411’s WWE Backstage Report: Charlotte Flair Hypes WrestleMania, Rock vs. Austin WrestleMania XIX Watch-Along

-Well, this was a pleasant surprise as WWE Backstage is back from hiatus. It’s no secret I am a fan of the show and it’s nice that it’s back even in a modified form with everyone working from home. It’s just nice to have something that seems normal in a time like this. Plus we can see if Moxley shows up again (I would assume no).

-Show Opening!

-Renee Young welcomes us as she is live (I think) from her home. She introduces her co-host, Booker T, and we also have Paige and Mark Henry as well. Each is joining from their homes (Paige has a giant Pikachu in her home) and this could be kind of chaotic, but lets hope the technology holds up. Renee informs us that The 1 Hour Preshow for each night of Mania (starting at 6 PM) will be on FS1. That’s kind of cool and thankfully each is only an hour long.

-They show the close of Heyman’s awesome promo last night as he promises Drew will be Brock’s bitch. Paige is excited to see Drew cap off his journey and also puts over the greatness of Paul last night. Booker hopes each guy is taking this match seriously and he is anticipating how this WrestleMania is going to turn out. Mark thinks this Mania will bring out the performer in everyone as they have to project to the camera with no fans in attendance. They can’t feed off the emotion of the crowd and have to find that energy on their own. Paige talks about how you would wrestle in front of 3 people when you started and that is basically what you have at Mania with just the camera crew being around.

-We go back to RAW with Edge delivering the goods with his promo. It was a running theme last night as everyone killed it with their go home promos. Christian joins us from quarantine to talk about Edge’s promo. He thinks that the lack of an audience has brought out the passion in both guys. He likes that each man has their own version of grit and he agrees that Orton is putting in his best work because Edge is back. He loves the personal issue and can’t wait to see the match. He finishes by telling everyone to stay safe.

-Mark talks about how Edge has been gone long enough that some fans don’t know what he can bring to the table. He is glad that Edge is back and says it is good to have another major player back in the fold. Booker takes a shot at Christian for having photos of himself all over the wall in his home. Nice!

-RAW again and this time Taker kills it with his promo and it was fantastic that he brought up his wife had the same finisher as AJ. Renee talks about Taker putting Booker over in his promo and he jokes that he has been around. He thinks that AJ has also brought the best out of Taker and he can’t wait to see what they can do. Paige thinks AJ has taken a page out of Samoa Joe’s book and made this personal. She also puts over how everyone killed it the last few weeks with their promos and Renee says that the promos have become personal without the fans. Mark thinks AJ will be seeing the inside of a coffin and talks about the difference with facing Taker vs any other big name superstar.

-Commercials!

-WrestleMania Moment: WrestleMania 35: Becky Lynch wins the RAW and SmackDown Title by pinning Rousey to cap off the first Woman’s Mania Main Event.

-Charlotte Flair joins Renee and Page via video for an interview. Renee asks what Charlotte remembers from last year. She knew she had to do exactly what got her there and resist the urge of trying to do more just because it was the Main Event. She knew the moment was bigger than the three of them. Paige has chills just listening to Charlotte as she thinks back to them meeting in FCW. Paige wants to know Charlotte’s favorite WrestleMania moment. She picks the match with Asuka at Mania 34 as she felt she needed to prove something being in their with Asuka. She feels that night took her to the next level.

-Renee asks about working without the crowd and Charlotte has found it shows how good of a performer you can be. You have to pull from your own emotions and if you have to only rely on an audience that’s going to be a problem. Paige wants to hear her thoughts on Mania being 2 days this year. Charlotte jokes that Manias have felt like 2 days anyway. Preach, but I’m one to never turn down seeing more wrestling. She thinks it will give the talent more time and give an opportunity to more talent to do something on the show. Renee wants to know about the match with Ripley this weekend. She feels Ripley challenging her is her way of saying NXT is equal to RAW and SmackDown. For Charlotte it is a way to take her career full circle and it’s just cool that the Rumble winner is facing off for the NXT Title. It shows how far the brand has come and it blows her mind. Paige is also blown away as she can’t believe the NXT Title is being defended at Mania. Charlotte mentions she spoke to NXT UK talent when it opened and she told Ripley she could do anything she put her mind to. Now a year later she has come from NXT UK to Mae Young Classic and to NXT Title. She knows Ripley can perform under pressure and thinks she can hit another level with her at Mania.

-Commercials!

-WrestleMania Moment: Rock vs Hogan at Mania X-8. Just amazing and my favorite match to watch. The hulk up to Hogan hitting the leg drop is just jaw dropping with the heat and reaction from the crowd. I think I am going to watch this again when I finish here.

-We get Austin vs Rock at Mania XIX next with Renee, Booker, and Mark Henry watching along. This could be interesting, but would be cooler if they could have gotten Rock (not happening) or Austin to join them. Booker talks about being in the Main Event that night with HHH. I mean, I believe they hyped 4 matches as the Main Event that night (World, WWE, Austin/Rock, and Hogan/McMahon). That show is easily the most stacked card in Mania history as Jericho/Michaels was a mid-card match. They all mark out over Austin’s entrance and FS1 blurs out Austin’s middle fingers as he makes his entrance. Booker calls these two being in the ring poetry in motion and Renee mentions this was Austin’s last entrance ever as an active wrestler.

-Mark talks about the injuries Austin had coming into the match and we get brief periods were nobody says anything because they are enjoying the match. I can’t blame them! Mark mentions that Steve has a ton of pride and he wanted to perform at the level that his peers would respect. He says that Steve was still Steve on that night, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it much longer and why he got out when he did.

-Renee wants to know Mark and Booker’s thoughts on working with The Rock. Booker says you had to bring your A game with both guys and talks about the ass whipping he got in a grocery store from Steve. Mark brings up that Rock was filming Walking Tall around this time. The Rock told him that he would emulate working matches in a warehouse on an empty floor. Renee cuts Mark off before he can continue as we head to a commercial.

-Commercials!

-We are back with the match continuing as Rock is beating on Austin on one of the announce tables. Renee asks Booker about the psychology of doing a series of big time matches like Rock/Austin did for 3 different Manias. He says you just have to remember you’ve been there before, but then give the fans something different. Mark says that JR was at his best during this match and helped put over the story they were telling. He thinks JR deserves as much credit as those in the ring. He also says that this match and series helped elevate both guys.

-Booker says The Rock is the most beloved guy in the business, but is able to flip the switch and make the fans hate him. He says The Rock did that better than anyone. Renee brings up the role reversal that Austin/Bret did at Mania 13. Booker loved being the ultimate bad guy and good guy. They all laugh and mark out at The Rock putting on Austin’s vest during the match. Henry says that is what The Rock could do as he could make anything possible in the match come off as great where for others it would be cheesy. Booker continues to laugh at Rock wearing Austin’s vest for as long as he did in this match. Mark feels this match can stand up against any other match in Mania history and says it just as pivotal as Andre/Hogan at Mania III. Ok, let’s not get carried away here! I love this match, but it’s not even the biggest Rock/Austin Mania Match.

-Rock hits Austin with a Stunner and Mark goes crazy over the reaction from the crowd. Booker talks about the adrenaline both guys are feeling at this point from the fans and it is carrying them to another level. Austin hits a stunner and Rock’s sell is still amazing. Mark asks if anyone has ever taken a better stunner and Renee jokes that Saxton did. Booker says that Byron sucks! Fantastic! This match is just reminding me how amazing heel Rock was during this run. Rock misses the People’s Elbow on the first go, but hits it soon after, but Austin is out at two. The panel discusses setting the hook for the fans and getting them hooked on the false finishes. Mark brings up a good point as they won’t have a crowd there on Saturday and Sunday to get hooked with false finishes.

-Austin kicks out of another Rock Bottom and Rock’s bug eyed sell of disbelief is beautiful. Renee is just marking out as she talks about having goosebumps watching this match. Booker says he hasn’t watched Mania XIX since that day and he had to go back and watch this match to prepare. The Rock finally gets the win after a 3rd Rock Bottom.

-They toss to Rock’s Instagram talking about the match. It was Austin’s last match ever and he still gets goosebumps. He thanked Austin at the end of the match and told him he loved him. Austin said the same and Rock left to leave the ring to Austin as it was his final match.

-Commercials!

-GRONK and Mojo were named Grand Marshalls for NASCAR I-Race this Sunday on Fox Sports.

-Everyone on the panel is back as they discuss Cena returning this weekend. Mark is curious to see what a Firefly Fun House match entails. Booker echoes JBL as he calls Cena, Big Match John. They touch on Shayna vs Becky and Paige says there will be a new champion this weekend. Mark also wants to see a new champion.

-They hype the pre-shows this weekend on FS1 and we are out for this week!

-Obviously they had to find things to stretch this one out to an hour and watching a previous Mania match with Booker and Henry giving their thoughts was fine. I’ve said in the past I am a fan of guys discussing their matches, and this was interesting enough. It obviously would have been better with either Rock or Austin involved, but Booker and Mark were in the company at the time and are more than qualified to discuss the match. Overall it was a decent show and like always Renee did a good job of holding everything together. Again, it just nice to have the show back and I suspect next week they will have more to discuss with Mania fallout.

-As a heads up The WWE Network is dropping a lot of content this week and I will be covering WWE Untold: Angle vs HBK, Chronicle: Drew McIntyre, and WWE 24: Edge all this weekend so keep an eye out for those. As always thanks for reading and stay safe out there. Now for me, I am going back to The Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy.