Why the hate on Graves, folks?

[Fake Jesus]

My fellow goons, do we not realise that Vincent uses the heel commentator as a mouthpiece? Admittedly, I haven't watched the show aside from WM in years, but I see here that people consider Graves to be some kind of Hitler figure, rather than the latest gremlin of Vincent. JBL was a good commentator in 2006, Graves was good in NXT, and then they both were forced to become the voice minions of the boss. Can thou forum goblins ones not see that this is the same thing as blaming the writers instead of Vincent for the show quality, or the wrestlers for the promo material Vincent supplies them with??

[TWERKIN' MAGGLE]

I'm not a Graves hater, but I get it.

Overbearing is overbearing. See Vickie Guerrero.

[Abdullah]

For me, it's the constant picking on Coach.

Saxton kinda plays along, so it's a little better and Tom tends to be a better buffer. On RAW, on PPVs with Coach, he can come across more interested in getting himself over.

[Facetious]

He went from genuinely good commentator to guy who spend the entire show ragging on his fellow commentators. After awhile it gets old, especially if you consume all 5 hours of Raw/SD.

[Deleted]

Don't know if it's just me but ever since he got that new doo he's been worse. Hell, after that Booker thing he turned worse. See unlike a lot of others, I enjoyed the Booker shit, it was 2 friends f***ing around on the job, that's dope but after that? Man, something changed with him. I'm noticing his bullshit more than ever.

[BorneAgain]

WWE commentators have a tendency (likely due to Vince) where their best attributes are either minimized or gradually exaggerated over time.

Graves was informative and good at the verbal zingers, and over time has become the guy sound obsessed with getting his insults in rather than the matches over.

Same thing with Striker when he was a fairly intelligent guy with a few obscure references and nicknames to devolving into someone constantly forcing the nicknames and throwing out things related to popular culture just to do them.

[froggyfrog]

I don’t get how someone could hate Graves but think Mauro is good 🤷‍♂️

[Deleted]

Obnoxious and overbearing. He isn't JBL yet, thankfully, but I still feel like he's just trying to get himself over more than anything. I'm sick of commentators bickering with each other, too. By the way, can we do away with the three person announce teams? I've always hated that shit.

[Deleted]

I still really like him, but he has been main roster-ised

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Apr 19, 2018 11:30:22 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

WWE commentators have a tendency (likely due to Vince) where their best attributes are either minimized or gradually exaggerated over time.

Graves was informative and good at the verbal zingers, and over time has become the guy sound obsessed with getting his insults in rather than the matches over.

Same thing with Striker when he was a fairly intelligent guy with a few obscure references and nicknames to devolving into someone constantly forcing the nicknames and throwing out things related to popular culture just to do them.

I enjoyed Striker, but he lost me at "I'm marking out bro."

Him and JR doing NJPW was hilarious. JR kept getting frustrated with him using insider terms like that.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

The same thing that happens to all commentators, people are used to him and familiarity breeds contempt. There's also the whole McMahon erosion thing going on, as Vince's continual yelling brings him into line with what he wants.

[Pushed to the Moon]

I still like him.

[Slanted and Enchanted]

Apr 19, 2018 11:32:26 GMT -5 froggyfrog said:

I don’t get how someone could hate Graves but think Mauro is good 🤷‍♂️

Exposure plays a part. Corey gets 5 hours of TV a week plus PPVs while Mauro gets 1 hour and the quarterly Takeover specials.

Also Mauro doesn't have to worry about playing a 'character' they way Corey does. And Corey's character happens to be a loudmouth and obnoxious bully.

I think Mauro's constant need for pop culture references are lame but I generally think the hate for that is overblown and doesn't take away from the quality announcing that he routinely delivers. And don't get it mistaken, Corey was phenomenal on NXT as an announcer.

[Deleted]

He went from genuinely good at a point to just constantly screaming over everything, insulting both the other commentators and the people in the ring on a basically constant basis, and seemingly trying to make sure his voice is the only one anyone hears.

Apr 19, 2018 11:32:26 GMT -5 froggyfrog said:

I don’t get how someone could hate Graves but think Mauro is good 🤷‍♂️

For the record as much as I hate Graves these days I think Mauro is worse.

[Ecks Ecks Ringout Ecks Ecks]

You answered the question in the OP, honestly.

We know it's the Vinfluence at work, but we still say things like "I can't stand listening to Graves" because that's the unfortunate result of the micromanagement. I used to be a big fan of his commentary, but looking back at his early main roster work compared to now, there's a pretty obvious difference.

[mysteriousagent0076]

He goes too far with the ass kissing of heels. I get that he’s a heel commentator and it’s what they do but damn...he goes too far. Especially with the Miz. Why doesn’t he just get on his knees and blow him right in the middle of the ring? Lol. It’s annoying in the wrong way.

Mid 1990’s Jerry Lawler was a heel commentator and while he favored the bad guys...he didn’t take it to the extreme like Graves does. He’s like 2011 Michael Cole ramped up to about 100. He needs to tone it down in the worst way.

[ayumidah]

He rubbed me wrong starting with the suggesting Enzo should have Sonny Bono's ski instructor. I doubt Vince told him to say that. There's been other things, but that was the main catalyst.

[Surfer Sandman]

Apr 19, 2018 11:24:53 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

For me, it's the constant picking on Coach.

Saxton kinda plays along, so it's a little better and Tom tends to be a better buffer. On RAW, on PPVs with Coach, he can come across more interested in getting himself over.

Corey threw a pencil at Saxton on SDLive. Not necessary. Grow up, Corey.

[Rican]

I still like him but the picking on the other announcers is getting out of hand.

[Slammy Award-Winning Cannibal]

Apr 19, 2018 12:50:56 GMT -5 Surfer Sandman said:

Apr 19, 2018 11:24:53 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

For me, it's the constant picking on Coach.

Saxton kinda plays along, so it's a little better and Tom tends to be a better buffer. On RAW, on PPVs with Coach, he can come across more interested in getting himself over.

Corey threw a pencil at Saxton on SDLive. Not necessary. Grow up, Corey.

Haha. He didn't throw it. He calmly flicked it at Saxton as a response to what he said. What was wrong with that? I thought it was a funny little moment between them. Why should he "grow up" for that?

Corey knows the product inside and out. He's always refreshing to listen to. Him and Tom are still hands down the best commentary team they've had in ages. Mauro and Daniel Bryan were out of this world for the CWC and Mauro and Nigel in NXT has been terrific as well. My complaints with commentary are when they bring in a third party to babble nonsense like JBL, Booker T, or Otunga. Where it's largely just forgettable noise. But Graves? No, not in that crowd whatsoever.