Corey Graves

Corey Graves (birth name: Matthew Polinsky) is a former wrestler and a play-by-play commentator of the SmackDown brand as of November 2024. The former NXT Tag Team Champion, Graves also won the WWE 24/7 Title. He is also famous for his ring name Sterling James Keenan under which he worked on independent promotions. Graves started his professional career in 2000 and took retirement from wrestling in 2014. Graves is also known by his nicknames Iron City Hardcore, SJK, Sterling, and The Iron City Superstar, based on Cagematch.

Corey Graves Early Life

Graves was born and brought up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a student in the marketing stream where he earned a degree.

Corey Graves Professional Wrestling Career

Independent career (2000–2009)

Corey Graves debuted as a professional wrestler on March 22, 2000, as Sterling James Keenan. He competed across different advancements, including Dory Funk Jr's. Funking Conservatory, where he won the Tag Team Title in 2002, and Pro Wrestling Zero1, where he captured the US Heavyweight Title two times in 2008.

Graves additionally held titles in Far North Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, and Ballpark Brawl. He showed up irregularly for Ring of Honor (ROH) and debuted there in 2003. His matches in ROH included bouts with notable opponents like Claudio Castagnoli, The Briscoe Brothers, and Delirious.

International Wrestling Cartel (2002–2007)

Graves debuted in the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) in 2002 and immediately set up a foundation for himself by defeating Troy Lords and CM Punk. He came out on top for the IWC Heavyweight Title in 2003, defeating Dennis Gregory. Graves made a few successful defenses before losing the title to Dean Radford in 2004.

Later that year, he won the IWC Super Indy Title in a four-way match. Graves defended it against AJ Styles and Claudio Castagnoli before losing it in 2005. He competed in the last IWC Heavyweight Title match against Dennis Gregory in 2007 in a losing effort. This marked the finish of Graves' time with the advancement, where he had notable rivalries and championship success.

One Pro Wrestling (2005–2009)

Graves debuted for the UK-based 1 Master Wrestling (1PW) in 2005. He defeated D'Lo Brown and later aligned with Abyss. After feuding with Spud and competing in prominent matches, he brought home the 1PW Heavyweight Title in 2007 by defeating Ulf Herman in a steel cage match. He successfully defended the title against Doug Williams and Raven during his 554-day reign. Graves at last lost the title to Martin Stone in 2009 and kept on feuding with him before making his final 1PW appearance at the promotion’s 4th Anniversary Show in 2009.

WWE

Graves made a few appearances in the WWE before signing with the promotion. He fought against the opponents like Mark Henry, Jamie Noble, Val Venis, etc.

Initial Days (2011-2014)

In 2011, Graves signed with WWE and started performing in its developmental domain, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), as Corey Graves. He won the FCW Florida Tag Team Title with Jake Carter the next year. When FCW was rebranded into NXT, Graves changed into a singles competitor. He fought with Seth Rollins, The Shield, and The Wyatt Family, and briefly held the NXT Tag Team Title with Adrian Neville. After losing the titles, Graves turned heel by attacking Neville and later entered a fight with Sami Zayn. His career was hindered by multiple concussions in 2014 which led to extended absences from the ring.

Pre-show member (2014–2017)

Corey Graves officially retired from in-ring competition because of concussion issues in 2014 and transitioned to a commentary role. He began at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution and turned into a prominent commentator for NXT and WWE's main roster shows, including RAW. He also hosted the WWE Network series Culture Shock. Graves left NXT commentary in 2017.

Main Roster (2016–present)

Corey Graves joined the RAW commentary team after the 2016 WWE Draft. He later turned into the only commentator to work on both RAW and SmackDown at the same time following JBL's departure in 2017. He changed to a SmackDown commentator on a full-time basis in 2019 and got back to RAW two years later by replacing Samoa Joe. Graves additionally held the WWE 24/7 Title in 2021 and occasionally substituted on SmackDown. In 2024, Graves turned into SmackDown's lead commentator alongside Wade Barrett but returned to RAW in 2024, pairing with Michael Cole.

Corey Graves Awards and Achievements

Corey Graves's Physical Attributes

Corey Graves Family

Dan Polinsky is the father of Corey Graves who worked as a pro wrestling promoter. He has a younger brother and his name is Samuel Elias Polinsky. Sam is a wrestler in the NWA under the name Sam Adonis. Graves has a Hungarian ancestry by birth.

Corey Graves Wife

Corey Graves is married to fellow WWE wrestler Carmella (birth name: Leah Van Dale). Graves and Carmella engaged in 2021 and married the following year. Their son, Dimitri Paul Polinsky was born on November 8, 2023, as per their Instagram post.

Graves was previously married to Amy Schneider (2009-2020). The pair have three kids, based on Wikipedia.