Backstage Reaction to Corey Graves Replacing Pat McAfee on WWE Commentary
As noted before, Pat McAfee has been absent from WWE’s RAW brand commentary team since the June 9th RAW show due to work “exhaustion”-related issues. NXT commentary Cory Graves has been filling in for McAfee since the June 16th RAW show after SmackDown commentary Wade Barrett had filled in for the prior week’s show.
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that WWE officials were already expecting McAfee to step away by August or this September due to his commitment with ESPN for the College Football season. Those spoken to reportedly stated that McAfee’s exit was seen as inevitable, regardless of it being planned or not, and WWE officials had already lined up Graves as the fallback plan.
In regards to Graves’ return to RAW commentary, it was reported that this was not a reactive move and instead it was part of WWE’s long-term strategy for him. One WWE high-level official reportedly spoken to stated that they had sympathized with Graves’ frustrations about being shifted to NXT earlier this year and called Graves’ versatility as both a gift and a curse. This same official reportedly also stated that Graves’ ability to work across any brand made him the obvious choice once McAfee’s scheduled became unworkable for him.
In regards to McAfee, it was reported that McAfee is still viewed very positively within WWE. Those spoken to reportedly stated that McAfee is consistently respectful and professional behind the scenes. Those spoken to reportedly also stated that while there is no set return schedule for McAfee, the door remains wide open for his return in the future.
Jimmy Hart Says Hulk Hogan Felt “Devastated” Over the Loud Booing Reception at WWE RAW Netflix Premiere Show
A recent episode of the Stories with Briscoe & Bradshaw podcast featured WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Hart’s thoughts about how Hulk Hogan felt “devastated” over the loud booing reception he received at this past January’s WWE RAW premiere show for Netflix.
“Speaking of what you’re talking about now, that’s what happened to us when we went to Los Angeles. You hear so much about that, but I’m gonna set that straight too in my opinion… Here’s the deal, I’m not a Democrat or Republican. I’m just a jabroni. Hulk (Hogan) knew that, okay? So I didn’t go with him to the Republican Convention or anything because, you know, not because I wanted to hide or wasn’t for (Donald) Trump or wasn’t for (Joe) Biden or anybody. I’m just like I said, jabroni so… We were going to Los Angeles. Now, going in there, which I kind of told Hulk, I said, ‘Wow.’ I said, you know, ‘Blue state! Red state!’ I said, ‘Woo!’ You know? He had a Trump-Vance t-shirt on which he did some pre-publicity, right? I’m going, ‘Oh my gosh, this is gonna be good.’ We’ve got Kamala Harris down the block with her big thing going on. So we come flying into L.A, baby. So we come in there, he’s got that Trump-Vance t-shirt on. We get out, man, then we go and all of a sudden I hear a few of the people like, ‘Boo, boo. Trump –’ I’m going, you know what? This doesn’t feel right. ‘Jimmy, don’t worry about it.’ ‘Okay, Hulk. That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.’ So we go in there and we do our little rehearsal and stuff like that and my job is just to wave the flag, brother, wave the flag. Don’t let it hit the ground. Wave that flag. I’m just waving the heck out of it. So we go out, we kind of get a mixed reaction, and you know this, you can have 500 people cheering you and one person booing you, but I’ll be darned if that one person outshine the dag-on 500 cheering for you. You know how that works, right? So we go out, so it’s kind of a mixed reaction, but it’s a little bit more boos than anything. But that devastated him and we got in the back, he said, ‘What do you think happened?’ I said, ‘Hulk, it’s simple. Blue state, red state. Trump-Vance.’ I said, ‘I’m okay with it.’ He goes, ‘What are you thinking?’ And I said, ‘I’m okay. I felt like I was managing The Hart Foundation against The British Bulldogs or the Killer Bees…’ But that bothered him because of that and I said, ‘Well, surely people are gonna realize what that was for.’ Then the next week, we’re in Texas and it’s all cheers. But, that always bothered him. It sure did. Well, he did (take the fallout from it). He said, ‘Jimmy, I have to do it.’ He said, ‘I just have to do it. I think this is the right thing. He’s gonna straighten this place out. He’s gonna do it,’ and so far, Hulk’s been right. It’s looking pretty darn good.”
Transcript h/t: Fighful.com
WWE News & Notes
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella was seen in New Jersey on Thursday for WWE’s Summerslam festivities. Johnson reported that it is currently not known if Bella will be appearing in any official on camera capacity at this weekend’s SummerSlam events.
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that WWE paused the construction of their stage set on Thursday for this weekend’s SummerSlam 2025 events at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was reported that the reason was due to weather-related issues over storms dropping heavy rainfalls in the New York/New Jersey area. It was reported that it is currently not known when construction will resume but WWE sources spoken to stated that they had no concerns about whether the stage set will be completed on time. It was also reported that a shelter is set where the ring area will be and while the stage and set were being put together, the ringside area was not yet set up at the time of the construction pause.
As noted before, rapper Cardi B is currently scheduled to be the official host of this weekend’s SummerSlam 2025 events in East Rutherford, New Jersey. WrestleVotes Radio reported that their sources stated that Cardi B is currently expected to only appear on Night 2 of SummerSlam on August 3rd.
WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque was among those who attended a political event at the White House on Thursday for the signing of an executive order by President Donald Trump for the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Levesque was among those named to be a member of this council.
Deadline reported that Zelina Vega recently signed a deal with Prototype Talent Agency for representation in acting and voiceover work.
Deadline reported that TKO Group recently made two new executive appointments in the company. It was reported that Sana Shuaib is joining as the new Senior Vice President of Partnership Marketing and Digital and veteran executive Brit Santypal was appointed as the new Senior Vice President of Operations.
FOX News recently released a new Hulk Hogan documentary titled “The Life of Hulk Hogan” on their FOX Nation streaming service.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently issued an official declaration making August 1st officially “Hulk Hogan Day” in the state. DeSantis also ordered for both United States and Florida state flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset at both the state capitol in Tallahassee and government buildings in Pinellas County.
As noted before, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit in January of 2024 against former TKO Executive Chairman Vince McMahon accusing McMahon of committing sex trafficking and sexual abuse towards her during her time in the company. Grant filed a new amended lawsuit this past February detailing new evidence and claims against McMahon, John Laurinaitis, WWE, and others. Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that Judge Sheila Ozalis issued a ruling this past Tuesday approving Dr. Carlon Colker’s objection to Grant’s proposed discovery schedule and rejecting Grant’s attempt to move forward immediately. Thurston reported that the judge scheduled a new court hearing for August 11th when attorneys for Grant and Colker will have a chance to make their cases in court. Thurston reported that Grant must also submit requests by August 7th detailing the names of individuals she seeks to interview in depositions and what documents she wants access to.
In now deleted Instagram post, WWE LFG and WWE EVOLVE talent Jamar Hampton called out WWE and others over their recent tributes to the late Hulk Hogan while completely ignoring Hogan’s past racist comments controversy. Hampton stated ” Is this really who we should be celebrating? Do ya research” and posted a YouTube link with a transcript of Hogan’s racist remarks from 2007.
In a recent interview with FOX News, Alexa Bliss gave her thoughts about her interest in potentially joining the Wyatt Sicks in the future. Bliss stated “I always have the same answer to this because I truly believe it, Windham always said, ‘Alexa and I will always be connected and when it happens and when we reconnect, it’s gonna be something big.’ So, whether that’s with the Wyatt Sicks or something else, I don’t know. Maybe we get a different side of Charlotte (Flair). I don’t know. It’s WWE, you never know what’s going to happen. I think it would be something fun to explore at some point. Right now, I’m having a lot of fun tagging with Charlotte and seeing where that dynamic goes. But obviously, I’m still always going to have a piece of Bray with me with the jacket and the skirt and the character and just kinda keeping it in that same vein in case that doesn’t happen. I think it would be something really cool to see, but you never know.“
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Tony Khan Reveals New Tag Team Name for Megan Bayne & Marina Shafir
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