This WrestleZone Radio exclusive features Nick Hausman interviewing former WWE Smackdown & NXT commentator Rich Boccini (aka Rich Brennan).
You can find more info about the interview as well as some transcribed quotes below.
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On which commentator he felt he had the best chemistry with:
RB: I loved working with Jerry Lawler. I loved working with Byron Saxton. I worked with Byron every week almost on Superstars. I consider Byron a friend. I felt that there was kind of a natural chemistry and something there with Corey Graves and myself. As a two man team for sure. Having Byron in the mix was fun as well when we did the three man booth. For me, it was one of those things where Graves and I, again, I felt that we had something. If something works why change it? It is what it is. It was way above my pay grade as far as making decisions. I’ll repeat it one more time, I thought Graves and I had really good chemistry and I would have liked to have seen that go a little bit further.
On why the WWE commentators and wrestlers pick on Byron Saxton on TV:
RB: (Laughs) Well, somebody has to be the comedic foil. Somebody has to be the babyface and somebody has to be the foil. I played that role with Kevin Owens or the Social Outcasts. Even with Jerry Lawler. You’re kind of the straight man or you’re kind of the foil. That’s what that is. Byron is another guy who I think has a great personality, loves the business, is really enthusiastic. Why do they give him a hard time? Because he’s a likable guy. He’s easy to pick on. That’s really what it is.
In the rest of the interview Rich also discusses:
- What led to his WWE release and whether he was surprised
- Mauro Ranallo transitioning in to his role as WWE Smackdown commentator
- What it’s like to be produced via headphones while trying to commentate matches
- Who was producing him?
- WWE producers trying to get him to break on camera
- Not being allowed to use certain words and terms on WWE TV
- Having more freedom to call the action in NXT as opposed to Smackdown
- WWE NXT no longer be considered a developmental territory
- Whether the NXT Championship or the Intercontinental Championship is more important
- All of the NXT talent that has been called up to the main WWE roster
- Who he thinks he gelled with best on commentary
- Helping to get Corey Graves in to a commentary role
- Why the WWE is so mean to Byron Saxton on camera
- Some calls he made that riled up people on Twitter
- His plans for the future
- More…
You can listen to the full archives from WrestleZone Radio in the embedded audio player below:
