Corey Graves just pulled back the curtain on one of the most important jobs WWE commentators have when a match starts going off the rails.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Graves was discussing why WWE talent should communicate with the commentary team before stepping into the ring. Natalya explained that she will personally approach Graves before matches and tell him what parts of the story she wants commentary to emphasize. Graves said that kind of communication gives commentators a much better chance of helping the wrestlers get their story across to viewers.
“If you tell me what you want your story to be, I will tell it for you and I will most likely enhance it for you. I will put my spin on things and maybe do it my own way, but I will make sure that what you want conveyed is conveyed.”
Graves then explained that commentators can become the final safety net between the wrestlers and the audience. Even if the story seems obvious, he said giving commentary the information beforehand can make a huge difference.
“They make sure it—obviously, it’s pro wrestling, right? It’s not rocket science. There likely isn’t something that’s going to be totally missed, but better safe than sorry. And if you arm us as the commentators with the information that you want the audience to know, we’re sort of that last line of defense.”
That becomes even more important when something doesn’t go according to plan inside the ring. Graves admitted things go wrong in wrestling all the time, but said knowing the intended direction gives him a chance to help steer the story back where it belongs.
“If something doesn’t go right, which God knows happens all the time, if I know where you’re trying to go or what your goal was, nine times out of ten, I can spin something to get the train back on the track.”
Graves made it clear commentary can’t completely erase a botch, missed spot or match that suddenly goes sideways. What the announcers can do is help soften the damage and keep viewers focused on the bigger story.
“It’s not necessarily going to clean up all the mess as a whole, but it will, you know, smooth down some of the sharp edges of what’s going wrong at the moment.”
That gives a pretty interesting look at just how much WWE commentary can matter beyond simply calling the action. When things start falling apart in real time, Graves and the rest of the announce team can sometimes be the ones keeping the story from falling apart with it.
Do you think WWE commentators deserve more credit for covering when matches go wrong, or is it something fans can usually see through anyway? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
