Corey Graves Reveals He’s Cleared To Return To The Ring

WWE Announcer Corey Graves has confirmed that he has been medically cleared to compete in the ring.

Corey Graves was forced to retire from in-ring action at the end of 2014 on medical grounds following suffering two concussions during the previous year.

In the years that followed, Graves transitioned to the announce table, a role in which he has been well-received. He first appeared in his new role on NXT and pre-show panels before being brought to the main roster in the summer of 2016. Since then, Graves has called matches on SmackDown, WWE pay-per-views as well as on Raw.

Since retiring from the ring, Corey Graves hasn’t had any significant physical contact on WWE television. However, that changed in November 2021, when he had a very brief reign as the 24/7 Champion. While there was minimal physicality during the segment, it led many to think Graves could be looking to return to active competition.

In a recent interview with TMZ, Graves has publicly confirmed for the first time that he has indeed been cleared to return to wrestling. The announcer said that while it’s not an immediate goal for him, he “kinda got the itch” and the way his career was cut short has never sat well with him.

“I went and spent some time with doctors middle of last year. I kinda got the itch. 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 I needed to know for my own sanity. My journey in the ring got cut short and it’s kinda 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 I’m more okay than I thought I was.”

Since Corey Graves retired from the squared circle, Bryan Danielson, Christian Cage and Edge have all successfully returned to action after medical issues seemed to have ended their careers. The retirements of Christian and Danielson were related to similar issues with concussions as Graves.