WWE Backstage is a curious show. It’s technically set to have it’s premiere on November 5 on Fox Sports 1. However they’ve been airing half hour ‘previews’ on FS1 for the last couple of weeks, and it’s different if nothing else.
Essentially, it’s a studio show paneled by Renee Young, Booker T, Christian and Paige, and of course involves other special guests, where they analyze WWE’s shows ESPN-style. But it also has a tendency to break the fourth wall, which is interesting. I wouldn’t call it a ‘shoot’ show, but it definitely exists on a slightly different plane of reality. It’s basically late WCW style where it veers in and out of kayfabe at random.
For example, they’ll generally treat angles, matches and feuds like they’re legit. But then they also see no issue with having a weekly segment called Promo School. They also integrate wrestling slang quite awkwardly, perhaps the most glaring example being when the narrator – the same distinctive deep voice that did Raw and PPV adverts for years – referred to Finn Balor’s ‘shocking heel turn’. It’s jarring to say the least, and honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it.
Doing stuff like that on the Network doesn’t bother me too much, but there’s something odd about having it on live TV, directly after SmackDown goes off the air. It’s just playing with the fourth wall a lot more than they need to I think.
But anyway that’s not what the title of this article focuses on…
John Cena and Rob Gronkowski have been announced to appear November 5th.
Cena has had shockingly few appearances for WWE over the past year. In fact they can pretty much be counted on one hand. For the first time since 2004, he didn’t have a match at WrestleMania not through injury or any other circumstance, but completely by choice. They just, didn’t book him for Mania. Plans for a rumored bout with Lars Sullivan fell through after an anxiety attack nixed his debut, and then… nothing. Cena has also been conspicuous by his absence at several Raw and SmackDown episodes that were meant to be gangs-all-here style specials, though he did appear at the Raw Reunion.
It’s funny that we now live in a world where an announced appearance for John Cena is not only big news but frankly a little surprising.
As for Rob Gronkowski, he is of course a famed tight end for the New England Patriots, probably the biggest name tight end in the history of the position. Due to his athleticism and big personality he’s among the many athletes whose names are frequently floated around to one day become a WWE superstar, and he has flirted with the idea. He’s notably a close friend of Mojo Rawley’s, and actually helped Mojo win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal two years ago.
It’d be the peak of speculation to assume his appearance on WWE Backstage is meant to be leading to anything in particular… but you never know. It’d be a neat time to announce it if he were indeed about to transition to a role in pro wrestling.
