Corey Graves is medically cleared, but wrestling is ‘not an immediate goal’

Last month, word went around that Corey Graves was medically cleared to return to wrestling.

Graves transitioned from the ring to the announce desk in 2014, after being told that injuries suffered during his career made taking bumps a life-threatening proposition. But like Bryan Danielson, Edge, and Christian before him, time, healthy living, and medical advances reportedly had made it possible for the 37 year old Pittsburgher to safely work a match again.

Rumors went around that he could make an appearance in the Royal Rumble, but after he didn’t, comeback talk died down.

Now, in an interview with TMZ, Corey’s confirmed the reports. He’s also offered an update about his future:

“It [wrestling again]’s crossed my mind. I went and spent some time with doctors in the middle of last year. I kinda got the itch. I think this is one of the first times I’m saying this publicly. I have been medically cleared to compete.

“It’s not an immediate goal of mine, it was just something that I needed to know for my own sanity. My journey in the ring got cut short and it’s kind of eaten at me for years, always wondering what if, what if there’s a chance, what if there’s an opportunity... so I went and did the necessary steps and it turns out that I’m a little more okay than I thought I was. Never say never. It’s not an immediate goal, but you can’t ever take the wrestler out of my heart.”

In addition to his regular role as a color commentator on Raw, Graves and fiancee Carmella have a new (somewhat racy) reality series premiering next week on YouTube.