WWE SmackDown: Corey Graves To Replace JBL

WWE SmackDown’s heel announcer JBL has left the position, and the company has named the incredibly popular Corey Graves as his replacement.

Recently, SmackDown Live commentator and long-time WWE personality John Bradshaw Layfield stated that he would be stepping down from his role as a live broadcaster. Today, the WWE has announced that Raw and 205 Live heel commentator Corey Graves, who is widely recognized as one of the best commentators in the business, will be his replacement.

JBL has been a fixture on commentary for several years as one of the WWE’s main heel commentators, but he recently came under fire for bullying Mauro Ranallo, who briefly left the company. Ranallo and JBL worked together on the WWE SmackDown Live commentary team, with Ranallo being the main play-by-play guy. After Ranallo left, he was replaced on the “blue brand” by Tom Phillips, who had been groomed for the position. Ranallo is currently back with WWE as the lead announcer for NXT.

When it was reported that JBL had been bullying Ranallo, fans clamored for the former WWE Champion to be fired. That never materialized. JBL himself announced his departure on Sept. 1 with a tweet stating that he would like to spend more time helping “at risk kids and communities”. Meanwhile, Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that JBL’s decision had “been in the works for awhile”.

Many fans wanted Renee Young to replace JBL, but she quickly tossed those hopes aside. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer News threw NXT’s excellent heel commentator Nigel McGuinness as a possible choice.

Instead, Graves will replace JBL, and it’s a decision that will likely be met with a high degree of fan support. Graves is sharp, whitty, and brings intelligent analysis to the table. His interviews with superstars on “Superstar Ink” and other WWE programs are heartfelt, but he is perfect in his role as “the bad guy” on commentary. His effusive praise of heels like Alexa Bliss and the Miz are excellent, and it will be just as interesting to watch him and Byron Saxton reunited on commentary. The “Shut up, Saxton!” remarks are always welcome.

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WWE announced that McGuinness will take Graves’s place on 205 Live and Main Event, which is a win-win for the fans. More commentary from McGuinness, who is nearly as good as Graves on the mic, will be welcome, and hearing Graves’s voice on Mondays and Tuesdays will add a great deal to the WWE’s programming. Graves over JBL is an upgrade in every sense, but it will be interesting to see what appearances JBL makes on larger events. He did state in his resignation “letter” that he will be appearing on events like WrestleMania and “Tribute to the Troops”.