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Something's rotten in the state of WWE, at least when it comes to announcer Corey Graves. By now, everyone knows the story of Graves being moved from the "SmackDown" desk to "NXT's" last week, leading to a sullen Graves performance, a pair of tweets earlier this week that led to even more questions, and the absence of Graves on last night's episode of "NXT."
But just in case the story couldn't get any murkier, another page has been added, this time involving Graves' absence from another show. Viewers of today's episode of "WWE Speed" on X will notice that Graves was nowhere to be found on the broadcast, which aired a tournament match between Chad Gable and Charlie Dempsey. Instead Graves was replaced by "WWE Main Event" commentator Blake Howard.
TODAY on #WWESpeed!
Charlie Dempsey and @WWEGable battle it out to see who will advance in the No. 1 Contender's Tournament. Who will punch their ticket to the #WWESpeed Semifinals? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/CtVOZLtJOF
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
The lack of Graves on "Speed" may be seen as more jarring to some than his absence on "NXT," as until today, Graves had been play-by-play announcer for every episode of "Speed" dating back to the show's launch on X last April. However, it should be noted that this week's "Speed" episode had been taped before "SmackDown," which Graves was not a part of following his move to "NXT," suggesting his absence here may be more related to that than his ongoing situation.
Nevertheless, Graves' absence will be taken by many to be another sign that the announcer and WWE could be heading to a messy divorce. It may be a lengthy one, however, as reports have Graves under contract with WWE for at least a few more years, after he agreed to a new deal with the promotion in January 2024.

