WWE Rumors on Corey Graves, Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Graves Could Resume Main Roster Commentary Duties in Future

To kick off 2025 and coincide with Raw's move to Netflix, WWE reshuffled its commentary teams. That resulted in Corey Graves going from SmackDown to NXT, and he wasn't thrilled based on since-deleted messages he posted to social media.

Graves' return to the NXT commentary table may not extend for as long as you think, though. Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp (via Steve Carrier of Ringside News) reported he could eventually reclaim a spot on Raw or SmackDown.

"I was told that the move is where things landed as of now," Sapp said. "But one person in WWE said that considering the revolving door of announcers and color commentators, they expect him back on Raw or SmackDown this year."

The recent shakeup is an example of how quickly things can change.

Joe Tessitore was hired in July and had his first Raw broadcast in September. By January, he was moving to SmackDown as WWE seemed to signal Raw is once again its "A show" thanks to the Netflix deal.

One reason to question whether Graves will get another promotion from NXT anytime soon is that there isn't another big shift in WWE's broadcasting circumstances looming on the horizon. The company presumably wants to maintain some continuity with its current broadcast tandems, too.

In the case of Graves, his social media posts probably didn't help his situation.

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Sikoa Originally Slated to Open SmackDown

More than a week removed from his loss to Roman Reigns on Raw, Solo Sikoa received a frosty reception from the live crowd during SmackDown last Friday. Amid the steady boos, Sikoa walked out of the ring without saying a word.

WrestleVotes reported the appearance "was a hot topic of debate within creative today," and an early rundown for SmackDown had Sikoa starting the show.

Instead, Rey Mysterio kicked off SmackDown by announcing he'll be in the men's Royal Rumble match. His promo was interrupted by Kevin Owens, and the two wrestled later in the night.

It's unclear why WWE shifted gears with Sikoa's place on the SmackDown card. Perhaps the show's expansion to a third hour played a role.

In addition to Sikoa's walkout, the segment featured Braun Strowman helping LA Knight fend off an attack by Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga.

Maybe WWE's creative team thought the drama surrounding Sikoa would've been forgotten quickly so early into a three-hour program. Or perhaps it was judged to work better in the middle of the night, when it could fire the live crowd back up.

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Writer Singled Out for Mysterio/Owens Segment

Speaking of the exchange between Mysterio and Owens, Cristian Scovell was credited by Fightful Select (via Joseph Lee of 411 Mania) as the writer for the segment. Bobby Roode and Shawn Daivari helped produce it.

Owens' promo did a great job of informing WWE fans why they should care about him wrestling Mysterio. He hadn't gotten a win over the Master of the 619 before and beating him would be a big feather in his cap.

And while Owens picked up a clean victory, his post-match attack opens the door for another confrontation down the line.

KO is occupied with Cody Rhodes for now ahead of their clash at the Royal Rumble. In Mysterio, he has an intriguing potential program for Elimination Chamber or WrestleMania 41.

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