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Corey Graves is "bland" and never says anything memorable as a commentator, according to former WWE personality Dutch Mantell.
Graves has worked as a WWE announcer since retiring from in-ring competition in 2014. The 39-year-old commentates on RAW alongside Kevin Patrick and premium live events alongside Michael Cole. He was recently voted the worst television announcer of 2022 in the Wrestling Observer annual awards.
Mantell, fka Zeb Colter in WWE, said on Story Time with Dutch Mantell that he agreed with fans criticizing Graves' commentary. He also joked that it feels like the RAW announcer has been doing his job for three decades:
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"I agree with it," Mantell stated. "I think he's as bland as they come. He says nothing memorable, doesn't add to anything. The guy's been there 30 years, I don't know, somebody must like him somewhere, but I've never really been impressed. Nice guy, but I've never been impressed by his announcing." [0:16 – 0:42]
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Mantell added that he misses legendary WWE commentators from past generations, such as Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Cornette.
Dutch Mantell compares Corey Graves and Wade Barrett
In September 2022, former NFL star Pat McAfee stepped back from SmackDown commentary duties to work on ESPN College Gameday. Since then, Wade Barrett has commentated with Michael Cole on Friday nights.
Dutch Mantell prefers Barrett over Corey Graves, but he still thinks the SmackDown announce booth lacks excitement:
"He [Barrett] is okay but he still doesn't really add that much to it. Because what you got now out there, you've got Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, that are both straight guys, and you need some of that color in there to be able to listen to it." [1:04 – 1:23]
Mantell went on to say that he wants color commentators to give viewers "some bullc**p" every so often. That way, he thinks fans will sit up and take notice when something outlandish gets said during shows.
Do you like Corey Graves as an announcer? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
