5 WWE commentators who could replace Corey Graves when SmackDown moves to FOX
WWE’s weekly television schedule is set to change when NXT moves to the USA Network on September 18 and SmackDown moves to FOX on October 4.
There will now be a total of seven hours of live programming every week – Raw on Mondays (three hours), NXT on Wednesdays (two hours), and SmackDown on Fridays (two hours) – as well as 205 Live and NXT UK on the WWE Network.
It was reported earlier this week by POST Wrestling’s John Pollock that WWE will separate its rosters again by holding a draft on the October 11 episode of SmackDown and the October 14 episode of Raw.
Now, in an update from the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, the upcoming roster changes will also take announcers into account, which means Corey Graves will no longer be a commentator on both Raw and SmackDown.
Instead, he will only commentate on one of WWE’s weekly shows, allowing a spot to open up for a new or returning commentator to take his place.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five people who could realistically replace Graves on either Raw or SmackDown.
Disclaimer: The NXT commentary team is expected to remain the same when the show moves to the USA Network, so Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix are not included in this list.
#5 Vic Joseph
Casual WWE fans may be unfamiliar with Vic Joseph, but he has proven himself to be a very capable announcer whenever he has been given the opportunity to show what he can do.
Much like SmackDown’s Tom Phillips in the early stages of his WWE career, Joseph has various different on-screen and off-screen roles for the company.
As well as his regular gigs as a commentator for 205 Live and NXT UK, the Cleveland native can also be heard as the voice of the ‘WWE List This!’ series on WWE’s YouTube channel.
In August 2019, Joseph surprisingly joined Michael Cole and Renee Young on the Raw announce team for one episode after Jerry Lawler – Corey Graves’ replacement for the night – was attacked by The Fiend.
Despite receiving praise for his work on Raw, it would be somewhat surprising if Joseph permanently replaced Graves on a weekly basis, simply because he is known more as a lead announcer than a colour commentator.
That being said, WWE used him alongside Cole and Young once before, so might they go down that route again?