Latest on Corey Graves-Mauro Ranallo, Tyson Fury on Brock Lesnar, WWE Starrcade

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

Backstage Talk on Graves' Criticism of Ranallo

Corey Graves' tweet in which he criticized NXT announcer Mauro Ranallo on Saturday was reportedly Graves' attempt to play into a storyline.

According to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, sources said Graves was trying to play up to the brand vs. brand vs. brand aspect of Survivor Series and planned to jokingly bring up the tweets on-air while joining Ranallo for commentary at Survivor Series.

The tweet in question was a dig at Ranallo, as Graves suggested that he should have allowed commentators Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix to add more of their insight at NXT TakeOver: WarGames:

Graves never got the opportunity to run an angle with Mauro at Survivor Series since Ranallo reportedly left Survivor Series before the show started. To explain his absence, SmackDown announcer Michael Cole said Ranallo "blew his voice out" due to the excitement of TakeOver.

On Wednesday's episode of After The Bell, Graves apologized for the tweet:

"On a personal note, I needed to address something. This past Saturday, during the Takeover: WarGames event, I sent out a tweet. It was an unpopular opinion, as I often do with the intention of just stirring up a little controversy, maybe have something fun to talk about on TV or here on the show. It was maybe not the most professional way to go about things, and it was never meant to offend or disrespect or disparage anybody. That was never my intention. If it was taken as such, I apologize deeply. That was not my intention. I would never intentionally cause anybody undue stress, especially a co-worker. So, I apologize."

In addition to missing Survivor Series, Ranallo will reportedly not call Wednesday's episode of NXT television, per John Pollock of Post Wrestling. Satin confirmed the report.

During the aftermath of Graves' tweet, Ranallo deleted his Twitter account and has not been heard from publicly since then. A similar situation occurred in 2017 while Ranallo was the play-by-play announcer on SmackDown.

After a hiatus, Ranallo returned later that year in NXT, and he has been the voice of the black and yellow brand ever since.

Ranallo has long been upfront about his battle with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. Ranallo opened up about it in the Showtime documentary Bipolar Rock 'N Roller, which debuted last year.

Fury Says He Would Beat Lesnar

On the heels of his WWE in-ring debut at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia last month, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury seems to be getting the hang of professional wrestling.

During an appearance on the True Geordie podcast (h/t Sky Sports), Fury expressed confidence that he could decimate WWE champion Brock Lesnar either inside or outside the world of WWE: "I fancy a fight with Brock, for sure. I watched a few of his fights. [He's] pretty handy, but I can flatten him. In a WWE match or a proper fight, I can flatten Brock Lesnar in 30 seconds."

Fury won his debut match against Braun Strowman by count-out when he knocked him out outside the ring. That marked the end of his WWE run for now since he must now prepare for a rematch against fellow undefeated heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

If Fury ever does return to WWE, however, Lesnar would be a logical opponent. In addition to being a physical specimen, Lesnar is a former heavyweight champion outside WWE in his own right, as he held the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

A clash between former champions in both boxing and MMA could be a huge draw for WWE, especially since Fury has a big personality and Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, could sell the match with absolute ease.

Fury knows how to sell a fight in his own right, and his comments on Lesnar were likely his way of opening the door for a possible blockbuster clash with him in the future.

If Fury eventually gives WWE an inclination that he wants the match, one can only assume that WWE would jump at the opportunity.

Ric Flair Appearance Added to WWE Starrcade

WWE continued to add to Sunday's Starrcade live event in Duluth, Georgia, as it announced Wednesday that a special edition of the Kevin Owens Show with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be part of the show.

The announcement came after WWE revealed the first two matches for the show on Tuesday. In addition to the interview segment, Rusev will face Bobby Lashley in a Last Man Standing match and The Kabuki Warriors will defend the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley, and Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a Fatal 4-Way match.

While Starrcade is a house show, it will air at least partially on WWE Network beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The show is named after what was once WCW's premier event in Starrcade. Arguably no wrestler is more synonymous with Starrcade than Flair, so it is only fitting that he will be part of the event.

Based on the fact that Owens began a feud with Seth Rollins on Monday's episode of Raw, perhaps Rollins will interrupt and have another match against KO with the Flair interview acting as a vehicle toward it.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).