Below are a couple of top news stories of the day, featuring Samantha Irvin and Corey Graves.
• Samantha Irvin shared before-and-after photos from her WWE Performance Center tryout in December 2020, highlighting the physical toll of the process.
The first image showed her fresh and ready, while the second revealed severe bruising on her back and shoulders.
Her caption simply read, “Before & after pics from my WWE tryout, Dec. 2020.”
The tryout launched her WWE career as a ring announcer.
• Corey Graves’ relationship with WWE remains strong despite his past frustration over being moved to NXT.
According to Sean Ross Sapp on The Hump, Graves and WWE are on good terms, and he is still a valued and well-liked member of the company.
Michael Cole has addressed Corey Graves’ recent frustration over his move to NXT commentary. Speaking on IMPAULSIVE, Cole confirmed that Graves’ critical social media posts were not part of a storyline planned by WWE.
Graves initially claimed he was trying to generate interest, but WWE didn’t see it that way. Despite the controversy, Cole praised Graves as an “unbelievable commentator” and one of the best he’s worked with, second only to Pat McAfee. He believes Graves and WWE are working things out.
Here’s what Cole said:
“I love Corey. I still don’t understand all the dynamics of it. I know that he sent something out on social media that was pretty critical of the company. He tried to explain to everyone that he was trying to generate some interest in maybe a type of storyline.
I don’t think the company saw it that way. It was not a work, right? It was a shoot—yes, allegedly, allegedly. But again, I think he and the company are working that out.
I love Corey to death. He’s an unbelievable commentator. Beside (Pat) McAfee, he’s probably the best partner I’ve ever had.”
