Corey Graves reportedly cleared for in-ring return

In 2014, concussion issues led Corey Graves to leave behind his career as an in-ring performer and start one sitting ringside as a color commentator. He rose through the ranks from NXT to SmackDown & Raw. The 37 year old from Pittsburgh has been a member of the announce team for WWE’s Monday night show since 2016.

In the time since he retired from wrestling, Graves has seen talents — like Bryan Danielson, Edge and Christian Cage — who were also forced out of the ring by injuries get medically cleared and return. Last year, Graves began hinting he would try to do the same.

According to a report today (Jan. 12) from Fightful Select, Graves was cleared by WWE medical at sometime in 2020. He was then moved from the company’s internal “no contact” list at some point last year. Both WWE and Graves responded to requests for comment but would not confirm or deny the report.

That this got out now seems telling...

Will we see the Savior of Misbehavior on Jan. 29 in St. Louis? What about beyond Royal Rumble?

We’ll see. But provided this report is correct, it sounds like Corey Graves will at least get to go out on his own terms. That’s pretty damn cool.