This morning (Oct. 1), WWE announced a new addition to their on-screen team. Canadian journalist Jackie Redmond currently covers hockey, but she’s a lifelong pro wrestling sports entertainment fan. She’ll join Matt Camp as the permanent co-host of WWE’s weekly post-shows, Raw Talk and Talking Smack.
The company’s write-up on their new addition includes an overview of her CV, and a quote from the new hire:
“As someone who grew up on Stone Cold Stunners and Rock Bottoms, I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am to join WWE,” said Redmond. “There is nothing quite like the WWE Universe and I am so grateful for the opportunity to engage with the most passionate and dedicated fans in sports entertainment every week on Raw Talk and Talking Smack.”
A sportscaster with more than 10 years of experience, Redmond currently serves as a host and reporter covering hockey for both the NHL Network and Turner Sports. She previously spent six years as an anchor for Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, covering all sports as a reporter and hosting a variety of studio programs, including Sportsnet Central and WWE Aftermath.
Redmond began her professional career by winning “Gillette DRAFTED 3: The Search for Canada’s Next Sportscaster” on the Score Television Network in 2011, becoming the only female winner in the show’s five-year history.
One thing that stands out to me is that Redmond’s background sounds a lot like another former WWE Aftermath host who turned out to be one of the best non-wrestling personalities in company history, Renee Paquette, fka Renee Young.
We don’t want to set the bar too high, though. Redmond, who debuts on this week’s Talking Smack, might face a bit more of an uphill climb. The Raw and SmackDown post-shows have been stripped down to relatively bare bones operations over the past several months. We’ll see if the new hire can add some personality to what’s become a pretty standard clip show.
Gonna check out Jackie Redmond’s debut on Peacock and WWE Network after the Draft?
