9 Potential Replacements For JBL On WWE Commentary
4. Corey Graves
When Graves got the call that his concussion history rendered him medically incapable of wrestling, Triple H found a perfect position for him as a commentator and host for WWE Network programming. Graves started off on a high note on December 11, 2014, and he has done quite well in that role ever since.
Just watch Graves take part in interviews with many different guests as part of the ‘Culture Shock’ program. He looks and sounds comfortable speaking in front of a camera, he has good pacing in his voicing (ergo, he doesn’t come across as nervous or trying to end things quickly), and does a great job of making as many parallels between the topic in question and WWE as possible. For example, during an interview with Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Graves made connections to Finn Balor’s ‘Demon Balor’ gimmick and to Seth Rollins being another big star from Iowa.
These kinds of connections and references to the world outside of WWE are what a good color commentator truly needs, and is also something that JBL doesn’t do that well. He often makes random pop culture references, and delivers them with such a deadpan voice that you could almost tell that he’s being forced to say those things.
Graves, on the other hand, knows how to add pop culture references when necessary, which has helped him improve dramatically as a color commentator. Maybe he’ll find himself sitting in JBL’s chair before long…