New pro wrestling fans might know Corey Graves as one of the prominent members of the WWE announce team and the husband of former SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella. But those who have been following his career over the years would know that he was also a decorated in-ring performer who had to endure an early retirement in 2014 due to concussion issues.
Before he started with WWE, Corey Graves competed against some of the best talents in the world during his time wrestling in the independent circuit. Most fans might not know much about Graves' time as an in-ring performer, so with that in mind, let's take a look at 10 things you might not know about Corey Graves' wrestling career.
10 He made His Debut In 2000
Corey Graves made his official in-ring return on March 2000 and competed across various independent promotions. He then made his debut for the NWA East promotions and competed for them between 2002 and 2003.
During that time, he also started making appearances for the International Wrestling Cartel, Keystone Championship Wrestling, Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling, and a one-off appearance for Ring of Honor.
He won several championships during his early days in the business, including the NWA East Tag Team Championship with Mad Mike and the CWF Tag Team Championship with CJ Sensation.
9 Trained Under Dory Funk Jr
During his early years in the business, Corey Graves also competed for Dory Funk Jr's "Funkin Conservatory," where he trained under the Hall of Famer and honed his craft against former WWE Superstars like Paul London.
Dory Funk Jr had a branch of his conservatory affiliated with WWE called the "Funkin Dojo," where he trained several notable wrestlers like The Hardy Boyz, Christian Cage, Kurt Angle, Edge, and Mickie James.
Graves would've also achieved great things in his in-ring career if not for the concussion issues leading to his early retirement in 2014.
8 He Fashioned His First Ring Name After Two Of His Childhood Heroes
Corey Graves' real name is Matthew Polinsky, which is not quite the in-ring name for a pro wrestler. So he chose a new name for his wrestling career and fashioned it after two of his childhood heroes.
Corey Graves made his in-ring debut on March 2000 under the name "Sterling James Keenan" as a tribute to his favorite football player Sterling Sharpe and Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool.
He competed under the name and several variations of it, including Sterling Keenan, James Keenan, and SJK, throughout his time in the independent circuit until he signed with WWE.
7 Is Undefeated Against CM Punk
CM Punk might be at the center of controversy following the post-All Out media scrum and the alleged altercation with The Elite backstage. Still, there is no denying the fact that he is one of the best and most successful wrestlers in the industry.
Punk has defeated many notable names in his career so far, except Corey Graves. Punk and Graves battled one-on-one on three occasions between 2002 and 2004 during their time in the International Wrestling Cartel.
After winning their first two encounters, Corey Graves took on Punk at the 2004 IWC "The Bar Has Been Raised" event, where he defeated him again. According to the match stipulations, Punk was forced to become Graves' tag team partner and had Graves lost, he would've had his head shaved.
6 Has Held Multiple World Championships
Despite a premature end to his in-ring career, Corey Graves was already a multiple-time world champion when he hung up his boots in 2014. The first world championship he held was the International Wrestling Cartel World Title, which he held between November 2003 and March 2004.
After that, Graves went on to win world championships across various promotions including, the NWA East Heavyweight Championship, Far North Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, Natural Heavyweight Championship, AIW Absolute Championship, 1Pro Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, and the Renegade Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship.
5 It Took Him 5 Years To Get A WWE Contract
Corey Graves might currently be an inevitable part of the WWE announce team, but he had to wait five years since his first appearance for the company to get signed to an official WWE contract.
Graves' first appearance for WWE came in June 2006 on an episode of Velocity, where he teamed with a wrestler named Jon Bolen to lose to Jamie Noble and Kid Kash in a tag team match.
He then worked as an enhancement talent in squash matches against Val Venis on an episode of Heat and against Mark Henry on an episode of SmackDown in August 2007. During these WWE appearances, Graves went under the "Sterling Keenan" moniker. However, it wasn't until August 2011 that WWE offered Graves a developmental contract and assigned him to Florida Championship Wrestling for further training.
4 Former NXT Tag Team Champion
After WWE rebranded FCW into NXT, Corey Graves made his debut for the new WWE developmental territory in 2012. He competed as a singles performer during his starting days in NXT, and after several failed attempts in the NXT Championship picture, Graves set his sights on the NXT Tag Team Championship.
He first teamed with Kassius Ohno to challenge The Wyatt Family for the NXT Tag Team Titles but was unsuccessful. He then teamed up with Adrian Neville and succeeded in dethroning Luke Harper and Eric Rowan to become the new champions.
They held the title for 84 days before dropping it to The Ascension on the October 16, 2013, episode of NXT.
3 Retired In 2014
Corey Graves was making quite the strides in NXT and could've been a great addition to the main roster as an in-ring performer if it were not for his unfortunate retirement in 2014.
It was during his feud with Adrian Neville that he suffered a concussion which took him out of action temporarily, but he made a quick return and feuded with Sami Zayn.
However, he sustained another concussion in April 2014, which took him out of action for several months before he appeared on the pre-show of NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in December 2014, where he announced his in-ring retirement.
2 His Overall Stats
Throughout his 14-year in-ring career, Corey Graves appeared across several promotions and has competed in a total of 502 matches so far.
He wrestled 102 matches for WWE, which is the highest among any other promotion Graves competed in. Out of the 502 matches, Graves has won 245, lost 246, and had 11 bouts end in a no-contest.
His overall win/loss percentage is 48.8% wins, 49% losses, and 2.2% no contests. But the numbers might increase in the future as Graves received some exciting news earlier this year.
1 Got Cleared To Compete In February 2022
After nearly eight years since his retirement, Corey Graves received some good news when he announced that he was cleared to return to the ring in February 2022.
After rumors of Graves getting cleared to compete started surfacing on the internet, Graves confirmed them during an interview with TMZ but revealed that returning to the ring was not an immediate goal for him.
Those who have been following his career know he's one of the best in-ring workers, and if he chooses to step into the ring once again, there's no doubt that WWE's new Chief Content Officer Triple H would give him the opportunity to shine, but only time will give us the answer.