Corey Graves allegedly did not want legendary WWE commentator in the company
WWE Superstar Corey Graves transitioned from a wrestler to a full-time commentator almost eight years ago. Recently, legendary commentator Jonathan Coachman claimed that The Savior of Misbehavior was reluctant to work with him during his second tenure with the Stamford-based promotion.
After his time on the NXT brand, Graves announced he would be joining the RAW commentary team during the 2016 WWE Draft. Since then, he has called several memorable matches and is currently a play-by-play commentator on the SmackDown brand.
When The Coach re-signed with the Sports Entertainment Giant in 2018, he joined the red brand's commentary team with Michael Cole and Corey Graves, replacing Booker T as the color commentator.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, Jonathan Coachman recalled the challenges of working on a three-person commentary team during Monday Night RAW in 2018. He expressed his belief that the former NXT Tag Team Champion was not entirely supportive of his presence on the team.
"If you notice now, how many three-man booths are there on RAW or SmackDown? (None). It's too difficult. It's nothing against Corey Graves, but he just happened to be the one that I was working with when I came back. And I believe at my core that he didn't want me there," he said. (From 13:12 to 13:30)
You can watch the full episode below:
Jonathan Coachman further reveals he never had a direct conversation with Corey Graves in WWE
During the same conversation with Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, The Coach revealed that he had repeatedly asked Michael Cole to facilitate a one-on-one conversation with Corey Graves to discuss potential collaborations.
However, despite his efforts, Jonathan Coachman never had a direct conversation with The Savior of Misbehavior, leading him to conclude that the current WWE SmackDown commentator had no interest in working with him
"I would actively every week ask Michael Cole, 'Can you talk to Corey about us working together?' I have nothing against Corey Graves, I've known Michael Cole since 1999. But if they don't wanna work with you, there's nothing you can do. And Corey never wanted to talk to me. I never had one conversation with Corey Graves, and I tried," he added. (From 38:58 to 39:16)
The Coach also stated that he would never return to WWE for a three-man commentary team. It remains uncertain whether Corey Graves and Jonathan Coachman will be able to resolve their differences.
Please credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.