3 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE NXT (January 18, 2017)
Ups...
3. Corey Graves' Commentary
Corey Graves is the best thing to happen to the WWE commentary booth since Jim Ross was taken ‘round back and shot in the face.
No one-dimensional heel colour commentator, he is as equally proficient at building up what’s left of the decimated NXT babyface roster. The second match, pitting Roderick Strong against Steve Cutler, was as good as one can expect from an in-house developmental prospect with just over two years’ worth of experience - i.e., not very.
But Graves’ work at the desk portrayed an average-at-best talent as a vicious tactician. As Cutler drove his knee into Strong’s back, Graves sold it with more conviction than Strong did - and he used just one word to do it. “Jesus,” he said, his hushed whisper doing more than any histrionic bluster could. Of course, Graves is more than capable of turning up the volume. His fan boy infatuation with Bobby Roode - “This is mesmerising! This is awe-inspiring!” - will never not be funny.
His Bobby Heenan/Ric Flair tribute adds so much to Roode’s act, too - and he lays it on with so much conviction that, hilariously, it borders on Jerry Lawler/Sable territory.