_(cropped).jpg) Graves in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Matthew Polinsky[5] (1984-02-24)February 24, 1984 (age 41)[2] |
Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Family | Dan Polinsky (father) Sam Adonis (brother)[6] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Corey Graves[1] Sterling Keenan Sterling James Keenan[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 208 lb (94 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | The Sunset Strip[2] Iron City, Pennsylvania[4] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[3] |
| Trained by | Boomer Payne[2] Quinn Magnum[2] Dory Funk Jr.[2] Mad Mike[2] |
| Debut | March 22, 2000[2] |
| Retired | December 11, 2014 |
Matthew Polinsky[5] (born February 24, 1984)[2] is an American wrestlingcolor commentator and retiredprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE, where he performs under thering nameCorey Graves as thecolor commentator on theSmackDownbrand. As a former in-ring competitor, he is a one-timeNXT Tag Team Champion, and won theWWE 24/7 Champion once even though he had been retired from in-ring competition.
Polinsky is also known for his work on theindependent circuit under the ring nameSterling James Keenan.
Polinsky was born and raised inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended college and obtained a degree inmarketing.[7]
Polinsky chose hisring name the night before his first professional wrestling match, and picked the nameSterling James Keenan as a tribute toSterling Sharpe, Polinsky's favoriteAmerican football player as a child, andMaynard James Keenan of the bandTool.[7]
Keenan debuted on March 22, 2000.[2] Throughout the next few years, Keenan appeared for variouspromotions, includingDory Funk Jr.'s "Funking Conservatory", where he competed with wrestlers includingPaul London,Adam Windsor, andOnyx.[2] In 2002, Keenan teamed with "Dreamachine"Chris Cage to win the Funkin Conservatory Tag Team Championship by defeating the team of London and Windsor.[8]
Keenan also made appearances for NWA Upstate,Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling, and Full Throttle Wrestling. On April 26, 2002, inNWA East / Pro Wrestling eXpress, Keenan and Mad Mike won theNWA East Tag Team Championship by defeating The Premiere Players.[9] Keenan was part of the Union of Independent Professional Wrestlers promotion in both of its incarnations. He won the UIPW Keystone Cruiserweight Championship. Beginning in 2005, he appeared regularly for Far North Wrestling (FNW), and on November 2, 2007, he won aBattle royal to win the FNW Heavyweight Championship.[2] He defeated Samoa Joe and Rikishi by countout on August 23, 2007 to win theBallpark Brawl Natural Heavyweight Title.[10] On February 24, 2008, Keenan won Absolute Intense Wrestling's Heavyweight Championship by winning a 30-Mangauntlet match.[2]
Keenan competed forPro Wrestling Zero1 and won theZero-One United States Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. On March 8, 2008, Keenan defeatedMr. Wrestling 3 inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania to win the championship for the first time. He only held the championship for a week beforedropping it toDr. X on March 15 inMorganville, New Jersey. On May 9, Keenan won the championship for the second time, defeating Jake Manning inLimerick, Pennsylvania. He held the championship for just under a month before losing it to Rick Landell on June 1.[11]
Throughout the years, Keenan has also made sporadic appearances forRing of Honor (ROH). His debut appearance for the promotion was atRound Robin Challenge II on April 25, 2003, where he teamed withE. Z. Money in aTag Team Scramble match won byThe S.A.T. He returned to ROH over two years later atRedemption on August 12, 2005, where he participated in aFour Corner Survival match won byAce Steel. In October 2005, he lost a singles match toClaudio Castagnoli and a singles match between Keenan and Steel atTag Wars 2006 in January 2006 ended in ano contest due to interference fromChris Hero and theNecro Butcher. Six months later, atIn Your Face, Keenan and Jason Blade lost a tag team match toThe Briscoe Brothers. He made a single appearance in ROH in 2007 at theFifth Year Festival: Dayton event, losing toJimmy Rave and another appearance in March 2009 atSteel City Clash, losing toDelirious.[12] He also appeared on theRing of Honor Wrestling television show on the April 4, 2009 episode, losing toErick Stevens.[13]
Keenan debuted in theInternational Wrestling Cartel (IWC) on October 19, 2002, defeating Troy Lords. On the following IWC show, Keenan defeatedCM Punk, before losing to Shirley Doe on two occasions but defeating Josh Prohibition. On December 28, Keenan teamed with Dustin Ardine to challenge the Devil's Advocates for the IWC Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful. In May 2003, Keenan participated in IWC's Super Indy tournament, defeatingB. J. Whitmer in the first round, but losing toColt Cabana in the second.[14]
At IWC'sRevengeance show in September, Keenan defeated Al B. Damm to earn a match for theIWC Heavyweight Championship. He received his championship match on November 1, 2003, and defeated Dennis Gregory to win the championship. AtRebirth of Extreme on November 22, Keenan successfully retained the championship in a rematch against Gregory, and made further successful defences against Punk on December 12, Dean Radford on January 31, 2004, and February 24, and against Super Hentai on March 6. Two weeks later, on March 20, Keenan lost the IWC Heavyweight Championship to Radford, and failed to regain it in a rematch on April 3, and on April 17, when he lost aTables match to Radford.[14]
In July 2004, Keenan unsuccessfully challengedChris Sabin for the IWC Super Indy Championship. That December, after Sabin hadvacated theIWC Super Indy Championship, Keenan won afour-way match againstPetey Williams, Josh Prohibition, and John McChesney to win the vacant championship. He made a successful defense of the championship againstAJ Styles on February 24, 2005, and Claudio Castagnoli the following night. In April he retained the championship against Nate Webb, before losing a championship match to Justin Idol bycountout in final championship defense on April 29, 2005. That same night, McChesney won the Super Indy Tournament, winning the championship as part of his victory, despite having not beaten Keenan. The next night, a match for the championship between Keenan and McChesney ended in a double countout.[14]
In March 2006, Keenan unsuccessfully challenged Doe for the IWC Heavyweight Championship. That September, Keenan was part of a tournament for the vacant IWC Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated in the first round after losing toRicky Reyes. On August 4, 2007, Keenan lost another match for the championship, this time to long-time rival Dennis Gregory, in what proved to be his final match in the company.[14]
Keenan made his debut for theUnited Kingdom-based1 Pro Wrestling (1PW) at their inaugural show,A Cruel Twist of Fate, on October 1, 2005, defeatingD'Lo Brown. He quickly formed an alliance withAbyss, and the pair defeatedSabu andUlf Herman in ahardcoretag team match on January 7, 2006. In March, Keenan competed in a tournament to determine the inaugural1PW Heavyweight Champion, but was defeated byAJ Styles in a quarter-final match.[15]
He moved on tofeud withSpud, defeating him on May 26 atKnow Your Enemy Night One. AtFight Club 2 in July, Keenan defeated Spud in anIron City Street Fight. Three weeks later, Keenan replacedMatt Hyson in a tag team match, where he and Spud challengedJody Fleisch andJonny Storm for the1PW Tag Team Championship. They were unsuccessful after Keenan attacked Spud during the match. AtInvincible in August, a tag team match featuring Keenan and Hyson versus Spud andTeddy Hart ended in a no contest after several other wrestlers interfered, prompting a 10-manelimination tag team match, which Keenan's team won.[15]
AtResurrection in April 2007, Keenan challengedRomeo Roselli for the Nu-Wrestling Evolution Heavyweight Championship, but was disqualified for using the championship belt as a weapon. He then began challenging Ulf Herman for the 1PW Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in afour-way match on June 29 when Herman retained the championship. Keenan failed to win the championship again on June 30 and August 18.[15] On October 13, at2nd Anniversary Show, Keenan defeated Herman to win the championship in asteel cage match.[4][15][16] Keenan successfully defended the championship againstDoug Williams on January 25, 2008, andMartin Stone,Darren Burridge and Abyss in a four-way match the following night. His next defense was on October, when he lost toJohnny Moss viadisqualification, and retaining the championship as a result. At the3rd Anniversary Show that same month, Keenan retained the championship againstRaven.[15] Keenan eventually lost the championship to Martin Stone on April 18, 2009 atTo The Extreme, ending his championship reign at 554 days.[4][15] He continued to feud with Stone in an unsuccessful attempt to regain the championship throughout 2009, and made his final 1PW appearance at the4th Anniversary Show in November.[15]
Before signing a contract with WWE, Keenan made several appearances for the company. On April 26, 2006, Keenan and CM Punk lost adark match toThe Gymini prior to theSmackDown taping.[2] On June 6, 2006, Keenan teamed withJon Bolen in a loss toJamie Noble andKid Kash.[17] Keenan appeared on an episode ofWWE Heat that was taped on August 6, losing toVal Venis.[2] Keenan appeared on the August 10, 2007, episode ofSmackDown!, where he was easilysquashed byMark Henry.[18]
In August 2011, it was reported that Polinsky had signed a developmental contract with WWE. Polinsky announced that he would be performing in WWE'sdevelopmental territory,Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), under the ring nameCorey Graves.[1] He debuted at the FCW television tapings on September 25, losing toErick Rowan.[19] The following year, on March 17, 2012, Graves won theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship withJake Carter by defeatingBo Rotundo andHusky Harris.[20] When WWErebranded FCW intoNXT,[21] Graves and Carter participated in the inaugural tapings in June 2012.[22] They defeatedCJ Parker and Nick Rogers in a match that aired in July.[23]
Graves was re-established as avillainous singles wrestler on November 14 with a win overOliver Grey;[24] Following a submission victory overYoshi Tatsu in December, Graves attacked theNXT ChampionSeth Rollins, and was awarded a title match on the January 2, 2013 episode ofNXT.[25][26] Graves failed to capture the championship despite winning via disqualification following interference from Rollins' associates inThe Shield.[27] After singles victories over former partner Carter andAlex Riley, Graves facedConor O'Brian in a number one contender's match; the match ended in a no contest after The Shield attacked both men, and Graves later lost in a triple threat number one contender's match.[28][29][30][31] Graves transitioned into a feud with The Shield, challenging them to a match for costing him title opportunities, turningface in the process.[32] He faced Rollins in alumberjack match, which he lost when the other members of The Shield interfered, therefore cementing his face turn.[33] In May, Graves began feuding withThe Wyatt Family following a confrontation (and later match) with leaderBray Wyatt.[34] After being eliminated by Wyatt in abattle royal, Graves teamed withKassius Ohno to unsuccessfully challengeLuke HarperandErick Rowan for theNXT Tag Team Championship, and Graves, Ohno, andAdrian Neville lost to The Wyatt Family in a six-man tag team match.[35][36][37] After the Wyatts injured Ohno in storyline, Graves began regularly teaming with Neville, and on the July 18 episode ofNXT, they defeated Harper and Rowan to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship.[38][39] The duo held the championship for nearly three months, before losing to The Ascension in September. After failing to regain the title, Graves attacked Neville to provoke a feud, thus turning heel. They traded victories, before Graves suffered alegitimateconcussion, rendering him temporarily inactive. He returned in January 2014, to enter a feud withSami Zayn. Graves defeated Zayn on April 3 but was defeated in a 6-man tag team match teaming with The Ascension against Zayn andThe Usos. Graves then suffered a second concussion, causing him to be absent from television for several months.
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Graves returned on theNXT TakeOver: R Evolution pre-show on December 11, where he announced his official in-ringretirement due to his concussion issues. He also announced that he would be joining NXT's commentary team with immediate effect, with his duties beginning at that event.[40]
Graves was then offered a two-year commentary contract byTriple H, and was later added to the pre-show panel forRaw.[41]
He is also the host ofWWE Culture Shock, aWWE Network original series. In August 2015, followingDolph Ziggler's 2014 shout-out to theMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom,[42] March's reveal ofXavier Woods as a member of said fandom,[43] andSheamus being shamed in April by Ziggler about Bronies on TV,[44] he attendedBronyCon at theBaltimore Convention Center to investigate the fandom, where he dressed in anApplejack costume and interviewed Bronies. WWE released a free preview of the episode on August 26, 2015 following the August 22NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn event and the August 23SummerSlam event.[45]
Following the2016 WWE draft, it was announced that Graves would be joining theRaw commentary team. On July 25, on the first postbrand split episode ofRaw, Graves began serving as a color commentator alongsideMichael Cole andByron Saxton.[46] On November 29, Graves joined the commentary team for the Cruiserweight division'sWWE Network exclusive show,205 Live, alongsideMauro Ranallo andAustin Aries. Despite being drafted toRaw, Graves continued to provide color commentary forNXT until the February 1, 2017 episode. On the pre-show forNXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Graves announced he would be leavingNXT after that event, withNigel McGuinness taking his place on commentary.
In March 2017, following Ranallo's absence from commentary and Aries' return to in-ring action, Graves would be joined byTom Phillips on commentary for205 Live. On the May 29 episode ofRaw, Graves would directly report toRaw general managerKurt Angle about some "scandalous information" that was sent to him about Angle, with Angle telling Graves that if the news broke out, it would ruin him.[47] On the June 19 episode ofRaw, as Angle tried to resolve the mystery of who attacked bothEnzo and Cass over the last few weeks, Graves would show security footage ofBig Cass faking his attack, which led to Cass revealing himself as the one who attackedEnzo Amore, before attacking Amore once again, officially disbanding the team. Graves would continue to support Angle about his personal information that was sent to him, which Angle would reveal on the July 17 episode ofRaw, announcing thatJason Jordan was hisstoryline son. On September 4, it was announced that Graves would also join the SmackDown Live announce team afterJBL departed from the company, making Graves the only current announcer to commentate bothRaw andSmackDown Live, as a heel color commentator.
On September 26, 2019, WWE announced as a part of their "WWE Premiere Week" that a new commentary team will be on all three brands. Later, it was announced that Graves would now be a commentator and analyst only for SmackDown.[48] On the April 12, 2021 edition ofRaw afterWrestleMania 37, Graves returned to the Raw broadcast booth, replacingSamoa Joe. In turn,podcaster and radio show hostPat McAfee would replace Graves as the Friday Night SmackDown color commentator. On the November 8 edition ofRaw, Graves would pinAkira Tozawa at ringside to win theWWE 24/7 Championship, only to lose it immediately afterward to Byron Saxton.
On February 11, 2022, Graves subbed in for Pat McAfee on an episode ofFriday Night SmackDown. On the April 4 episode ofRaw, after Graves' wife, Carmella, was attacked by her tag team partner,Zelina Vega, for losing theWWE Women's Tag Team Championships atWrestlemania 38, Graves consoled her at ringside, eventually sharing a kiss between the two. As McAfee was hired by ESPN for itsCollege GameDay coverage, Graves temporarily returned on the September 9 episode ofSmackDown as a color commentator which this arrangement lasted until the end of the college football season.
Graves returned to SmackDown as color commentator withKevin Patrick joining in as play-by-play commentator on August 11, 2023.[49] On February 2, 2024, Graves transitioned into the lead commentator role on SmackDown, serving alongsideWade Barrett who replaced Kevin Patrick. On August 26, Graves returned to Raw to be a commentator with Michael Cole as Pat McAfee took a hiatus from WWE to return toCollege GameDay.[50]
AtNXT: New Year's Evil on January 7, 2025, Graves returned to NXT for the first time since 2017 as part of the revamped commentary team alongsideVic Joseph andBooker T.[51] However, the following week Graves criticized WWE's decision to move him from SmackDown to NXT. He said in a post on X that he would address his criticisms on NXT, but was reportedly pulled from the show.[52][53] Graves returned to commentary on January 21.[54] On the June 16 episode ofRaw, Graves briefly returned to the main roster commentary team, filling in for Pat McAfee.[55] Graves would later return to the main roster full-time due to McAfee taking a hiatus from commentary.[56]
On the September 19 episode ofSmackDown, Graves would be attacked byBrock Lesnar, receiving twoF5's, after Graves would try to reason with Lesnar not to harm Michael Cole. This would set up a storyline introduction to the return ofPat McAfee atWrestlepalooza as a commentator.
Polinsky, as Corey Graves, made his video game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K15, where on theXbox 360 andPlayStation 3 versions of the game, he has his own path in the "Who GotNXT" mode, documenting his matches inNXT and on theXbox One andPlayStation 4 versions as an unlockable character through the MyCareer mode.[57] He later appeared inWWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20,WWE 2K22,WWE 2K23,WWE 2K24 andWWE 2K25 as a non-playable character as part of the commentary team.
Polinsky was a part ofE:60 documentary: "WWE: Behind the Curtain".[58] From October 2015 to April 2016, Polinsky wrote a monthly column forAlternative Press entitled "Stay Loud." The column covered the intersection of wrestling and music.[59]
Polinsky has also delved into the fashion industry with Fatal Clothing's "Stay Down" collection.[60]
Polinsky, as his Corey Graves persona, launched his ownpodcast (produced by WWE and Endeavor Audio) titledWWE After the Bell, which debuted in October 2019.[61] In June 2020, he would launch a second podcast calledBare with Us alongside his real life wife Leah Van Dale, where the two discuss different issues regarding relationships including issues within their own.[62]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kingdom of Gladiators | Gunnar | |
| 2020 | The Main Event | Himself |
Polinsky is ofHungarian descent. His father and younger brother are also involved in professional wrestling. His father Dan is aprofessional wrestling promoter, and his younger brotherSam is a professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Sam Adonis", and has notably competed in Mexico forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) andLucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). As of 2020, he and his ex-wife, Amy (Schneider) Polinsky,[63] have three children together.[64]
Outside of professional wrestling, Polinsky is a professional piercer. After training as an apprentice at the request of a friend of his who needed a piercer in his tattoo shop,[7] he has worked in the Naughty Vibrations shop inGreensburg, Pennsylvania and in a shop named True Image inNew Kensington, Pennsylvania.[7] Polinsky is known for his numerous tattoos.[7] He got two of them before the age of 16 with his parents' permission, and after turning 18, got sleeve tattoos on both his arms, made up of several clearly visible and separate tattoos tied together with designs.[7] He also has tattoos on his neck, and has the words "stay down" tattooed across hisknuckles.[7]
Polinsky is described as a typicalyinzer and often shows pride in being from Pittsburgh on WWE programming, often mentioning his bar-hopping on Pittsburgh'sSouth Side and mentioning his favorite places to visit.[65] He did, however, admit that upon joining the WWE commentary team he had to significantly tone down his naturalPittsburghese dialect only to see fellow Pittsburgh nativePat McAfee become successful on WWE commentary because of it.[66]
In early 2019, Polinsky's ex-wife posted a picture to her Instagram page stating that Polinsky had been having an affair with WWE wrestler Leah Van Dale, known by the ring nameCarmella. The post was deleted shortly after and it was confirmed that the pair had already been separated and were already in the divorce process.[67] Their relationship was later profiled in the 9th season of the reality showTotal Divas. In October 2021, Van Dale and Polinsky got engaged.[68] The two were married on April 7, 2022.[69] In October 31, 2022, his wife revealed in her instagram account, that she had anectopic pregnancy, which caused amiscarriage.[70] On May 1, 2023, the couple announced they were once again expecting on Instagram.[71] On November 8, 2023, their son was born.[72] On April 29, 2025, Polinsky and Van Dale announced that they were expecting their second child.[73] In October 10, 2025, they welcomed their second child.[74]
Legendary Professional wrestling commentator and WWE Hall of FamerJim Ross has stated that "Graves is the brightest young on-air talent that WWE has developed in years".[75]
Fellow WWE commentator and broadcast colleague,Michael Cole has praised Graves stating "We gave him a chance and he really worked hard at it. This didn't come to him easy. He put a lot of time in at the Performance Center, and hours and hours of work. "We put him on Raw, and he took off. He's the new guy, he's the new heel. "He's got a unique presence, he's got sarcasm and he's got wit, and he also has the experience of being in the ring, being a former NXT tag team champion. He has everything. A good looking young kid - he's the future of what we do here".[76][77]
Professional wrestling promoter and bookerEric Bischoff has praised Graves as an "amazingly talented guy" and "an exceptional talent".[78] Bischoff also further reiterated that Graves is "Very different, has his own way about him. He's got a vibe and an approach to the business that I really love, and I think it makes him unique. But think about that. Think about how much wrestling, how many stories, think about what Corey Graves in particular had to do every week. Unless you've done that job, even if you've done that job, it's hard to imagine".[78]
Professional wrestling Legend and WWE Hall of FamerArn Anderson, has also praised Graves stating "He obviously has the in-ring background, he has a cool look, it feels like he's 'inside baseball' enough and up on his stuff where 'smart fans' can enjoy his work, he checks Vince's boxes".[79] "Just his appearance alone made you pay attention and he appealed to a younger crowd and I think you have to have a mix of different announcers that cover and check different boxes just like you have talent and Corey was a guy that was opinionated. I don't how much of those opinions were his own and those projected for him to have, but he fits in with that younger demographic and you're always wanting to grab that, that's for sure."[80]
Fellow WWE commentator colleague and broadcast partnerByron Saxton has praised Graves stating "there's been so many greats but when you look at Jesse [Ventura] and Bobby [Heenan] and all these great color guys, The King [Jerry Lawler], who have been in this company, you know, Corey [Graves] is right up there. He is so talented, he is so witty and it's a blessing for this company to have someone as talented as he is and I'm very fortunate I've been able to work with him as long as I have".[81]
[wearing a "BRONY" shirt] Xavier Woods here, reigning and defending 2K champion. This year at WrestleMania, people are gonna come and try to take my title, take my championship. That cannot be done, you ban't neat me! Brony: don't care, what up? Step up, and get bought!
I get why you don't like the English, 'cause they sure as hell don't like you either. Come to think of it, come to think of it Sheamus, neither do the Germans, Hungarians, Dutch, Welsh, Millenials, Bronies, you name it! Not even the Irish like you Sheamus!
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)AP is excited to team up with WWE superstar Corey Graves for his new monthly column, "Stay Loud," which will cover the intersection of wrestling and music.
Corey Graves joins the show to tell us all about his clothing line collaboration "The Stay Down" Collection with FATAL Clothing.
Sources close to Graves tell us he and Amy Polinksy have been in the divorce process for around six months and Corey has been living in a different home for two of those months.
,Cagematch,Internet Wrestling Database| Preceded by | SmackDown lead announcer 2024 | Succeeded by |
