WWE commentator Corey Graves has taken up teaching duties at Point Park University’s School of Communication, leading a class called Live Sports Production. What started as a couple of guest lectures quickly grew into a much larger role.
Graves, whose real name is Matt Polinsky, first arrived on campus to chat with broadcasting students about wrestling commentary, and the way he connected with the young, aspiring broadcasters stood out.
“I was invited over the last year or two to speak at Point Park College to their broadcasting students. It was wrestling-centric, but there were also quite a few students who were broadcasting specific, not necessarily wrestling fans. It went well; they asked me to come back again, and I did. The second time went better than the first,” Polinsky said during an interview with TribLIVE.
Seeing how naturally Graves talked with and guided students made the dean of the School of Communication, Dr. Bernie Ankney, realize he could build on this one-time lecture.
“I was really impressed with the way he interacted and mentored 18,19, 20-year-old students and just watching the energy he brought to his presentation. I thought it would be worth looking into Corey teaching a class. Somebody like that, if you put him in the classroom, students are familiar with his work,” Ankney said.
After months of planning, Graves helped to create Live Sports Production. It’s a three-hour weekly class that focuses on storytelling, commentary skills, and how broadcasters connect emotionally with an audience, and 12 students have signed up for the first course.
How Corey Graves Became a College Professor
Graves grew up in a wrestling family and started out on the independent circuit in the early 2000s. In 2010, he took a short break from wrestling to try sports radio at Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan.
While that didn’t last for long, he returned to the ring and signed with NXT in 2011. Unfortunately, a series of injuries forced him to retire from in-ring competition in 2014.
Later that same year, Graves joined the NXT commentary team. He continued to rise the ranks and became the lead color commentator on WWE Raw a few years later. He has now called WrestleMania eight times and has appeared on major networks and streaming platforms globally.
