Former NXT wrestler Corey Graves joined the NXT announce team yesterday at the NXT Takeover: R Evolution WWE Network special and that will be his new permanent position at the WWE developmental system.

The 30 year old Graves announced during the pre-show that he was forced to retire due to concussions and the company offered him a role at the announce booth instead.

Corey Graves has not wrestled since WrestleMania weekend where he suffered a concussion during a match at Fan Axxess and was pulled from all activities. Due to previous concussions – a lot of them – he was advised to hang up his boots.

“I saw Triple H in the [WWE Performance Center’s] gym,” Graves told WWE.COM. “I asked if he had any updates for me. His demeanor changed. He said something like, ‘I’m going to be honest with you. If I were you, I’d prepare for the worst.’ You could have told me a million things were going to happen to me that day, that wouldn’t be one of them.”

Graves credits Michael Cole for telling him to try announcing after he was up to help in any way at the Performance Center.

“WWE could have very easily discarded me and said, ‘You’re not able to do what we hired you for any more, so good luck to you,’” Graves said. “I like to think that they saw value in me, not only in the ring, but in what I’ve been able to prove I can do in the months since then.”