The pairing of Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves will now go beyond Monday Night RAW as Patrick will now replace Vic Joseph on WWE’s After the Bell podcast.
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is reporting that Kevin Patrick will be replacing Vic Joseph on WWE’s podcast After the Bell with Corey Graves starting this week.
Podcast host Corey Graves believes being paired with Patrick on both RAW and the podcast will help them succeed as a team.
“Now we get an extra few hours together, and Kevin gets to learn another aspect of our business,” Corey Graves said. “There are a lot of different conversations on After the Bell we’ll never have on Raw, and this is another opportunity for us to succeed as a team. Kevin has an incredible work ethic that’s earned a lot of respect from a lot of people within WWE, myself included. He doesn’t come from the wrestling world, but he is doing everything in his ability to learn and embrace every aspect of this crazy industry.
“It’s going to take time, but he has the desire to learn. He types up these critiques after every Raw to get better. I’m optimistic over the work he puts in and the passion he has for this business, which can be difficult for people who come from an outside sport. And I know it’s a change—our fans are used to hearing him do backstage interviews, not calling Raw. But he’s really taken the initiative to learn every aspect. We’ve been sitting at a pub after Raw the past few weeks and go over every detail. He’s learning different aspects of the business you’ll never learn in broadcasting school.”
There has been plenty of criticism from fans online over the newly paired RAW broadcast team, but Kevin Patrick understands that a new pairing like this will take time to get things right.
“It’s been a challenge, but that’s what I live for,” Kevin Patrick said. “My goal is to get better every week and find my voice each week, and represent WWE to the absolute best of my ability. I’m next to a star in Corey Graves, and I’m learning from him, too. My goal is to keep getting better and better every week. I got to show a bit of myself on Raw Talk, and now I get the chance to talk with Corey and take the listener on a journey backstage, giving insight into how we’re feeling and what we’re seeing. We have access to the most fascinating minds and personalities in the industry, and our goal is to bring people in with us, share that insight, have a bit of fun and hopefully entertain.
“I’m grateful to do this with Corey. He has a love, passion, and affection for WWE. He lives for this and absolutely loves it. If you can’t meet that level of passion, then forget about it. My goal is to meet him at the station and take that same ride. I’m learning so much alongside him. I think he’s a genius about how he approaches this, and his success is rooted in his passion.”
Graves also took the time to put over his former podcast partner in NXT’s Vic Joseph but noted he believed Kevin Patrick replacing him on the show can be perceived as a “fresh coat of paint.”
“Vic Joseph has been my co-host for the last year or so, and Vic is awesome,” Corey Graves said. “Now we’re putting a fresh coat of paint on After the Bell, and our crew is trying something new here. Kevin did a guest spot a few weeks back, and we had flow and chemistry. So we’ll work to capture that dynamic every week. I’m excited to see where it goes.”
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What are your thoughts on Kevin Patrick replacing Vic Joseph on After the Bell with Corey Graves? Do you think this might help the duo’s chemistry on WWE RAW? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
