40-year-old WWE personality drops major tease after Royal Rumble omission

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The 2025 WWE Royal Rumble did not feature a particular notable name from the company's commentary team. The man in question has been the topic of some controversial news of late.

For Corey Graves, things went from bad to worse when he claimed on his socials that he was told he was not "famous enough" as a commentator and that it was not his first choice of profession. Graves was initially an in-ring competitor. He revealed in an interview with Chris Van Vliet two years ago that he was medically cleared to compete, but has decided to focus on commentary instead.

Taking to Instagram, Corey Graves shared a snap of him wearing his ring gear. Could this be a hint at the commentator's eventual return to the ring?

Corey Graves wearing his ring gear [Image via Instagram]
Corey Graves wearing his ring gear [Image via Instagram]

Graves has previously wrestled for WWE NXT. An unfortunate injury ended his in-ring career before he switched to commentary.


WWE Hall of Famer Booker T confirms he has heat with Corey Graves

Corey Graves was previously paired with veteran Michael Cole, one who is cited by many as the voice of WWE today. Cole called Graves his worthy successor before. Graves was moved to the NXT brand, where Booker T works as a commentator today.

Booker recently revealed that he is not cool with Corey Graves because the latter expressed disappointment on X/Twitter about being removed from the main roster commentary team. On the Hall of Fame podcast, the former World Heavyweight Champion noted how the tweet was unwarranted but added that at the end of the day, it is up to the management to decide what to do with Corey Graves:

"We're not cool, not cool at all — I didn't like the tweet ... I didn't tell him I didn't like it, but I'm sure there perhaps will come a time when I might say it ... he wasn't talking to me, wasn't talking about me, so therefore that's out of my pay rate you know what I mean? So I let the bosses handle that stuff."
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It remains to be seen if Corey Graves ever gets to realize his desire to wrestle again. His wife, Carmella — the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank contract holder in WWE, is on a lengthy hiatus. She gave birth to their son Dimitri Paul Polinsky in November 2023.