Corey Graves On Brock Lesnar Offering To Get Naked For WWE Segment

WWE commentator Corey Graves had a front-row seat for the WWE Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley at Saturday night's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Graves says he felt an added responsibility to make the title tilt feel as big as possible.

"I've become relatively close with Bobby over the years since he's come back to Monday Night Raw," Graves told Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha  "I get a great perspective and have a great relationship with him. And Brock Lesnar's Brock Lesnar. Anytime Brock Lesnar's on your screen, it's must-see."

Lashley defeated Lesnar Saturday night to win the WWE Championship after Universal Champion Roman Reigns interfered and helped take down Lesnar. Corey Graves says the first-time-ever meeting between Lesnar and Lashley felt special.

"During this day and age, there are virtually no dream matchups left," Graves explained. "Everybody, no matter what company you're talking about, has brushed up against everybody else, or back in the independents. This business is so – for how big it is, for being a global business as it is – it's still kind of a mom-and-pop shop in the industry as a whole. So it's very hard to find two athletes of that caliber, of that star power, who have never met in any sort of capacity.

"The funny thing is, I was thinking all day like, 'I want to do this match justice. I want to make it feel big, I want to make it feel like an epic showdown', Graves continued. "Because not only was that how we were selling it, but that's how I view it as a fan. And it's funny in those instances where I get lost in the moment, the coolest stuff just kind of falls out of my lips."

Part of the hype for a WWE Championship match between Lesnar and Lashley was a weigh-in on the episode of RAW before the Royal Rumble. Corey Graves was in the ring for the segment and had a unique interaction with Lesnar.

"We go out there, I asked Brock if he was dressed appropriately for the moment," Graves recalled. "I mean I've watched plenty of weigh-ins in our business and in the MMA world. Generally, it's big, muscled-up guys or girls in their skinnies and Brock came out in full John Dutton cowboy regalia. And Brock asked me – very politely, by the way – if I would prefer if Brock would just get naked.

"And let me tell you. I'm very rarely intimidated in life. I don't go around looking for a fight. But, I've never felt so small in my life when you see a behemoth like Brock Lesnar offer to disrobe in front of you on global television. How do you answer that?"

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.