00:00Corey Graves returns to WWE after one week off, Triple H has changed WWE, Raw on Netflix
00:07numbers and more. I'm Luke Owen, not even Oli Davis throwing paper into a small bin
00:12can stop me from being champion, and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:24And now we return to the curious case of Corey Graves, aka The Boy Who Cried Work.
00:31Following Raw's debut on Netflix, where Pat McAfee and Michael Cole were reunited
00:35and it feels so good behind the commentary desk, Corey Graves was bumped from his position
00:39on Smackdown to being part of a three-man booth on NXT with Vic Joseph and Booker T.
00:45Fans noted during the show that Graves looked annoyed, and I'll be honest, I forgot he
00:50was there at times because he was so quiet. He then put out a since-deleted tweet where
00:54he said he was told by WWE that he had to retire from in-ring wrestling and is now considered
01:00not famous enough to be a commentator on Raw, a seemingly not-so-subtle dig at McAfee who
01:06I'm told is famous outside of wrestling, probably in sports. He then tweeted ahead
01:11of last week's NXT that he had a lot to say on the show, but then wasn't on the
01:16show and both Fightful Select and PWInsider reported that Graves flew home from Orlando.
01:22Dave Meltzer even noted the following day on Wrestling Observer Radio that there were
01:26some in WWE who believed that Graves was trying to get himself fired, and Fightful Select
01:32reported that Corey Graves legit had frustrations with being moved back to NXT after doing so
01:37much good work on both Raw and Smackdown.
01:40But while people within WWE were telling the likes of Meltzer and Sean Ross Sapp that this
01:44was a shoot, both men and all other reporters noted in their report that this could all
01:49just be one big work. Much like the time that Graves and Booker T manufactured heat between
01:54them to get one over on the dirt sheets. Meltzer said on yesterday's Wrestling Observer
01:59Radio, he has not been fired. I get no impression that he's going to be fired. He's not
02:04looking to leave, even though I know there were people in the company who thought he
02:08was.
02:10Outside of this week's NXT, PWInsider reported that Graves would again not be part of the
02:15show, but Corey Brennan of Fightful Select reported that he was listed for commentary
02:20– Graves that is – and would be at rehearsals. And for those of you who did not tune in to
02:25last night's NXT, Corey Graves did return to the commentary desk. He said, I am right
02:30where I want to be, where passion is everything and only the hungry survive and pro wrestling
02:36never stopped being cool. Fightful Select add in their report, for those who have asked,
02:41there have been no indication from Graves or those close to him that this situation
02:45is a work. Sources close to him said they'd be surprised if it didn't become one. However
02:50for what it's worth, PWInsider are saying that this was a fairly last minute deal, as
02:54Graves reportedly was booked to return to NXT on Monday, and they expect his tweets
02:59won't be referenced on TV at any point.
03:02So was this all just one big work to begin with? Or was it a shoot that could become
03:07a work, or even a shoot that has just been resolved with no work added on? Let me know
03:12in the comments down below. Or could it just be a change in the culture in WWE which has
03:17been orchestrated by the new guy in charge?
03:20But before that, check out this clip from our Patreon exclusive Mustache Night War series
03:25where Oli and I battle it out on WWE 2K24's My GM Mode while also sporting awesome, cool
03:32and handsome mustaches. Head on over to Patreon.com forward slash WrestleTalk where there is a
03:36bunch of bonus content coming up, including this weekend a four hour review of Survivor
03:42Series 2011 as part of a new series where Oli and I look back at The Rock's original
03:47return to WWE and his feud with John Cena. But for now, here's that Mustache Night
04:23There has been a lot of talk about how different WWE feels since Triple H took over the creative
04:36reins in 2022, even during the times when Vince McMahon was trying to get back into
04:40the creative position. The product feels different, it feels fresh, it feels, as Corey Graves
04:46put it, cool. It may still have some issues, there are currently only two women declared
04:51for this year's Royal Rumble compared to the very good deep multi-level storytelling
04:54heading into the Men's Rumble, but I'd say overall it's been a net positive. A
05:00lot of wrestlers have done interviews talking about how much better the creative process
05:04has been, but perhaps a much better change is the one backstage. On his 6 Feet Under
05:09podcast Undertaker noted, it's so chill backstage now. You've got people in corners
05:14shooting TikToks. I think it's a testament to the trust Triple H and Nick Khan have in
05:18everyone to do their jobs.
05:21Taker has been known for not liking the backstage culture in WWE since his retirement, once
05:25bemoaning that it was just kids playing video games and doing lame things like getting on
05:31with each other. Back in his day, men were men and carried guns and bullied colleagues
05:36into mental health breakdowns. His stance has now changed, and is reflected in the change
05:41that Triple H has brought forward with one key difference… he's not stressed out.
05:47He added back in the day if the boss was stressed, everyone else was stressed. Now
05:52there's a trust in the system that makes a difference. Triple H puts so much positive
05:57energy and it resonates with the whole team. It's a completely different atmosphere.
06:02It brings to mind those previous reports about the backstage culture in WWE when Vince was
06:07in charge that talent were always walking on eggshells and afraid to sneeze. And perhaps
06:12Triple H's lack of stress comes from the fact that WWE is so hot right now. The company
06:18has had a string of sellout shows, PPV numbers on Peacock are through the roof with each
06:22event and merchandise sales are doing great. And on top of all of that, WWE is now on Netflix
06:29and available in front of more eyes than ever before. And on a Netflix earning call, CEO
06:35Ted Sarandos, you know the guy that The Rock put over on the debut, himself put over the
06:39success that WWE has had early doors. He noted, WWE is off to a great start. Our first
06:46week we drew about 5 million views, which is about two times the audience that Monday
06:51Night Raw was doing on linear television. He also added that post-live viewership, i.e.
06:56those who did not watch it live and caught it on demand, saw a 25% increase on that number
07:02which mostly came from the overseas markets like UK, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. And Netflix
07:07have now revealed that last week's Raw, which saw the debut of Penta, the finals of
07:11the Women's Intercontinental Championship and Finn Balor vs. Damien Priest, got around
07:153.7 million global plays. It ranked fourth in the top 10 shows watched globally on Netflix.
07:21Ha! You thought the ratings chat was going to go away with the Netflix move, but I'm
07:25coming at you with stats and s***. Dave Meltzer has gone into these numbers, and doing some
07:30clever maths about how many homes Netflix is in and other show conversions, he estimates
07:35this means last week's Raw got around 1.4 million views live, growing to around 1.7
07:41million across seven days. He writes this is probably a very similar range to how the
07:46show would have done against the NFL Playoff game on USA Network. He adds for viewers overall,
07:52it would be a drop off of 44.1% from the first show on January 6th, but a major drop would
07:58be expected from the first week, noting that last week and this week's shows have big
08:02football competition. He concludes it's way too early to come to conclusions, but
08:07right now my gut says Netflix could be a game-changer internationally, but in the US it's in the
08:12ballpark of what the show did on USA Network already by week two.
08:17And it's to those international markets we turn to next as Fightful Select report
08:21that WWE's IED program is now heading to the UK and Europe. Fans noted that all the
08:27first signings to WWE IED were from domestic territories, and it was revealed that no European
08:32talent had been approached about signing up for the program. According to Fightful
08:36Select, that was by design. Sean Ross Sapp and Corey Brennan report that WWE will be
08:41holding tryouts in early March this year for UK and European talent. A sentence I always
08:47find weird because we're part of Europe. Wrestlers have until February 28th to apply.
08:52Fightful add that the tryouts will take place in London, and WWE already have their eyes
08:56on some wrestlers who have caught their attention, in particular Riho and Tate Mayfairz. Both
09:01had been invited to watch NXT tapings late last year. Damien Corbin is also listed in
09:06Fightful Select's report. Riho had a one-shot on NXT UK as part of a battle royal in 2019,
09:11but Mayfairz was signed by WWE to be part of the NXT UK brand in 2022, which then shut
09:17down shortly thereafter. Riho is a regular on Progress, NGW, Eve and Rev Pro, and Mayfairz
09:23regularly works with Progress, Riott Cabaret and Hustle. Both hold titles in TNT. Both
09:28are, and I'm showing no bias here because Mayfairz crashed our live survival series
09:32on All In Weekend, but both are awesome. Fightful Select note that the Australian tryouts held
09:38in February last year led to the signing of Delta, who has since debuted on NXT under
09:42her new name Zarya. Fightful do add that several major talents in the UK were unaware of the
09:46tryouts when we reached out.
09:48Looking at WWE's other developmental brand TNA now, and it was reported that Jordan Grace
09:52was finishing up with them following their Genesis PPV where she lost to Tessa Blanchard
09:57and was WWE bound. Fightful Select are now reporting that Grace was in Orlando this past
10:03Monday which would suggest that her debut as an official member of the WWE or NXT roster
10:09is fairly close. After all, there is always that Royal Rumble coming soon.
10:14And speaking of potential Royal Rumble returns, PWInsider are reporting that Jade Cargill
10:19has been seen training at the NXT Performance Center on a weekly basis and is looking to
10:24be gearing up for an in-ring return. They do note, however, that it's not exactly
10:28clear on the timing for Cargill's return.
10:31Now you can go watch Oli Davis and myself giving our full thoughts on Raw on the WrestleTalk
10:36Podcast, which also saw Oli attempt to win my beautiful JM That Championship by throwing
10:40some rubbish in a bin.
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