Wade Barrett has been outspoken about his planned time away from WWE, and the company has addressed the matter directly on television. During Monday’s episode of Raw, it was revealed that Corey Graves will be stepping in to replace Barrett alongside Joe Tessitore at the commentary desk.

The show opened with Tessitore introducing Graves and explaining the shake-up. He cited Wisconsin’s football tradition to transition into Barrett’s absence, describing it as a “well-deserved vacation” tied to the upcoming football season. Graves then joked about Barrett’s situation, saying he thought the former WWE star had been “exiled to some far-away island,” a lighthearted nod to recent online chatter.

Barrett has been in the headlines since news broke about his time off. Fans quickly speculated that his absence was linked to his controversial Clash in Paris remarks about WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella. Barrett denied the rumors on X, insisting his break was scheduled long in advance. The situation escalated when he incorrectly credited PWInsider’s Mike Johnson for the report, prompting Johnson to push back against what he called “trash aggregation.”

As of now, there is no confirmed timeline for Barrett’s return to the booth. Tessitore and Graves will handle Raw commentary moving forward, though it remains uncertain whether Graves’ new role will affect his ongoing duties on NXT and SmackDown.

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