In the World Wrestling Federation, Hall of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jim Ross and backstage interviewer Michael Cole called the action with their old-fashioned headsets on. The trio rang in the good ole days in pro wrestling known as the Attitude Era, with much edgier content and some of the best moments in wrestling history. In 2017, WWE’s Monday Night Raw commentary team consisted of play-by-play announcer Michael Cole, former NXT colour-commentator Corey Graves and twenty-year veteran Jonathan Coachman. On August 10, 2018, ESPN shared WWE’s historic announcement that Renee Young would be filling in for Coachman due to his contractual obligations for Golf Channel at the WinStar World Casino and Resort.
Renee was so impressive that night that WWE decided to make structural changes, and on September 9, 2018, WWE made the announcement that “Coach” would essentially be swapping roles with his temporary one-night replacement Renee and moving to pre-show panels. Renee would break yet another barrier in her WWE career by becoming the first-ever female to call Raw full-time. Once the news broke, a flood of superstars and on-air personality expressed their love and support towards Renee.
It’s been a year since Renee joined the prestigious announce table and she’s been quite impressive in how quickly she has adapted to her recent role, I just don’t think it meshes with her personality. There are times when both Cole and Graves are calling the action and she may add a thought or two, but for the most she seems hesitant in calling the in-ring action. Renee has always been more a conversation starter.
On May 15, 2019, Beth Phoenix became the newest addition to the NXT commentary team with Percy Watson leaving the company to pursue other dreams; she would join forces with Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness. Her first event to call was NXT Takeover: XXV, in which she made a fantastic debut. On the biggest NXT spectacle in front of almost 10,000 NXT fans in a sold-out Webster Bank Arena; Beth delivered some of the best commentary I’ve heard in such a long time. Her delivery was crisp and meshed perfectly with Mauro and Nigel, her calls were spot on and it convinced me that soon she should take over Renee’s seat on the prestigious commentary team.
Again, no disrespect to Renee, but unlike her, Beth felt right at home calling the high-octane action. Beth knows professional wrestling inside and out; thanks to her entire in-ring career as a wrestler. Renee doesn’t carry that same background, Beth shows traces of a play-by-play announcer, similar to the role that Cole has been doing for twenty-plus-years.
Sometimes a wrestler on the booth isn’t a good thing and can be very awkward. There are instances though that wrestlers commentate on a foe’s match and they utilize their in-ring psychology to add drama to the match itself. Good examples of this are Kevin Owens, The Miz, and Xavier Woods, they are extremely familiar with wrestling terminology and this allows them to stand above the rest.
Let Beth call several more NXT Takeovers to adapt to the new role, and give Renee a brand-new show on the WWE Network where she can utilize her impeccable oral skills. It’s time for a change to the commentary table. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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