Corey Graves Opens Up About Doing WWE Commentary During COVID-19 Pandemic

WWE's ThunderDome is a moment in history few are eager to revisit — chief among them is Corey Graves, who expressed on "The Kurt Angle Show" just how difficult it was for he and Michael Cole to provide commentary during that stretch. 

"It was really, really rough," Graves stated. "I still feel that the guys and girls who continued to step in the ring and do what they had to do don't get enough credit." 

WWE created the ThunderDome in a bid to create some semblance of atmosphere during the COVID-19 pandemic, using screens displaying fans watching from their homes to portray an in-house audience. However, as Graves pointed out during the show, the main character of the show was gone — the live crowd it was aiming to mimic.

"It was so uncomfortable," he admitted. "Credit to our production team who made the most out of the situation. The fact that we remained on TV throughout the pandemic that can't be overstated. That was incredible, and it got better and they'd start filtering in some crowd noises and guys would learn how to use those machines. It was a learning curve for all of us."

However, Graves doesn't think he could go back to that setting — even if he was paid really well. During the interview, he revealed that WWE would shoot things out of order during that time, one of the hardest changes as it made telling stories via commentary a tougher task.

"We might shoot a couple of weeks of TV in two or three days and then we're going, 'Oh, here he comes fresh off of that match,' and Cole would go, 'No, cut that, that match happened two weeks ago,'" he said. "It's crazy. That was the hardest part."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Kurt Angle Show" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.