5 Replacements for Corey Graves on WWE SmackDown

Brock Lesnar hit Corey Graves with two F5s on last week's episode of WWE SmackDown. Graves implored The Beast to leave Michael Cole alone as he was set to interview Lesnar ahead of Wrestlepalooza.

Cole walked away and finished the night on commentary, but Graves was taken to a medical facility. The Miz joined Cole for commentary for the rest of the evening.

If Graves is set to miss some time to sell the attack, or for any other reason, someone will have to take his place on Friday nights. The next five personalities could replace Corey Graves on commentary for SmackDown.

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#5. NXT's Vic Joseph

One replacement for Cory Graves on SmackDown could be Vic Joseph of NXT. Joseph has been the voice and play-by-play analyst for NXT since mid-2020.

He's witnessed the transition to the 2.0 brand as well as the move back to a standard presentation. WWE often mixes and matches its announcers.

Joseph could be getting a call-up to one of the main roster shows as a partial or permanent replacement for Graves.

Filling in a few times recently could’ve been a dry run to see if he could transition from calling a smaller show to the bigger stage of SmackDown.

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#4. Wade Barrett was already on SmackDown

There have been many changes in commentary over the last month or so between RAW, SmackDown, and NXT. Wade Barrett had been on SmackDown, but then took some pre-planned time off before returning for Wrestlepalooza.

He’s proven that he can work on any show and is a good mouthpiece for the villainous stars of WWE. Both sides need representation instead of the announcers always favoring one star over the other.

Cole and Pat McAfee did this with Jey Uso. If Graves doesn’t return anytime soon, Barrett could permanently move back to the blue brand as an announcer.

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#3. Booker T keeps NXT fans and stars on their toes

Just like Vic Joseph moving from NXT to the main roster now and then, Hall of Famer Booker T did the same thing earlier this September. Over the last year, he's called NXT with Joseph and occasionally, Graves.

Despite his outlandish remarks and comments, the two-time WWE Hall-of-Famer offers fans a different take and style as opposed to the straight-laced play-by-play announcers.

His reaction to Stephanie Vaquer’s Devil’s Kiss move even popularized it so much so that the fans cheered for it every time La Primera delivered it on an opponent.

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#2. The Miz fills in where needed

After Graves was injured by Brock Lesnar last week, the Miz filled in on commentary with Michael Cole. He even called his friend Carmelo Hayes’s match during the show.

The Miz has been on commentary many times in the past due to his quick wit and ability to dissect the action in the ring quickly.

If he isn’t in a prominent angle and his partnership with Hayes is about to dissolve, he could move to the commentary desk for a short spell.

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#1. Kevin Owens returns to SmackDown

One name that’s been absent from programming since WrestleMania season is Kevin Owens. After requiring surgery for an unfortunate neck injury, The Prizefighter has been off WWE TV.

While he’s currently injured and healing, there’s no reason he couldn’t join commentary from time to time. He’s one of the funniest and most insightful performers, as evidenced by his promos over the years.

Using Owens as a part-time replacement would also be a way to potentially set up a return feud should he ever be medically cleared to compete.