WWE Clears Corey Graves For Return To In-Ring Competition

Corey Graves has been known by WWE fans as heel commentator for the past several years. Graves was forced to retire from in-ring competition in late 2014. Since then, he has remained one of the more popular announcers with the company. A return to wrestling may not be out of the question for Graves.

Fightful Select reports that the Pittsburgh native has been at least partially cleared to take part in physical activities. Sources in WWE claim that Graves was cleared by WWE physicians all the way back in 2020. Neither Corey Graves nor WWE were willing to confirm or deny the news.

“Fightful has learned that longtime color commentator Corey Graves has had a major status shift over the last year. We’ve spoken to sources in WWE and close to the situation that claim that Graves was actually cleared by WWE doctors at some point in 2020, though the company has not confirmed that to us, so it’s largely based on discussions behind the scenes. Graves briefly won the WWE 24/7 Championship in 2020, despite previously being on a strict internal “no contact” list that the company keeps. We can confirm that he was not on that list any longer. We reached out to both Corey Graves and WWE, who both responded but would not confirm or deny any parts of this news.”

Several pitches have been made internally. None have been picked up yet. A source close to WWE creative noted that Graves is no longer listed on the company’s “no contact” list. Typically, once a performer is removed from that list, it means they’ve been cleared to wrestle.

Corey Graves wrestled on the independent scene as “Sterling” James Keenan before signing with WWE in 2011. Graves had a successful run in NXT before injuries cut his career short. Corey held the NXT Tag Team Championships with Adrian Neville (Pac).

Graves recently talked about how the return of Edge had him feeling the itch to compete again. It appears as though he might get that chance soon. WWE could just be waiting for the proper approach creatively.

What do you think of Corey Graves returning to in-ring competition? Share your thoughts in the comments!