Renee Young, by her real name of Renee Paquette, made headlines on October 12 as it was announced that she has signed a contract with AEW. The president of All Elite Wrestling promotion took to Twitter to make the big announcement. So, after spending eight years in WWE, the famous professional wrestling journalist headed to the rival brand of the company to pursue something different.
Renee Young volunteered to take a break from television in 2020 to focus on other personal projects as things appeared to be quite monotonous in the WWE. While speaking on a recent episode of The Sessions, the Canadian wrestling journalist opened up on her journey in the WWE. Moving away from traditional interview-hosting, she tried to go beyond in a brave effort.
Will Renee Young Be Part Of Commentary Team After AEW Arrival?
“I always think the interviewer role in professional wrestling has been very… I guess undervalued might be the word,” Renee Young said. “Because a lot of times they’re supposed to be invisible, so to speak, in the sense the way the referee is. You’re not selling tickets.
You’re not the big character. People aren’t coming to see you. That’s always been the vibe. ‘Don’t say anything. Don’t react to anything.’ And then you do end up with people who end up being like a mic stand. That’s how it always has been.”
Renee Young wanted to explore more opportunities rather than just being an interviewer in WWE
Renee Young also stated that she had to fight for changing content in WWE like showing slight reactions or showing off her personality on TV during those segments she otherwise didn’t need anything else to do except for throwing away questions. Since there has to be a balance, she also had to be cautious in how much personality she could reflect on TV and thereby help elevate the talent she was working with.
In AEW, promos and interviews aren’t heavily scripted like they used to be in WWE. This is one of the main aspects of working under Tony Khan due to which Renee Young wanted to join him in the first place. In WWE, she enjoyed reading scripts and doing interviews, but now she gets to conducting interviews with talents on national television without any script attached.
Starting her time in WWE in 2012, Renee Young lasted in the company till 2020 summer. In addition to her role as a backstage interviewer, she was an integral part of WWE Backstage on FOX. Before joining that show, the company also honored her as the first full-time female commentator on Monday Night Raw. Since her departure from the WWE, Paquette started her own podcast series, The Sessions, and also wrote a cookbook.
