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Last year, WWE Raw announcer Renee Young made history when she became the first female to join the Raw commentary team on a full-time basis. Since her debut, Young has called the action on Monday nights alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves.
Despite many fans enjoying the unique voice Renee Young brings to the commentary team on WWE Raw each week, Young has received her fair share of criticism from a group of fans who feel the former NXT announcer is underperforming on WWE's flagship show.
Over the weekend, Young herself tweeted that she agrees with the assessment that she is "not great" on Raw commentary, admitting,
“Here’s the truth. I know im not great on commentary, but it’s my job. I try to get better each week. People love to tell me how bad I am at it as if I think I’m great at it. So I should just quit? What would that say about me? Not easy to learn a skill on a gigantic global tv show.”
Given the above statement from Young, let's take a look at five reasons why her performance on WWE Monday Night Raw is not her fault.
#5 Her dialogue is too scripted
WWE fans have often criticized the company for overly scripting talent promos, and the same can be said for the main roster commentary teams.
Pay close attention the next time a WWE camera closes up on the commentary teams during a broadcast, as their thick scripts should be evident, and many times you can actually see the announcers reading from their scripts during shows.
Some talents are better at making scripted lines sound natural, and while the announce team's commentary is not completely scripted, Renee Young's forte does not seem to be delivering the promotional style content which is likely written out for her by the creative team.
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#4 She is overly produced on the headset
Although Renee Young has not publicly spoken out on being overly produced on the headset, it has been a common complaint from past announcers, including Hall of Famer Mick Foley.
The headsets worn by the WWE commentators are a direct line to Vince McMahon, and talents like Foley have revealed in the past that Vince is in the ear of the announce teams throughout any given broadcast of Raw or SmackDown Live.
With Vince oftentimes screaming directions, line readings, and corrections into the announce teams ears, it can be very difficult to concentrate while doing commentary in WWE, or to develop a unique voice. Some announcers, such as Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and Corey Graves, have been able to develop their own "voices" in WWE despite the constant producing by officials, but it appears as if Renee Young has yet to find that voice.
#3 The commentary team is too crowded
For years, fans have been complaining that the three-person commentary team is too crowded, and that opinion appears to be proven on a weekly basis.
On WWE Raw, Michael Cole provides the play-by-play commentary while Corey Graves interjects his opinions with color commentary. On the SmackDown Live side of things, Graves again helms color commentary, with Todd Phillips playing the role of the play-by-play announcer.
The two distinct voices on Raw and SmackDown are enough, but WWE has decided to complicate things by adding a third voice to the equation, with Renee Young on Raw and Byron Saxton on SmackDown.
As is often the case, Young and Saxton's voices are drowned out by the other two commentary team members, and more often than not Young and Saxton are left with little of value to contribute considering all the information is being covered by Graves, Cole and Phillips.
#2 The WWE commentary teams are too cookie cutter
If you watch WWE Raw and SmackDown Live consistently, you can tell that both commentary teams are produced to mirror each other, and each announcer's role is similar to that of the opposite brand's counterpart.
In the case of SmackDown Live, you can hear Tom Phillips using many of the same verbiage used by Michael Cole on Raw, because Phillips is produced to mirror the style of Michael Cole's commentary. With Cole acting as the announce team manager, so to speak, it's easy to understand why he and Phillips sound similar.
Since Corey Graves appears on both Raw and SmackDown Live, he has no counterpart, leaving Renee Young and Byron Saxton to be produced similarly.
The cookie-cutter nature of the announce teams on both Monday and Tuesday nights has withheld Renee Young from really expressing her true voice on WWE Raw.
#1 Corey Graves appears on both brands
Corey Graves has a leg up over color commentators such as Renee Young and Byron Saxton, as he appears on both WWE Raw and SmackDown Live, allowing his voice to develop on both brands in WWE.
Graves' main job on the announce team appears to be consistently battling Michael Cole and Tom Phillips, and the dynamic created often leaves very little room for Renee Young and Byron Saxton to contribute.
Often times, Graves and Cole can be heard trading barbs on Monday Night Raw, and Renee Young chimes in with a generic phrase in response to Graves' heel remarks. The remarks feel less like Young's inability to do her job, and more like the inability for her to work her way into conversations which are taking place between Graves and Cole.
If Renee Young was allowed to utilize the skills which made her a great backstage personality on WWE TV when she is at the commentary table, her job performance on Monday nights would likely improve greatly.
How do you feel about Renee Young's commentary performance on Raw? Let us know in the comment section!
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