WWE News: Corey Graves considered looking into an in-ring return after Daniel Bryan's announcement

What's the story?

Justin LeBar (who hosts CSR for Wrestling Inc.) recently interviewed Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live color commentator Corey Graves. During this interview, Graves discussed a potential return to the ring.

In case you didn't know...

Graves made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 when he wrestled within eastern territories of the NWA. He signed a developmental deal with the WWE in 2011 and reported to Florida Championship Wrestling using the ring name Corey Graves for the first time.

The last televised match for Graves was on NXT television in March 2014, where he defeated Sami Zayn. Due to a second serious concussion though, he was forced to retire from in-ring competition.

The heart of the matter...

Reflecting on the day he found out Daniel Bryan was medically cleared by WWE doctors to return to in-ring action for the company, Graves admitted it was a tough day for him personally.

"He's a friend, incredible in the ring - that's where he belongs. It caught me off guard. I started asking questions to myself, should I? What if? I had a few conversations with a few people [in WWE] who put it out there. If you want to pursue this, maybe we can look into it. So I spent about a week and a half weighing the options. It was, do I become a wrestler again and what happens?"

Having weighed up his options, Graves admitted that he doesn't believe in fate but feels everything within the WWE has worked itself out. He can say that again, as with the brand split, he's one of a few broadcast personalities to be on both shows - the only one on both commentary teams.

What's next?

Graves and the Monday Night Raw roster head to the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut on April 16th. It should be an interesting show as it will kick off the two-day Superstar Shakeup event.

Author's take

It was a sad day when Graves joined the Kickoff Show for NXT Takeover: R Evolution in December 2014, to announce his retirement from in-ring competition. There was some good news though, as Triple H decided to hire him as part of the commentary team.

Little did we know then, that Graves would turn out to be one of the best color commentators we've seen on WWE TV for some time. When it's all said and done, he'll be mentioned among the greats.