Renee Jane Paquette is a Canadian-American television personality working as a backstage interviewer for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She was previously known for her time in
WWE between 2012 and 2020, where she served as a commentator, presenter, and interviewer under the
ring nameRenee 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.
Early life
Renee Jane Paquette[2][3] was born in
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.[4][5] After high school, she applied to several colleges and began training in
improv comedy.[6] 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.[6] After becoming frustrated with her lack of auditions, she became interested in broadcasting instead of acting.[6]
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.[17] It received a
Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year.[18] She also presented WWE Vintage Collection alongside
Gene Okerlund.[19]
In September 2013, Young made her commentary debut on NXT.[20][unreliable source] She began performing color commentary during women's matches, before later becoming a full-time color commentator on NXT for several months.[6][21] 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.[22] In April 2015, Young began hosting her own
WWE Network show, Unfiltered with Renee Young, in which she interviews fellow WWE employees.[23] In June, Young served as the co-host of the
sixth season of Tough Enough, alongside
Chris Jericho.[24]
On the December 20, 2016, episode of SmackDown, Young interviewed
WWE Intercontinental ChampionThe 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.[25] On December 27, Young was confronted by The Miz's real-life wife,
Maryse, backstage on SmackDown.[26] Maryse slapped Young the following week in retaliation, for which she was fined.[27]
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.[28] Young joined the Raw commentary team full-time the following month and became the first permanent female commentator on the program.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31] Young announced her departure from WWE at
SummerSlam in August 2020, stating that the event would be her last appearance with the company.[32] Young explained that she left WWE because of the cancelation of WWE Backstage and that she felt that she had accomplished everything in WWE.[33]
Post-WWE work (2021–present)
Paquette, as 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.[34] Paquette made a special appearance on the return of WWE Backstage, for the January 30, 2021, episode, promoting the upcoming
Royal Rumble, with her returning co-hosts
Paige, and Booker T.[citation needed]
In 2021, Paquette began her own podcast Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette (later renamed The Sessions with Renee Paquette).[citation needed] In addition to the podcast, she created her own
YouTube channel to accompany the audio episodes in the form of video clips, and full podcast episodes, under the channel name of Renee Paquette.[35] In September 2021, she also began hosting a show on
Sirius XM with former
Strikeforce and
UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion
Miesha Tate called Throwing Down with Renee and Miesha.[36]
All Elite Wrestling (2022–present)
On October 12, 2022,
Tony Khan confirmed via his social media account that Paquette had signed with
All Elite Wrestling (AEW).[37] She made her debut the same night on Dynamite.[38]
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.[6] She appeared in a commercial for Oxy and had a part in a
Tom Green music video.[6] Prior to this, she had a cameo in the music video for
Kelly Clarkson's 2005 song "
Behind These Hazel Eyes".[6] She also appeared in a national
Noxzema commercial and did a photoshoot for Toro Magazine.[39] In 2016, Paquette began appearing as a main cast member for the sixth season of Total Divas.[40] She had previously appeared in several episodes on a recurring basis. She also hosted the podcast Regular Girls with Stacy McGunnigle.[41]
Personal life
Paquette began dating American professional wrestler Jonathan Good (better known as
Jon Moxley and formerly Dean Ambrose) in 2013.[42][43] They were married at their
Las Vegas home in an impromptu ceremony in the early hours of April 9, 2017.[3][44][45] In November 2020, Paquette and Good announced that they were expecting their first child.[46][47] Their daughter, Nora Murphy Good, was born on June 15, 2021.[48][49][50]
Paquette is a fan of the
Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team.[51] 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."[6]
In March 2021, Paquette announced that she became an American citizen.[52][53] In May, she released her cookbook Messy in the Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously.[54]
Paquette, Renee (2021). Messy in the Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously. Permuted Press.
ISBN978-1-64293-930-9.
References
^"Renee Young". WWE.
Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
^Edge & Christian (May 11, 2018).
"E&C's Pod of Awesomeness" (Podcast). Event occurs at 30:05. Archived from
the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
^Chris Jericho (June 19, 2015).
"Talk is Jericho – EP153". Talk is Jericho (Podcast). PodcastOne. Event occurs at 14:33.
Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
^Powell, Jason (October 12, 2022).
"Renee Paquette signs with AEW". ProWrestling.net.
Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2022.