During this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Renee Young went backstage to do an interview with Shinsuke Nakamura to cover both his loss to AJ Styles in a Last Man Standing match at Money in the Bank and his mixing it up with Jeff Hardy. The role of backstage interviewer in WWE isn’t just to ask questions and get answers but help build the character and push the story along while being entertaining.
She is fantastic at all of the above, and she showcases it in this interview.
It starts with her brilliant reaction to Shinsuke responding with “what is a loss” when she prompts him for an answer on his defeat to Styles. She is so entirely fed up with his “no speak English” bit. Then, he says he does understand and she nods her head, content that he’s finally going to give her a real answer. She even leans in, giving him her complete attention as though she’s legitimately captivated by what his answer will be.
When he says he lost because the referee counted too fast and he didn’t count in Japanese, she almost smiles before her shoulders seem to sag a little as she realizes, once again, that he’s being an idiot.
It’s all this that helps get Nakamura’s character over in a way it wouldn’t if she wasn’t there, being so damn good at her job.
But the best part of the interview comes next, when she is 100-percent done with his shit. She asks for his reaction to Jeff Hardy’s comments from earlier in the evening and Nakamura responds with “who?” Fed up, she says Hardy’s name again, loud and slow to make sure he hears it and understands it. “No need to yell,” he replies. She slumps again, shakes her head, and looks down in frustration.
I laugh every single time.
This is a minute long interview and it’s fantastic both because Nakamura’s new heel character is incredibly entertaining and because WWE has someone as talented as Young to work off him and help get it over.