Renee Paquette on the differences between her various roles in WWE
Former WWE commentator, backstage interviewer, and host, Renee Paquette (f.k.a Renee Young) has shed light on how her many job titles in WWE were different from each other.
Paquette worked for WWE from 2012 to 2020 and despite being a well-seasoned TV host, she was first hired as a backstage interviewer. Her role would eventually increase as she began hosting the kick-off shows before premium live events. Paquette would also go on to become the first-ever woman to commentate as part of the full-time announce team for Monday Night RAW.
During a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston, Renee Paquette spoke about the many hats she wore in WWE.
"Whether I was doing a backstage interview, or I was hosting a kick-off panel, or I was doing commentary, they were all very different hats. Doing a backstage interview is essentially like an acting job, you’re reading a script, you’re asking a question and you have to react accordingly. Hosting a kick-off show, that’s far more conversational. When you’re doing commentary, you’re talking in sound-bites. I changed the register of my voice so I could try and blend in with the men so that it wasn’t this higher-pitched voice kind of cutting in there." H/T Wrestling Inc
EXCLUSIVE: @ReneeYoungWWE reflects on her night at the #RAW commentary table and picks her favorite moment of the show! https://t.co/Q8t3SsUz6A
Since deciding to leave WWE in the summer of 2020, Paquette has continued to excel as a broadcaster, with her hit podcast The Sessions. She also hosts a radio show with former UFC Champion Miesha Tate on Sirius XM.
Renne Paquette did not enjoy being a commentator in WWE
In 2018, the Canadian broadcaster would become the first woman to commentate as part of the full-time announcement team on RAW. She joined Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary.
Despite this incredible career milestone, continuing her conversation with NBC Sports Boston, Paquette said she did not love commentating on the action in the ring.
"I just didn’t love doing it. I loved the opportunity of it, of course. It was such a huge opportunity. I’m so happy that I got to be someone to step in there to do that, that I got to make history, that I was afforded the opportunity to step in there to do that. I love that. But the actual job itself, I just didn’t love. I like hosting shows. I like being able to be myself and be a personality and I found that really difficult to do on commentary." H/T Wrestle Zone
Her time as a commentator for RAW didn't last very long. However, Renee's ability and drive to earn a spot as one of the lead voices in WWE truly highlights the undeniable talent and skill that she has as a broadcaster.