Corey Graves issues apology for taking a dig at Mauro Ranallo
Corey Graves has issued an apology after he insinuated on Twitter that NXT lead announcer Mauro Ranallo was talking too much compared to his fellow commentators, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix, during NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
Speaking at the start of this week’s After The Bell podcast, Graves did not mention Ranallo by name but addressed the controversy by saying he did not intend to cause anybody any undue stress with his tweet.
“Before we go any further, on a personal note, I need to address something. This past Saturday, during the TakeOver: WarGames event, I sent out a tweet. It was an unpopular opinion, as I often do, with the intention of just stirring up a little controversy, maybe something fun to talk about on TV or here on the show. It was maybe not the most professional way to go about things and it was never meant to offend or disrespect or disparage anybody. That was never my intention. If it was taken as such, I apologise deeply. That was not my intention. I would never intentionally cause anybody any undue stress, especially a co-worker, so I apologise.”
(If you use quotes from this article, please credit After The Bell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription).
Mauro Ranallo missed Survivor Series
One night after NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Mauro Ranallo was supposed to commentate on his first WWE pay-per-view in over two years when NXT Superstars and announcers took part in the battle of brand supremacy against RAW and SmackDown at Survivor Series.
However, after Ranallo did not appear on the show, SmackDown commentator Michael Cole explained his absence by claiming that he was so passionate calling the action during TakeOver: WarGames that he “blew his voice out”.
Contrary to Cole’s statement, it has been widely reported that Ranallo chose not to commentate on Survivor Series due to Corey Graves’ tweet, while he also disabled his Twitter account.
It is now being reported by POST Wrestling’s John Pollock that the NXT announcer will also miss Wednesday’s episode of NXT.