WWE News: Renee Young Opens Up About Her Frustrations As A ‘Monday Night Raw’ Commentator
Renee Young will go down in history as the first female commentator of Monday Night Raw, but it’s not one of her favorite career moments. During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated‘s podcast, as quoted by WrestleTalk, the current WWE Backstage host revealed that she felt a lot of pressure performing that role.
“To go out there and call three hours of wrestling, coming from my role backstage, I like to have more of a bubbly personality and that was what fans have been drawn to,” Young said. “Or my sarcastic side. It’s hard to do that on commentary, especially when you’ve got [Corey Graves], who is great at that. But also stepping in there as a third person. I’m used to being the A person. I’m trying to jump in there and everything has kinda already been said. It was odd.”
According to Young, she tried to approach the role from a “fan standpoint,” but acknowledged that such an approach doesn’t always work. Michael Cole was the play-by-play announcer, while Graves’ role was to provide some personality to the show. Young, meanwhile, struggled to find her voice on the team.
Young was pulled from the Monday Night Raw commentary team just before Friday Night SmackDown debuted on Fox. As The Inquisitr previously reported, she was one of several announcers to be moved and given a new role.
However, Fox executives were reportedly so high on Young that they requested that she join the blue brand. In a bid to present wrestling as more sports-centric, the network introduced WWE Backstage so that the product could be analyzed openly and honestly. Young has been the face of the show since its inception, and she appears to be back in her comfort zone.
We're one week away from the official premiere of @WWE Backstage on @FS1. Join us every Tuesday at 11p ET starting November 5th! pic.twitter.com/yCjNVFJKRW
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) October 29, 2019
Young did return to commentary duty on the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, though. Regular commentators Cole and Graves — along with several other WWE personnel — were stuck in Saudi Arabia following Crown Jewel, which forced the company to fill up spots at the announcer’s desk at the last minute. During the show, Young was accidentally kicked in the face by Sonya Deville.
Young is a versatile talent who’s been given several roles in WWE throughout the years. Prior to becoming an announcer and host, she was a backstage interviewer. Young is an invaluable asset to the company, while her real-life husband, AEW star Jon Moxley, has a tendency to criticize her place of employment at every opportunity.
