WWE RAW commentator Corey Graves is currently assisting with the WWE NXT brand and is open to joining forces with his wife Carmella.
Early in 2022, Graves confirmed that he had received a medical clearance for in-ring action. In a recent interview with PopCulture.com, he revealed that he has recently been working with the NXT roster and expressed interest in teaming up with Carmella for his return to the ring.
“I’ve recently started working with the NXT talent on helping develop characters and things of that nature, and I’ve really enjoyed it thus far,” Graves said. “So I’m really looking forward to working with NXT a lot more as the year progresses. I’d like to remind everybody one more time that I have been cleared to compete and I can’t think of a better scenario for me to step back in the ring than alongside my beautiful wife.”
In August 2011, Graves signed a WWE developmental contract after competing on independent circuits. He experienced two concussions between late 2013 and early 2014, and in December 2014 he announced his in-ring retirement. Shortly after that, he started giving interviews and providing commentary. In early November, after briefly winning the WW 24/7 Title, there were rumors that Graves’s doctors had given their approval for in-ring action. Early in 2022, Graves confirmed that he had been exonerated.
In an April 2020 podcast, Graves discussed his desire to exit retirement after being inspired by the WWE 24 documentary on WWE Hall of Famer Edge. n May 2020, he entered the ring to train with his brother Sam Adonis for the first time since his retirement. In a February 2022 interview with TMZ, Graves discussed getting cleared.
“I went and spent some time with doctors middle of last year. I kinda got the itch. This is one of the first times I’m saying this publicly. I have been medically cleared to compete. It’s not an immediate goal of mine, it was just something I needed to know for my own sanity. My journey in the ring got cut short and it’s kinda eaten at me for years, always wondering what if, what if there’s a chance, what if there’s an opportunity … so I went and did the necessary steps and it turns out I’m more okay than I thought I was,” he said.
Graves hasn’t competed in a real match since defeating Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt) at the March 21, 2014 NXT live event in Fort Pierce, Florida, aside from the WWE 24/7 Title angles on November 8, 2021. He defeated Sami Zayn in his final TV match on the March 13th, 2014, NXT episode, which aired on April 3, 2014.
Since 2019, Graves and Carmella have been dating. They got married on April 7, 2022, after becoming engaged in October 2021.
