WWE's Corey Graves Discusses Honor Of Kicking Off Pittsburgh Steelers' NFL Campaign

While Finn Balor recently expressed his disdain for the "Terrible Towel," Pittsburgh native Corey Graves embraces it. Ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m. home opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the current "WWE SmackDown" commentator announced that he would lead the signature "Terrible Towel Twirl," the tradition in which Steelers fans wave around their yellow and black rally rags in support of the respective NFL team.

"As a lifelong fan, I am beyond honored and excited to kick off the [Steelers] season today at [Acrisure Stadium] by leading the Steeler Nation in the 'Terrible Towel Twirl' in a few hours! See Yinz there!" Graves wrote on X. As of this writing, the Steelers-49ers game is in the third quarter, with San Francisco leading with a score of 27-7.

Before the official start of the 2023-2024 NFL season, Graves and former "SmackDown" Women's Champion Carmella also visited the Steelers' playing grounds last month during one of their preseason practices. There, the duo was gifted custom Steelers shirts, with Carmella donning the number "1" while Graves received a shirt with the number "84" on the back as a likely nod to his birth year of 1984. The couple were also presented with a mini shirt for their soon-to-be baby boy.

Graves, of course, is no stranger to the Pittsburgh landscape as he was born and raised in the area. During his teenage years, Graves attended Gateway High School in Monroeville, which is about 20 minutes from Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena. With his deep-rooted connections to Pittsburgh, Graves has remained a loyal fan of his hometown NFL team.