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For a man who went by the nickname of 'The Saviour of Misbehaviour', Corey Graves is currently in an ironic predicament. In case you didn't know, the pro wrestling world has been taken by storm by the revelations of his infidelity as his wife Amy Polinksi has claimed that the WWE commentator allegedly cheated on her with Carmella.
Now we at Sportskeeda try our best to stay away from stories that have personal and emotional implications and thus, have decided to not cover the developing news and its innumerable angles.
Graves is a true veteran of the sport of entertainment as he has been involved with the pro wrestling industry for 18 years. He started training to become a pro wrestler at the age of 14 and didn't care for the fact that he wasn't legally allowed to do so until he turned 16.
So, before you go on to slander Graves, you must know the man and his history of trails and tribulations. Here are five things you need to know about the former NXT Superstar...
#1 Holds victories against some of the most popular Superstars
The WWE Universe may know Graves as one of the best heel commentators around but ask any indie faithful and they would tell you about the legends of 'Sterling James Kennan', which was his original name from his time before the WWE.
Inspired from Maynard James Kennan from the band Tool and American Football player Sterling Sharpe, Graves wrestled for unnumerable small-time promotions before he signed on the dotted line of a WWE contract in 2011. And during this time, SJK worked with stars who would become household names in the years to come. CM Punk, AJ Styles, Neville, Samoa Joe, Cesaro, Rikishi, Raven; the list of well-established names Graves has faced in his pre-WWE chapter is endless.
You don't win matches on your first day on the job unless you are an incredibly hyped talent and Graves was no different. He won some and on many occasions, had to make his opponent look good. Nonetheless, his resume does boast of a few eye-catching victories.
He has wins over Punk, Samoa Joe, Rikishi, Abyss, Al Snow, and Johnny Gargano, to name a few. Graves has slogged as hard as any of the indie darlings that have made it big in the major leagues.
#2 Was a jobber in the WWE between 2006-2007
These days, talented prospects are treated as jobbers by the WWE but that wasn't always the case. Back in the day, WWE used to use local wrestlers as enhancement talents to make one of any of their bigger stars look strong. These local wrestlers often included indie workers from the little-known promotions of the area WWE visited. AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, and Samoa Joe were all treated as fodder for the bigger stars and Graves too was one of them.
Believe it or not, Graves teamed up with his supposed doppelganger CM Punk in a dark match for SmackDown against The Gymini.
In one of the squash matches against the team of Jamie Noble and Kid Cash, Graves had the audacity to kick out at one. He got a sound beating for his gutsiness as he lost the match along with his tag team partner Jon Bolen.
He would subsequently get destroyed by Mark Henry and Val Venis on the episodes of WWE Heat and SmackDown respectively, before returning to WWE as a contracted talent years later.
#3 A Professional Wrestler and Piercer
For a guy who looks like the pro wrestling version of Travis Barker, Graves being a professional piercer shouldn't necessarily surprise many. Whether it was intended to be a passion of his or just another possible source of livelihood is anybody's guess, but Graves is actually an authorized piercer.
He got his first tattoo at the age of 15 and has always been fascinated by the idea of getting inked if that wasn't obvious enough. Like every tattoo fanatic, the retired WWE Star has his go-to artist who is responsible for the extensive designs on his body. The artist offered him the chance to learn to pierce professionally and Graves didn't decline the offer.
Graves is a smart man. He realized long ago that a career in pro wrestling could be hit and miss scenario. He was prepared for the worst and set up viable career alternatives that suited his liking. However, piercing wasn't the only gig he gave a shot...
#4 Security for Rock bands
Graves is one of the more prominent metal aficionados in the WWE. He is a regular at rock and metals shows and has stated in the past that Tool and A Perfect Circle are some of his favorite bands. Graves, though, got closer to the rockstars than most fans may ever get.
He was employed by a promotional company in Pittsburg that offered security services to rock bands such as Social Distortion and Megadeth. His job description wasn't as exciting as you may think.
All he did was to take the musicians from the tour bus to the arena. Sounds simple enough? Nope. Imagine having to escort musicians through a boisterous bunch of fans. Graves didn't like the job all too much despite the fact that he had the look that makes for an intimidating security guard. Thankfully his wrestling career took off and the rest as they say etc.etc.
An honorable mention before we got to the last slide. His brother Sam Adonis is also a pro wrestler who is quite possibly one of the most despised names in the Mexican wrestling scene. Go check him out...
#5 The reason why he was forced to retire
I know this is well-documented fact but many tend to forget about Graves' in-ring career due to his exemplary work as a color commentator.
The former NXT Tag Team Champion was an all-rounder. He was solid in the ring, had the look and could cut better promos than most of his peers down in NXT. Thus, it was a big letdown when Graves officially hung up his boots at NXT Takeover: R Evolution on December 14. He cited recurring concussions as the reason behind the premature retirement from wrestling. He was 29 at that time.
We all know about WWE's reluctance in clearing superstars with a history of having multiple concussions. Graves suffered two concussions within a short span of time in 2014 and had to be forced by the WWE doctors to call it quits.
He is just 34 years old and could still make his way back to the squared circle if he does contemplate on pulling off a Daniel Bryan. But, the risk may be not worth the effort and additionally, Graves is doing a darn good job in the commentary booth. He has all the makings of going down as of the greatest commentators of all time irrespective of his marital and personal troubles.
