Corey Graves Says Monday's WWE RAW "Was An Insufferable Television Show"
Each decade, WWE creates some kind of love triangle. Depending on who's involved, it can be one of the biggest storylines the company puts out, or it can be the least remembered. Recently, the love triangle (or square) between Lana, Rusev, Bobby Lashley – and now Liv Morgan – has caused some criticism from fans.
On his recent After The Bell podcast, Corey Graves discussed the angle. Graves noted that it's not the wrestlers' fault that the build of this story isn't going as far as some had hoped it would.
"Last night, I wasted three hours of my life enduring what was an insufferable television show," Graves began. "RAW was not all bad, but it left me with a really bad taste in my mouth... RAW physically made me angry. I tweeted something to the effect.
"What really set me off, was the Lana, Rusev and Bobby Lashley segment. This is not their fault. The shows, as a whole, have just been lacking. This segment has really set me off. Because I noticed they went to a wide shot; in the middle of a match in this heated rivalry, that has been brewing for months and months in a small eternity. And the entire crowd was silent. Nobody was moving, nobody was clapping. It was complete apathy, which in this business is the worst thing you can have. You can be cheered, you can be booed sure not everything works. But to have an entire arena full of people, not reacting to anything that was happening is a problem. That's what piqued my attention. And then it got worse for weeks and weeks and weeks."
Out of everyone involved in this angle Graves feels the worst for Morgan. Morgan's return had been hyped for weeks with possibly a character change that would focus solely on an individual run without The Riott Squad.
"You have been promoting Liv Morgan, and this return," Graves noted. "Liv Morgan, who I've said on this show, in my opinion, is a star waiting to be born. She has this unusual reveal in the Lana – Lashley wedding, which everyone had an opinion on right, wrong or indifferent. Tell me why anyone in the WWE Universe should care about Liv Morgan now?"
Graves is also not too keen on The Street Profits booking as of late, either. He says that he would like for them to be booked the way they were in NXT, where they were involved in the ring more, and not so much backstage.
"What the hell is happening with The Street Profits?" Graves asked. "I had these guys on my show a few weeks back. They are super talented. They've proven themselves. They were massively talented Superstars in NXT. They are two of the most charismatic guys on Monday Night RAW, and they're doing backstage (segments). I don't get it.
"Let The Street Profits be The Street Profits. Let them go; let everybody be themselves. This micromanagement stuff has to stop. We are our own worst enemies in this situation. I just want to be a fan, I just want to enjoy watching my friends be awesome stars and have great matches."
Graves also discussed NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, his thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom 14, and how the NXT women's roster is on a different level compared to the women on the main roster. You can listen to this full podcast by clicking here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's After The Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.