Tag: renee young

Report: Young, Phillips & English to call tonight’s WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The travel delays after Crown Jewel will also force a change to SmackDown’s commentary team for tonight.

The Wrap has reported that Renee Young, Tom Phillips & Aiden English will be the commentary team for tonight’s show. Michael Cole & Corey Graves are the usual SmackDown commentary team but were in Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel.

WWE announced earlier today that: “More than 175 Superstars, production crew and employees boarded a 747 charter flight back to the United States on Thursday. After the door closed, due to several aircraft problems including mechanical issues, all passengers sat on the tarmac for more than six hours. With SmackDown set to emanate live from Buffalo, N.Y., several Superstars felt so strongly that they arranged for their own separate charter in order to make it back to the U.S. for the show. Due to unforeseen issues, that charter will not land until after the live broadcast on FOX.”

After formerly being part of the Raw commentary team, Young is hosting WWE’s Backstage studio show on FS1 with Booker T. The show makes its official weekly premiere at 11 p.m. Eastern time next Tuesday (November 5).

Phillips was formerly on the SmackDown commentary team and now calls NXT UK and 205 Live. English is a color commentator for 205 Live.

A SmackDown Women’s Championship match is set for tonight, with Bayley defending her title against Nikki Cross. WWE has also announced that Brock Lesnar will appear on the show.

Renee Young & Booker T to host WWE Backstage studio show on FS1

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has confirmed the hosts of their studio show on FS1.

Renee Young and Booker T will be the hosts of the show, which is called WWE Backstage. It will air on FS1 at 11 p.m. Eastern time/8 p.m. Pacific on Tuesdays every week starting on November 5. There will also be a preview show after game three of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series on Tuesday, October 15.

A press release stated that Young and Booker T will “weigh in on the biggest stories in WWE, and are joined by a rotating cast of guests and personalities, including current and former WWE Superstars.”

For the preview show, Young and Booker T will be “joined by special guests to reveal the WWE Backstage set at the FOX Studios Lot in Los Angeles, and to break in their brand-new ring.”

“WWE Backstage is a wrestling show for wrestling fans. From hardcore fans to people new to wrestling, we’ll give them a little bit of everything,” Young said. “It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be loud, we’re going to give them a ton of opinions and I can’t wait to help spread the word about SmackDown coming to FOX.”

“It’s awesome being part of the FOX family and part of this movement of Friday Night SmackDown to FOX,” Booker T said. “FOX Sports has always been the one-stop shop for sports and now it’s going to be the one-stop shop for sports and entertainment. I think this is going to be a tag team that’s going to last for a long time, and one that cannot lose. As I always say, now can you dig it, sucka?”

WWE having a weekly studio show on FS1 was first reported in May 2018. This April, Triple H confirmed the show would be debuting in the fall.

SmackDown is making its FOX debut next Friday (October 4). The premiere will feature Brock Lesnar challenging for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship, a ladder match between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon, Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley, and appearances by legends for SmackDown’s 20th anniversary celebration.

The Owens vs. Shane ladder match has a stipulation where both of their careers are on the line.

The press release announcing WWE Backstage hyped that more information — including additional on-air personalities and special guests — will be announced at a later date.

Renee Young to be part of WWE Crown Jewel announce team

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Renee Young will reportedly be heading to WWE Crown Jewel on Friday.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reported this afternoon that Renee Young will be allowed to go to Saudi Arabia this Friday for WWE’s Crown Jewel event. Dave Meltzer has also confirmed Young will be heading to the event. Pro Wrestling Sheet’s report says that this process started back in September when Young joined the Raw commentary team on a permanent basis. WWE has yet to announce the broadcast team for the event.

Women were not allowed to compete or be part of the broadcast team at the Greatest Royal Rumble back in April. There was controversy after the event where the Saudi General Sports Authority, which oversaw the event, apologized for having a commercial featuring a number of female WWE talent wearing their ring gear, which they considered ‘”indecent”.

WWE Crown Jewel will air this Friday on the WWE Network. It will air live at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh with the main card starting at noon ET.

Renee Young joining WWE Raw announce team on full-time basis

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Following her two guest appearances over the past month, Renee Young has been added to the Raw announce team on a full-time basis.

WWE announced this morning that Young will be joining Michael Cole and Corey Graves on the Raw commentary team starting with tonight’s episode. Jonathan Coachman will no longer be calling Raw and will instead become the host of WWE’s pay-per-view pre-shows.

Coachman will start in his new position at Hell in a Cell on Sunday. Young was the previous host of the PPV pre-shows.

With Coachman having to miss the episodes due to his obligations with the World Long Drive Association on the Golf Channel, Young filled in for him on commentary on the August 13 and September 3 editions of Raw. Young is also part of the Mae Young Classic announce team with Cole and Beth Phoenix.

Young tweeted about her new full-time role: “I am so so so insanely excited about this! To be the first woman to take over that chair that so many amazingly talented voices and personalities have sat in before me! Thank you to @VinceMcMahon @StephMcMahon @TripleH @MichaelCole and @WWEGraves (and MANY others)”

UPDATE: Coachman has also commented on his new role and congratulated Young: “A sincere congratulations to @ReneeYoungWWE for a much deserved move to the table on Raw. To be part of a team means understanding your strengths and using them to help the team grow. I have always embraced with positivity any role asked of me. That will not change.”

Renee Young announced as guest commentator for Monday’s Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Renee Young will be joining in on commentary for Monday’s episode of Raw.

WWE announced via ESPN.com today that Young will be filling in for Jonathan Coachman and calling the show with Michael Cole and Corey Graves. They noted that Coachman will miss the episode due to fulfilling another obligation, which Coachman wrote is his role as the host of World Long Drive on the Golf Channel.

WWE is touting that this is the first time a woman has called an entire episode of Raw.

“When Michael told me, I was like, ‘This Monday?! What are you talking about?!’,” Young told ESPN. “I am so excited for this opportunity. To be sitting with Cole, who has been such a great champion of mine since I’ve been working for WWE, it’s going to be really cool.”

Alongside Cole and Beth Phoenix, Young is also part of the commentary team for this year’s Mae Young Classic. Young had recently expressed interest in doing commentary again after previously being part of the NXT team.

Coachman tweeted about Young filling in for him, “I am absolutely thrilled for @ReneeYoungWWE who has EARNED this opportunity. No one takes lightly the honor of sitting in those chairs every Monday night and I can’t wait to hear the different dynamic in Greensboro.”

Monday’s Raw is the go-home show for SummerSlam. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas defending their Tag Team titles against The Revival and Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt in a triple threat match is advertised.

Commentary team, broadcast schedule set for Mae Young Classic

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the first night of tapings taking place today, WWE has revealed a few additional details about the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

It will begin airing on the WWE Network at 9 p.m. Eastern time on September 5. The episodes will air after NXT every Wednesday, leading into the finals being held at WWE Evolution on October 28.

There will be a three-person commentary team for the tournament, with Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, and Renee Young calling the action. Cathy Kelley and Shadia Bseiso, the first Arab woman to sign with WWE as a wrestler, will be the backstage interviewers, and Kayla Braxton will be the ring announcer. Bseiso also has experience working in television.

“A few years ago I was put in charge of all of the announcers in the company,” Cole said in an interview with ESPN. “My goal when I took over was to have, for the first time, a full-time female commentator on one of our main shows. That is still my goal today and it led to, for the first time, having two women in the announcing booth for the Mae Young Classic. It blows me away that this is happening because as little as two years ago I would not have seen this happening.”

Young has expressed renewed interest in doing commentary recently if the opportunity were to present itself. She was previously part of the NXT team. Phoenix also called WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge alongside Cole and Corey Graves.

A bracketology special hosted by Phoenix and Mauro Ranallo is set to air on the WWE Network at 9 p.m. Eastern on August 29.

Tapings for the Mae Young Classic will continue tomorrow and set things up for the finals. Here’s the full list of participants:

  • Kaitlyn
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Io Shirai
  • Nicole Matthews
  • Jinny
  • Kacy Catanzaro
  • Deonna Purrazzo
  • Tegan Nox (Nixon Newell’s WWE name)
  • Jessie Elaban
  • Reina Gonzalez
  • Taynara Conti
  • Mia Yim
  • Mercedes Martinez
  • Kavita Devi
  • Killer Kelly
  • Zeuxis
  • Isla Dawn
  • Lacey Lane
  • Karen Q
  • Toni Storm
  • Meiko Satomura
  • Ashley Rayne (Madison Rayne)
  • Priscilla Kelly
  • Xia Brookside
  • Hiroyo Matsumoto
  • Aerial Monroe
  • Vanessa Kraven
  • Allysin Kay (Sienna)
  • Xia Li
  • Rachel Evers (Rachael Ellering)
  • MJ Jenkins
  • Zatara

Renee Young confirms marriage to Dean Ambrose

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another WWE couple has tied the knot.

Renee Young confirmed on Twitter this morning that her and Dean Ambrose have gotten married. She wrote: “Marriage is nice. Thanks for all the love.”

Speculation about their marriage began when Ambrose wore a ring on his finger on this week’s episode of Raw. Young also wore a ring on Talking Smack on Tuesday, with both Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens making references to her marriage.

Young and Ambrose’s relationship has been featured on Total Divas since Young joined the show’s cast. It was also part of a television storyline when they were briefly programmed with The Miz and Maryse before the latter’s feud with John Cena and Nikki Bella began.

They were placed on separate brands in WWE’s “Superstar Shakeup” this week as Ambrose landed on Raw and Young stayed on SmackDown.

Both Young and Ambrose have been victims of harassment over their relationship. In an interview with Vegas Seven magazine last month, Young said that she’s gotten “many” death threats from a section of Ambrose’s fans and Ambrose said that he’s been stalked “fairly regularly.”