Corey Graves Recalls Time He Was Positive An Angry Vince McMahon Was About To Fire Him

WWE broadcaster Corey Graves has to listen to a lot of voices in his ear during any given broadcast, but there's one voice that makes the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion's blood run cold, Vince McMahon's, especially the first time he got dressed down by the former WWE President, which was during a Christmas broadcast in Chicago, when Michael Cole reportedly opened the show with the wrong holiday message.

"Cole goes, 'Welcome everyone to Monday Night Raw. Happy Holidays, everybody,'" Graves explained on the "Kurt Angle Show," but despite Graves planning to follow Cole's comment with "Merry Christmas," McMahon was apoplectic. "And with the speed of lightning, the boss was on the all-call button. Which means everybody who's listening can hear. 'I said, 'Merry Christmas. Not Happy Holidays.'" Graves saw his career flash before his eyes.

"I'm getting yelled at on camera, and you look like a deer in headlights going, 'Oh my, this is it,'" Graves chuckled. "'I'm getting fired on Christmas night. I have no idea.'" In usual McMahon fashion, the hostile executive was thrilled with the segment when all was said and done.

"Sometimes, when Vince wanted to mess with you, you would never know," Graves explained. "I was terrified. My heart skipped a few beats there."

While McMahon used to be a chaotic force in the WWE creative process, his role in production has been greatly reduced under the merger between UFC and WWE, with the broadcasts being overseen by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque.

If you use quotes in this article, please credit "The Kurt Angle Show" and provide an h/t to the Wrestling News Co. for the transcription.