silently supportive. He’s always been in the back. If I need something, I’ve never hesitated to go to him and ask. He also is really cool and sort of refreshing in the sense of, he gives us space when he’s in Gorilla, like where the old boss sat. Instead of being told and promoted, ‘Hey, you have to say this, you gotta do it this way, you have to use this verbiage,’ he I think understands that we are all fans and we all love this in different ways, and as the business grows and evolves, you kind of have to let go of the reigns a little bit. I still have my guide rails. I just feel like they’re a little wider on each side now, where rather than trying to stay on a particular path and walk in a certain rhythm and do things a certain way, I have a little bit more leeway to be me and develop my own style, as long as all the boxes that need to be are checked, I don’t have to do them the same way that the six guys before me have done, or that Michael Cole does, et cetera," Graves said.
Graves was then asked to describe what Triple H is like on the headset. Graves noted that his headsets have been more quiet than ever under Triple H, as he only hears from him when he does something terribly wrong or a joke lands.
"I’ve been on TV for I think seven years on Raw and SmackDown, and in the last few months, I think my headsets have been as quiet as they have been, ever [laughs]. I only hear from him if I’m doing something terribly wrong, which, knock on wood, doesn’t happen too frequently, or the other time I hear time from him pretty regularly is if, much like Michael Cole, if a joke lands. If I say something and it gets him, he’ll go, ‘Oh, that was really good,’ or he’ll double down and he’ll follow up on my joke in my headset," Graves said.
Click here to see what Corey Graves had to say about joining the SmackDown commentary team.
Graves has said that nobody has more fun than he does on WWE television. Check out his comments here.
Check out Graves' comments about learning about producing here.
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