Corey Graves, a color commentator on WWE’s “Monday Night Raw,” railed against “woke bulls–t” in defending against criticism for how he announces matches involving real-life fiancée, WWE wrestler Carmella.
Graves, 37, whose real name is Matthew Polinsky, first responded to a woman named Alyssa Marino, a podcaster and indie wrestling commentator, who tweeted, “When an announce team can’t ‘focus’ on a match and is constantly commenting on the physical appearance of competitors (especially when it’s women in the ring), it’s time to find professional broadcasters who can tell the story without being “distracted” by the athletes.”
“Well then, I suggest you find a different field than sports entertainment,” Graves responded. “If you can’t differentiate between a TV character and an ACTUAL journalist, then I don’t trust anything you have to say. Good luck.”
Then Norman Quarrinton, a writer for the website The Sportster, told Graves, “Responding to criticism regarding how you talk about women by telling a woman that she’s in the wrong line of work probably isn’t a good move but you do you.”
That is when Graves invoked “woke bulls–t”.
“Responding to criticism about how I speak ON TV about a CHARACTER portrayed by my ACTUAL fiancé [sic] trumps any of your “woke” bulls–t…but you do you…You’re welcome for the virtue signal boost,” Graves tweeted.
Peter Rosenberg, a radio host on Hot 97 and ESPN New York who also contributes to WWE, defended Graves.
“[Corey Graves] is the best color analyst in pro wrestling and people are mad that he was praising the looks of his real life fiance [sic] whose character has been ‘the most beautiful woman in all of WWE’ …. people really have a lot of time on their hands,” Rosenberg tweeted.
Whether Graves is a better WWE color analyst than Pat McAfee, who is on “Friday Night SmackDown,” is a matter of personal opinion.
Graves, as an announcer, has shown some of the on-screen characteristics of one of his predecessors, Jerry “The King” Lawler. Their TV personas have often observed excitedly while pointing out that classically attractive women are strikingly attractive. With Graves, this has been the case with stories involving Carmella, as well as other performers such as Mandy Rose and Alexa Bliss. Its level of entertainment value will likely remain a matter of the viewers’ taste.
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