Starting this week, Corey Graves will be joined by a new partner on his After the Bell podcast as Kevin Patrick becomes the show’s new co-host.
Patrick and Graves are also the broadcast team for Monday Night Raw. That pairing is recent, with Patrick making his Raw play-by-play debut earlier this month. Graves is incredibly excited about their potential together as a broadcast duo, and the chance to work together on the podcast serves as another chance to harness their chemistry.
“Now we get an extra few hours together, and Kevin gets to learn another aspect of our business,” says Graves, who is wrestler turned broadcaster Matthew Polinsky. “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.”
Graves has embraced a mentorship role with Patrick and believes that the Dublin native has the potential to be a defining voice of the Raw brand. Given the successful history of Raw, that is an especially tall task, but Graves’s confidence is rooted in Patrick’s preparation and passion.
“Kevin has an incredible work ethic that’s earned a lot of respect from a lot of people within WWE, myself included,” Graves says. “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.”
Patrick replaces Vic Joseph as the After the Bell co-host. His first episode with Graves will drop this Friday, with Graves sharing that the plan is to interview someone from the upcoming Crown Jewel show.
“Vic Joseph has been my co-host for the last year or so, and Vic is awesome,” Graves says. “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.”
Patrick is a relative newcomer to WWE. His 19 months with the company have largely been spent as a backstage interviewer, but he has plenty of experience in pro sports, primarily soccer. Entering only his fourth week as the lead commentator on Raw, Patrick is embracing the opportunity to play such a significant role for the company.
“It’s been a challenge, but that’s what I live for,” says Patrick, whose full name is Kevin Patrick Egan. “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.”
More on-air time with Graves will be a benefit for Patrick, as well as listeners. The podcast can now be an extension of Raw, albeit with a strikingly different outlook.
“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,” Patrick says. “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 is full of enthusiasm regarding the future of After the Bell. Following the change in company leadership, Graves says he has never had more creative freedom with the show than he currently does.
“We’ll still have special guests and talk about all our brands, but the fans are about to learn a lot more about what happens behind the scenes,” he says. “With all the recent changes in WWE, I’ve gotten a lot more leeway and a little more freedom with the podcast.
“I’ve spent more than half my life in this business, and over 11 years in the biggest company in the world, so I have a pretty unique perspective on why things are the way they are. My intent is to give a new perspective, and I think fans are going to be very interested.”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
