WWE Backstage is set to be the new talk show on the FOX Network and is set to premiere next month. Renee Young and Booker T have been announced as the hosts of the show but things could have been a lot different.
According to Dave Meltzer, Jim Ross was called by FOX Sports to be a part of the show. However, the WWE Hall of Famer turned down the offer as he is now a commentator for All Elite Wrestling.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter have made it clear that FOX are the ones running the show and not WWE. CM Punk also confirmed that he auditioned for a role after it was made clear that it had nothing to do with WWE officials.
WON report: “FOX is in charge of the show, not WWE. The idea is for it to be like UFC Tonight. We’ll see as we’ve never seen a WWE product acknowledge the type of things UFC Tonight did (such as lawsuits against the company, fighters unhappy with money, discussions of unionization, percentage of revenue going to fighters–then again WWE wrestlers are afraid to say anything about money for fear of their push whereas UFC fighters who are good are more open to say what they are thinking even though most are careful).
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"To show how much it’s a FOX call, Jim Ross was offered a spot on the show. Ross turned it down, for obvious reasons, but the fact he’d get an offer was telling.”
FOX are doing all they can to promote WWE and SmackDown on their channels, with Bray Wyatt even doing a weather forecast segment on the news channel! Friday Night SmackDown premieres tonight on the FOX Network and a lot is expected from it.
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