5 Ups & 4 Downs from WWE Raw (16 June - Results & Review)

4. Stick With Graves

WWE Raw Corey Graves Michael Cole
WWE

For the second week in a row, Pat McAfee couldn’t be on Raw to handle color commentary. This week, it was Corey Graves stepping up to fill the second chair next to Michael Cole.

For those who aren’t fans of McAfee’s shtick, Graves was a welcome breath of fresh air, reminding everyone that he was never bad at his gig – quite the opposite. Graves called moves that often get glossed over (such as AJ Styles’ ushigoroshi), added insight, and got swept up in the action, and he did all of this without drawing constant attention to himself or screaming like a madman for two-plus hours.

Most importantly, Graves didn’t try to fill Booker T’s shoes while Stephanie Vaquer executed a Devil’s Kiss.

It would be fantastic if this change were permanent, but we’ll most likely have to endure McAfee again soon enough. But fans should enjoy the treat to their ears while it lasts.

Advertisement
In this post: 
WWE Raw
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.