Backstage Reaction To Corey Graves' WWE Raw Return

Corey Graves was back on Monday Night Raw on June 16 as he filled in for Pat McAfee in Green Bay, Wisconsin, sitting alongside Michael Cole for the show on Netflix.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider has reported that Graves was well received during his Raw return and it was noted that his recent widely-praised performance on play-by-play for WWE x AAA Worlds Collide internally raised Graves' profile. It was also noted that Graves' issues with WWE earlier this year over being moved from Friday Night SmackDown to NXT had "been all but forgotten."

A WWE source added: "He wants to perform for the company and show what he can do and he proved himself to the new regime with Worlds Collide."

Graves was moved to NXT from SmackDown in early 2025, which prompted the announcer to tweet:

"Imagine chasing your dream. Then being TOLD (not deciding) that you’re no longer physically able to pursue your dream. Then you dedicate your life to something 'dream adjacent' and being pretty f****** awesome at it.

"And then, when it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, being told you’re not famous enough for your own job. Just in case you’ve wondered where I've been."

The issues led to Graves missing one week of WWE NXT but he has been ever present on the Tuesday night show since late January, including on June 17 when Graves was alongside Vic Joseph and Booker T.

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