Corey Graves Shoots On Rematches On WWE Raw And SmackDown
He discussed it on the latest episode of the After The Bell Podcast...
Throughout 2019, rematches have been common in WWE's mid-card, with the same Superstars facing each other week after week.
One of the main victims of this recent trend is The O.C. who have been involved in constant rematches since August. Between September 9th and September 30th, AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander fought over the United States Championship on five occasions. After The Phenomenal One emerged victorious in their rivalry, he then repeatedly faced Humberto Carrillo in late October and early November.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have also experienced the same booking as Styles. Since August, they have been embroiled in a feud with The Viking Raiders which has involved both teams facing each other seven times.
SmackDown announcer Corey Graves recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the prevalence of rematches on WWE TV. During the latest episode of the After The Bell podcast, Graves explained that because of the sheer number of rematches, he didn't feel any of the matches on WWE TV actually mattered as it became inevitable that despite who won or lost, they would face each other again on next week's episode.
Graves said: "It seems like week after week after week on Raw and SmackDown, we see rematches ad nauseam. I’m not tired of seeing these Superstars, I am tired of seeing the same matches over and over again... I went on Twitter two weeks ago to praise Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade because it was awesome. I’m all for seeing more of it, but that doesn’t mean in successive weeks. Give me a little space. Why do we need rematches all the time?
"When I grew up, there was an issue from pay-per-view to pay-per-view and then the pay-per-view would mark a pivot point and they would move on to something different. I understand there is a ton of time to fill. You’re going to have inevitable rematches. You can’t have fresh matchups every week, but give me a week in-between. I feel like I’m trapped in this bubble where whoever your opponent is, for that period of time, is the only person that exists on the WWE roster to you. It’s not boring, because the matches are good, they just don’t feel important."
One of the main victims of this recent trend is The O.C. who have been involved in constant rematches since August. Between September 9th and September 30th, AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander fought over the United States Championship on five occasions. After The Phenomenal One emerged victorious in their rivalry, he then repeatedly faced Humberto Carrillo in late October and early November.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have also experienced the same booking as Styles. Since August, they have been embroiled in a feud with The Viking Raiders which has involved both teams facing each other seven times.
SmackDown announcer Corey Graves recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the prevalence of rematches on WWE TV. During the latest episode of the After The Bell podcast, Graves explained that because of the sheer number of rematches, he didn't feel any of the matches on WWE TV actually mattered as it became inevitable that despite who won or lost, they would face each other again on next week's episode.
Graves said: "It seems like week after week after week on Raw and SmackDown, we see rematches ad nauseam. I’m not tired of seeing these Superstars, I am tired of seeing the same matches over and over again... I went on Twitter two weeks ago to praise Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade because it was awesome. I’m all for seeing more of it, but that doesn’t mean in successive weeks. Give me a little space. Why do we need rematches all the time?
"When I grew up, there was an issue from pay-per-view to pay-per-view and then the pay-per-view would mark a pivot point and they would move on to something different. I understand there is a ton of time to fill. You’re going to have inevitable rematches. You can’t have fresh matchups every week, but give me a week in-between. I feel like I’m trapped in this bubble where whoever your opponent is, for that period of time, is the only person that exists on the WWE roster to you. It’s not boring, because the matches are good, they just don’t feel important."
Written by Aidan Gibbons
Editor-in-Chief of Cultaholic.com Twitter: @theaidangibbons