7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Oct 15)
Ups...
7. Wild & Young
What a thrill it was to see Renee Young back in her element as an eloquent, effusive and enthusiastic host rather than in a prior miscast position at the Monday Night Raw announce booth. Announcers are no different to wrestlers in this regard - without making the best use of all the talents’ actual talents, the company risks ruining what they’re actually good at. Young is really, really good at this.
Her move to the red brand was made in good spirit (and good taste - Jonathan Coachman was abysmal in the role) but as the closing segment highlighted, she’s already only too keen to address and humour her failings in the position. It almost certainly came from increased confidence built up over a broadly enjoyable hour here.
A significant and valuable asset as long as WWE want to produce shows such as this (and around 35 years of precedent suggests they do), Young was the glue holding an at-times wobbly format together. As with Talking Smack, Unfiltered and other projects she’s been entrusted with over the years, it’s likely she’ll only improve further upon easing into the role. Or in this case, back in to it.