WWE Backstage premieres on Fox Sports 1!

WWE Backstage premieres on Fox Sports 1! And with major news! Triple H is here to give us all the word on the “blockbuster” trade in the WWE Draft!

Renee Young and Booker T are ready!

Big Papimania is coming for King Bookah, but that’s just good ol’ fashioned playing around. The WWE Draft wrapped up but there is MAJOR news to discuss! Paige and Christian will be on set to discuss the apparent trade coming. And Renee sits down with Cain Velasquez to discuss his official WWE contract!

Renee and Booker sit with Captain Charisma and the Glampire!

Christian loves the introduction he gets, but he is jelly of Booker’s two Hall of Fame rings. And Paige is love that Renee plugs Fight With My Family, go get that for yourselves. This is live and already feeling GOODT. To jump into things, we get a quick rundown of the week in WWE.

Bayley gets a new hairdo, a new attitude, and a new reign on SmackDown as the Women’s Champion! The Viking Raiders are Raw’s Tag Team Champions after defeating Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler. Seth Rollins burned down the Fun House, Velasquez vowed to scar Brock Lesnar again, and all the picks of the Draft are in! The Man and the Big Dog took the first overall picks, while it was natural for the Universal and World Champions to stay on Raw and SmackDown, respectively. How does the panel feel? Paige’s favorite pick is the Kabuki Warriors, her girls! Christian loves the balance on both brands in all phases, and is sure all the champions are ready for new challenges and challengers. Booker T is a big fan of SmackDown’s choices, from Bray to Strowman to Roman. But USA and Raw got The Man, the Viper, the Architect, and a lot of young, strong talent like the Raiders and Ricochet.

But what were the true value pick?

Paige sticks with Asuka and Kairi Sane, because now they have the WWE Women’s Tag titles and a big new attitude. Christian says the steal was Samoa Joe to Raw, and The Fiend Bray Wyatt to SmackDown. The Fiend could be a generational talent now that he has this new, darker gear. Bray is fearless but instills fear, he captivates the audience. Booker is reminded of his ability and hunger in Ricochet. Ricochet has all that, his reputation preceded him, and now he could take this company on his back. A major endorsement from the Hall of Famer!

What does it feel like to go somewhere new in the Draft?

Well you’re the new kid in school, having to start over with a new group of people. There is uncertainty, but also some excitement. Christian studied hard, and knows there are horizons waiting for a lot of the superstars. Booker T knows all about starting over, overcoming challenges, and proving yourself.

Moving on from the Draft…

The Women’s Champions stay where they are, but one in particular has a new attitude to fit her new look! Yes, we’re talking Bayley going bad, bad, bad! Heel Bayley made children cry, so she must be doing something right by being so mean. Paige loves this! No more ponytail, no more wacky waving inflatable tube men, it’s best for Bayley. Christian likes how she’s throwing off caring about fans, this will help her go to new levels. Booker likes the no frills, no glitter gritty side.

BREAKING NEWS: Bruce Prichard is now in charge of SmackDown!

A man with fingerprints all over wrestling and a great eye for talent, he will be a great spark for SmackDown on all levels.

WWE Backstage welcomes Triple H via video call!

The first show has the man behind it on as the first guest! HHH is happy for Renee and Booker to be a part of this, it’s all very exciting. An unstoppable tag team, if you will. Talking Draft and “blockbuster” trades, Booker didn’t think we’d also get a big management change like Bruce Prichard come about? HHH isn’t sure himself, but he is excited. Prichard has been a key figure in the industry for 40 years, and being in charge of SmackDown, he’ll bring it into the realm it needs to be in order to be worthy of Fox. Prichard will do great things, is already making big moves, HHH likes it.

As alluded to, what is this trade? HHH has the scoop. Prichard’s first big move is… Bliss-Cross are back on SmackDown! The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions are back on the blue brand, and there will be some considerations for Raw’s future picks. The SmackDown Women’s Division gets the Goddess and the Loony Lass back, what will be their impact?

With Velasquez VS Lesnar and Tyson Fury VS Braun Strowman, Booker wants to know if HHH sees a trend coming with more combat sport crossover. HHH says that trend is already happening. Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, even Muhammad Ali back in the day. Ronda Rousey made a huge transition from UFC to the WWE, her career only getting bigger now, it shows all other combat athletes can make the shift if they want. Matt Riddle and Shayna Baszler are prime examples within NXT, and now we’ve got Fury and Velasquez, things could only get bigger. Renee and Booker thank HHH for his time, HHH appreciates being part of this and is ready for NXT tomorrow night.

Living legends give us a throwback!

Shawn Michaels and Sting talk Randy Savage VS Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania III! It is a prime coaching example of ring action that tells a story. Solid action, story, psychology and pacing, it was truly iconic, even ahead of its time.

Paige and Christian return to also talk Savage VS Steamboat.

That match truly stands the test of time. It was the match that made Booker T want to enter pro-wrestling. Steamboat and Savage gave us an immortal moment for all time.

Austin wants One More Match?!

Stone Cold wouldn’t mind one last match, but who would it be against? #BookIT says Austin needs someone that will get up time and again to push Austin and make him look great again. That man for Booker is Dolph Ziggler! The Show-Off is a legitimately underrated talent, he can do the job. Paige wants in, and says aside from herself to have a chance to wrestle her hero, it’d be Kevin Owens. Owens has adopted the Stunner and now he could test it against the man who mastered it. But Christian says it should be AJ Styles! The Phenomenal One never has a bad match, even in losing, and the encounter between him and Austin is what sparked this conversation, after all. Will the Texas Rattlesnake dust off his boots to face one of those three? Or someone we don’t even see coming.

That’s gotta be Cain!

The Butcher is here to beat on The Beast again, on behalf of La Familia. Renee Young sat down with both Velasquez and Rey Mysterio to learn more about this grudge match nine years coming.

Velasquez is living a childhood dream being in the WWE. He and Mysterio started this bond because of wrestling, and they each followed each other’s careers. There was a fated connection there all along. Velasquez’s reaction to this transition is that he actually gets to interact with the fans. Mysterio says Velasquez is a natural in feeding off that energy already.

Lesnar’s face told the story when Velasquez appeared on SmackDown. The “little kid knows he got in trouble.” Lesnar has treated professionals roughly, but he crossed a line going after Mysterio’s son, Dominick. Now Velasquez will teach Lesnar a lesson. Crown Jewel will be different because Velasquez is learning how to blend his style with professional wrestling. They know how Lesnar fights, they just need to find all the counters. This feels like their fight in 2010, and Velasquez is just as laser focused now as he was then. Velasquez will be on SmackDown this Friday, will Lesnar be there to confront him?

The Architect really did Burn It Down!

Seth Rollins was Raw’s top pick for night two, but he wasn’t done with that. He went to new extremes when he suddenly invaded the Firefly Fun House and set the set ablaze! Not sure how he even found Bray Wyatt’s strange little hideout, but the real concern is Rollins’ stability. WWE made sure Rollins took a psychological evaluation with FS1 host and apparent therapist, Rachel Bonnetta.

Rollins enters Ms. Bonnetta’s office for their session. She starts this session with a selfie with him. She has been thinking about him ever since meeting last session. That’s nice…? She is apparently more than just a fan… Rachel is a little reluctant to ask about Rollins’ relationship with Becky Lynch, but she assumes it’s going fine. Yeah, it’s going great, actually. Moving on, would he say he’s misunderstood? Probably. He might not even be sure who he is. He seems in a good place to her, but maybe keep coming back. She feels something here. He should see her as much as he can. Okay… Don’t get up, he can see himself out. She lets Rollins go, and cuddles up to where he sat on the therapy couch.

Back to the studio!

Renee warns Rachel not to mess with The Man’s Man. But Seth Rollins tweets he’d like to see that.

But back to business, we start a segment called the Hot Tag! It is the lightning round to discuss the events of the week. And first up is of course when Rollins literally burned it down in the Fun House! This new dark side is great for Paige. She feels the catchphrase is cheesy but it fits. Keep up the good work, buddy! Paige has time to spare. Christian makes Firefly Fun House into a tongue twister before moving on to the Street Profits and their scrap with the OC. Booker T takes this one. Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, two guys with talent and skill. They’re in the big time, they’re looking for a third man, tag Booker in! And he fits that just with extra time. Christian takes the third subject, Paul Heyman arranging Raw so that the love triangle of Rusev-Lana-Lashley plays out on TV.

Christian got deja vu watching some of these segments *cough* Edge-Lita-Matt-Hardy. But not to throw anyone under the bus, he’s intrigued. There was a lot of downtime for all three superstars, was something exposed? Is Rusev all show and no go? Booker and Paige are also intrigued, but we move on to talk legit sports. Game 4 of the ALCS is Wednesday on FS1, get ready!

Time to go to Promo School!

You need to be just as good on the mic as you do in the ring! And in this segment, the panel will test if pro-athletes from other sports can keep up with the great ones. Tonight, Adam Jones of baseball fame steps up to the plate. He and his friends cosplayed wrestling icons, and Jones chose Virgil! It was an easy enough outfit to do, and it was a lot of fun just being part of that audience that night. Christian suggests he could’ve gone Million Dollar Man. His other advice is confidence. That mic is part of you, believe what you’re saying, right down to the “cockles.” Paige would like to see some cockles. But don’t over bury your opponent. If you actually give some respect to your opponent, it makes you look all the better.

Time to begin! Booker T gives Jones his prompt as he makes a classic Booker T entrance onto the stage. Booker stares Jones down and Jones couldn’t help but step back. Give it to him, Jones! “One of the most decorated superstars this sport has ever seen.” From singles titles to tag titles to the Hall of Fame. But Jones isn’t here for gold. He’s here for blood! Booker can give us One More Match, Hell in a Cell, for all the titles! Jones thinks they can, he feels Booker wants it, but can Booker’s body do it? Booker’s response? Jones did pretty good.

The panel gets their pens out to give a score… Renee puts 6. It was believable. The energy could be more, but he gave it back to Booker just as hard. Christian gives a 17! This is out of 10 but there’s an exchange rate. The real score is 7, but he did as Christian said: believed! No need to yell or scream, just make your point. Paige went with 5. Psych! This was for Booker. The real score is an 8 on just the confidence! Booker might want to pop off. Booker finally gives a real response: cutting a promo is about intent. Booker came out ready, the world champion, feeling all of his “romping stomp, grave-digging destruction!” Player to player, Pac-Man Jones! No, Adam Jones. The musician? No, the baseball player. He doesn’t have one ring, let alone two. Does he suck? YES! Booker will send Jones crawling back to the Diamondbacks. Now can you dig that, SUCKA? OOF! Even Jones has to respect that lesson.

Superstars talk their favorite finishers.

The Rock Bottom is of course up there. Mustafa Ali has to admit, the RKO is a classic. And he would know, he’s taken some good ones recently. Big E goes with the People’s Elbow, because out of context, it’s “so ridiculous.” Randy Orton has to go with the Pedigree, a move he has taken many times, too. But Xavier Woods goes with the Tombstone Piledriver, and Carmella loves the Stone Cold Stunner, “of course.” Renee agrees with Ali, the RKO is jsut too good. BOoker T prefers his Book End to the Rock Bottom. Christian votes for his own Unprettier.

Time for some Social Media SmackDown!

In other words, some random mean tweets. BOBCAT19448198 says Paige blocks people for seemingly no reason, “Overrated for doing nothing!” Paige tells Bobcat that this is going to be short and sweet: guys like him are why she blocks people at all! People talk crap but would be kissing up in person. Baby boy, this is ALWAYS her house! Booker T serves up one for Renee! BlackMacGyver says “You know you suck at your job when you can ruin a Stone Cold Stunner!” Ouch! Renee wants a close up. When has she called such a move? NEVER! She barely called KO matches! She got “let go” from that job, but has this job now! She’ll be making it rain Fox money, babyyyy~! Paige helps Renee to a Spinarooni! And with that, get ready in November when WWE Backstage is going non-stop, week to week! Good night, everybody!

My Thoughts:

Well, this was an interesting experience. First, the major news wasn’t that major. Bliss-Cross going back to SmackDown without a Raw superstar or free agent lined up to match just tells us all that they realized too late that SmackDown had barely any women on it who could contend for a singles title. And even then, I’m not sure if Alexa and Nikki continue as the one SmackDown team to face the Kabuki Warriors or not. What happened to the IIconics? Then the rest of the show tried to blur the line of kayfabe and reality, which really only ended up being them hopping back and forth from one side of that line to the other. They used terms like “Heel” and “Face” and all of that, it was really confusing what this show is about. Is it about talking about the business the same way, well, sites like ours does? Or is it supposed to be to kayfabe what Sportscenter and Fox Sports programs are to regular sports? I hope they decide when this show actually gets going. I probably won’t be watching, though, this was just to see about that “blockbuster trade.”