Renee Young

Renee Jane Paquette (born September 19, 1985) is a Canadian television host and personality. She is best known for her time in WWE between 2012 and 2020, where she served as a commentator, presenter, and interviewer before ultimately doing backstage interviews and color commentary on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Renee Young. During her time in WWE, Young also appeared as a main cast member on the reality television series Total Divas. Prior to signing with WWE, she was a sports broadcaster for The Score Television Network.

Renee Young
Paquette in March 2015
Birth nameRenee Jane Paquette
Born (1985-09-19) September 19, 1985
Ajax, Ontario, Canada
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2017)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Renee Young
Debut2012

Early life

Renee Jane Paquette[1][2] was born in Toronto on September 19, 1985.[3][4] After high school, she applied to several colleges and began training in improv comedy.[5] At the age of 19, she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a comedic actress, but later moved back to Toronto and auditioned for films, music videos, and commercials there instead.[5] After becoming frustrated with her lack of auditions, she became interested in broadcasting instead of acting.[5]

Career

The Score Television Network (2009–2012)

Paquette began working for The Score Television Network in 2009 on a program called Right After Wrestling, later renamed Aftermath,[6][7] where she presented alongside broadcasters Arda Ocal and Mauro Ranallo as well as former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas.[8]

WWE (2012–2020)
Young in April 2014

Paquette signed with the American professional wrestling promotion WWE in October 2012,[9] where she was initially given the ring name Renee Sterling[10] before choosing the name Renee Young (a nod to Neil Young).[11] Her first appearance was as a co-host on the 2012 Survivor Series pre-show alongside Scott Stanford.[12] Young then debuted on the January 23, 2013 episode of NXT as a backstage interviewer.[13] She began performing interviews exclusively for WWE Active in February 2013.[14] Renee made her SmackDown debut on the March 29 episode, interviewing Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus.[15]

Young confronting The Miz in December 2016

Young began co-hosting the World Tour segments, which was a segment detailing the city they were filming in, showcasing various tourist attractions, before later being promoted as a third main presenter on the JBL and Cole Show, which was shown on YouTube and WWE's website, until its cancellation in June 2015.[16] It received a Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year.[17] She also presented WWE Vintage Collection alongside Gene Okerlund.[18]

In September 2013, Young made her commentary debut on NXT.[19] She began performing color commentary during women's matches, before later becoming a full-time color commentator on NXT for several months.[5][20] From July 3, 2014 to January 9, 2015, Young served as a color commentator on Superstars, alongside Tom Phillips, which made her WWE's first full-time female announcer in more than a decade.[21] In April 2015, Young began hosting her own WWE Network show, Unfiltered with Renee Young, in which she interviews fellow WWE employees.[22] In June, Young served as the co-host of the sixth season of Tough Enough, alongside Chris Jericho.[23]

On the December 20, 2016 episode of SmackDown, Young interviewed Intercontinental Champion The Miz following his successful title defense against Apollo Crews. After Young asked Miz about his "obsession" with Dean Ambrose, Miz sarcastically responded by revealing Young and Ambrose's real-life relationship, prompting her to slap Miz.[24] On December 27, Young was confronted by The Miz's real-life wife, Maryse, backstage on SmackDown.[25] Maryse slapped Young the following week in retaliation, for which she was fined.[26]

Young filled in for Jonathan Coachman as a guest commentator on the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw, making her the first woman to call an entire episode of Raw.[27] Young joined the Raw commentary team full-time the following month and became the first permanent female commentator on the program.[28] Beginning in October 2019, Young moved to SmackDown as a "special contributor" and began co-hosting the new studio program WWE Backstage on Fox Sports 1 with Booker T.[29] On November 1, 2019, Young filled in as commentator on SmackDown, as Michael Cole and Corey Graves missed the episode due to travel delays returning from Crown Jewel.[30] Young announced her departure from WWE at SummerSlam in August 2020, stating that the event would be her last appearance with the company.[31] Young explained that she left WWE because of the cancelation of WWE Backstage and that she felt that she had accomplished everything in WWE.[32]

Renee Young returned for a special SmackDown pre-show on Friday, October 16, co-hosting the kickoff show alongside Booker T as a part of the celebration of season two of SmackDown on FOX.[33]

Other media

Before joining The Score, Paquette worked for BiteTV, where she presented a show about extreme sports and music called Rippin' It-N-Lippin' It during 2008 and 2009.[5] She appeared in a commercial for Oxy and had a part in a Tom Green music video.[5] Prior to this, she had a cameo in the music video for Kelly Clarkson's 2005 song "Behind These Hazel Eyes".[5] She also appeared in a national Noxzema commercial and did a photoshoot for Toro Magazine.[34] In 2016, Paquette began appearing as a main cast member for the sixth season of Total Divas.[35] She had previously appeared in several episodes on a recurring basis. She also hosted the podcast Regular Girls with Stacy McGunnigle.[36] In 2020, Paquette began hosting her own podcast, Oral Sessions.[37]

Personal life

Paquette began dating American professional wrestler Jonathan Good (better known as Jon Moxley and formerly Dean Ambrose) in 2013.[38][39] They were married at their Las Vegas home in an impromptu ceremony in the early hours of April 9, 2017.[2][40][41] In November 2020, Paquette and Good announced that they were expecting their first child, a daughter.[42][43]

Paquette is a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team.[44] On being a wrestling fan in both her childhood and adulthood, she said, "I attended a few events and WrestleMania VI. My dad is a concert promoter, and he'd get me into the events. I remember being backstage and meeting Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Chyna, and Trish Stratus as a kid, so it's really funny to me that I ended up here. I went on a different path than wanting to become a WWE Superstar."[5]

In June 2020, Paquette revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19.[45]

Bibliography
  • Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously (2021)

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2020 The Main Event Herself

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Smart Woman Survival Guide Cute Intern Episode: "Go Big or Go Home"
2010 Gotta Grudge? Herself 8 episodes
2011–2012 Gillette Drafted Judge, mentor
2013 WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History Host
2014 WWE Countdown Episode: "Coolest Catchphrases"
2014–2020 WWE Music Power 10 Voice-over host
2014–2020 WWE Quick Hits Host
2015–2018 Total Divas Recurring (season 4 & 5)
Main cast (season 6)
Guest (season 7 & 8): 37 episodes
2015–2017 Unfiltered with Renee Young Host
2015 WWE Tough Enough Co-host
2016–2018 WWE Talking Smack Host
2016–2018 WWE Raw Talk Host
2017–2018 Total Bellas 4 episodes
2018 Miz & Mrs. Episodes: "A Simple Mizunderstanding" & "Proud Papa"
2019–2020 WWE Backstage Co-host

Web
Year Title Role
2013–2015 The JBL and Renee Show Herself
2013–2015 After Total Divas Herself

Awards and accomplishments

References
  1. "Wrestling Podcast 172 – Renee Young". Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. "Washoe County Search Results". Washoe Clerk Search. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  3. "Actress Renee Paquette puts laughs ahead of looks". DurhamRegion.com. February 5, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  4. "Toronto's Renee Young says being WWE's first full-time female commentator a 'cool opportunity'". Toronto Sun. September 14, 2018.
  5. Linder, Zack (January 9, 2014). "Exclusive interview: Backstage with WWE's broadcasting beauty Renee Young". WWE. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  6. Byer, Matthew (August 30, 2012). "Some thoughts on The Score/Rogers deal and how it affects WWE shows". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  7. Murphy, Jan (February 10, 2012). "Aftermath's Paquette blazing a trail that started in grade school". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  8. Nason, Josh (August 19, 2020). "Renee Young leaving WWE". F4Wonline.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  9. Dave Meltzer (October 13, 2013). "Sat. Update: First Punk vs. Ryback match, Rutten Box Office, 69-year-old legend still packs a whallop, previews of tonight's Bonnar & Fitch matches, WWE signs new announcer, new WWE DVD". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  10. Edge & Christian (May 11, 2018). "E&C's Pod of Awesomeness" (Podcast). Event occurs at 30:05.
  11. Chris Jericho (June 19, 2015). "Talk is Jericho – EP153". Talk is Jericho (Podcast). PodcastOne. Event occurs at 14:33. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  12. Johnson, Mike (November 18, 2013). "Complete WWE Survivor Series PPV coverage". PWInsider. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  13. James, Justin (January 25, 2013). "James's WWE NXT results 1/23: Tag Tournament begins, HBK appearance, Big E. in main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  14. "Renee Young Makes Raw Debut on WWE Active". Diva Dirt. February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  15. "WWE Names 10 Stars Who Were Ahead Of Their Time, Renee Young On Her SmackDown Debut". Wrestling Inc. March 29, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  16. Layfield, John (August 10, 2013). "JBL and Cole show with a host of WWE stars and why the show exists". Layfield Report. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  17. Nissim, Mayer (December 10, 2013). "Daniel Bryan wins Superstar of the Year at the 2013 Slammy Awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  18. Varsallone, Jim (March 28, 2016). "The Natural: WWE's Renee Young inspired by Chelsea Handler". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  19. Middleton, Marc (September 13, 2013). "Antonio Cesaro's Swing Featured On The Soup, Renee Young Does Commentary, Next NXT Tapings". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  20. Payne, Marissa (September 22, 2014). "Finally, the 'Divas' division gets some respect at WWE's 'Night of Champions'". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  21. Wortman, James; Pellegatto, Brian (July 3, 2014). "Renee Young joins the 'WWE Superstars' commentary booth". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  22. "WWE Network: WWE Unfiltered With Renee Young: "Seth Rollins" Sneak Peek (2:22)". WWE. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  23. "Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho, Paige and Daniel Bryan headline new season of WWE Tough Enough". WWE. May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  24. "Intercontinental Champion The Miz def. Apollo Crews". WWE. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  25. "12/27 WWE Smackdown LIVE – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report, including three title matches, John Cena's return". Pro Wrestling Torch. December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  26. Parks, Greg. "1/3 WWE Smackdown LIVE – Parks's Ongoing, Real-Time Report, including Miz vs. Ambrose for the I.C. Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  27. Gerken, Tom (August 10, 2018). "WWE: Renee Young to be first female commentator on Raw". BBC News. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  28. Campbell, Brian (September 10, 2018). "WWE names Renee Young the first full-time female member of its Raw announce team". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  29. Gartland, Dan (September 26, 2019). "WWE studio show hosted by Renee Young coming to FS1". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  30. "WWE Sets Announcers for 'SmackDown' in Wake of Saudi Arabia Delays". TheWrap. November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  31. Chase, Stephanie (August 23, 2020). "Renee Young confirms departure from WWE". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  32. "Renee Young explica el motivo de su marcha de WWE". Solowrestling.com (in Spanish). September 15, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  33. "Renee Young Returns to WWE SmackDown". essentiallysports. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  34. Deleo, Franco. "Renee Paquette – Toro Women". toromagazine. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  35. Maglio, Tony (November 15, 2016). "WWE's Renee Young Previews Goldberg-Brock Lesnar at 'Survivor Series'". TheWrap. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  36. "Regular Girls with Renee Young and Stacy McGunnigle". audioboom.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  37. Renée Paquette. "Oral Sessions". AudioBoom (Podcast). Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  38. "WWE's Renee Young Confirms She IS Dating Dean Ambrose!". MTV. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  39. "WWE's Dean Ambrose comments on dating Renee Young". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  40. "WWE's Renee Young and Dean Ambrose recently got married". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  41. "Washoe County Search Results". Washoe Clerk Search. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  42. Lambert, Jeremy (November 18, 2020). "Jon Moxley Reveals Renee Paquette Pregnancy On AEW Dynamite". Fightful. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  43. Juneau, Jen; Leon, Anya (November 20, 2020). "WWE's Renee Paquette and Jon Moxley Expecting First Child". People. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  44. "Dean Ambrose and Renee Young spotted at NHL game". WrestlingNews.co. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  45. Wallbank, Derek (June 25, 2020). "WWE Star Renee Young Says She Tested Positive for Covid-19". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
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