7 Non-Wrestlers Who Make AEW and WWE Better

When you think of professional wrestling, you almost certainly think of the wrestlers first, but they aren't the only ones who keep the ship moving in the right direction.

All Elite Wrestling, WWE and every other major promotion around the globe employ an entire staff of non-wrestling people both on and off camera.

Producers, writers, coaches, commentators, ring announcers, managers and interviewers are just some of the non-wrestling talent who have a huge impact on the weekly programming.

Both WWE and AEW has tons of people who are valuable, but we wanted to take a look at a select few and what they bring to the table.

Renee Paquette and RJ City

When AEW hired Renee Paquette, almost everybody knew it was one of the best non-wrestling hires the new promotion could make.

Not only does she have the love and support of many fans after her years of work as a WWE correspondent, but she also brings her own style to backstage interviews that makes them far more entertaining than the usual segments we see in a lot of companies.

Having her host pre-shows with RJ City has become one of the great joys of watching AEW pay-per-views because of their chemistry.

And speaking of RJ, his Hey EW series has become must-see content on AEW's YouTube channel. The way he manages to make every interview completely different while maintaining a high level of humor is impressive.

Together, these two make up our wrestling aunts, and we couldn't have gotten a better duo.

TJ Wilson

TJ Wilson, known once upon a time as Tyson Kidd, is one of those people who is incredibly important to WWE without appearing on camera very often.

Anyone who was able to watch his career knows he was a talented in-ring performer, so it came as no surprise when he successfully transitioned into the role of a producer and coach.

Together with Natalya Neidhart, they have helped train many people you see on WWE television each week, but Wilson's contributions can also be seen in specific matches he is charged with producing.

The spinal injury that ended his in-ring career in 2015 was unfortunate, but he has been able to make lemonade out of those lemons by becoming one of WWE's best backstage talents.

Excalibur

Excalibur was new to many fans when AEW first launched, so it took time for some to get used to his style of commentary. But whether you enjoy his style or not, there is no denying his ability.

One of the many things he does well is rapid-fire rundowns of upcoming events. AEW will often have a dozen or more matches on every big show, so hearing Excalibur rattle off dozens of names in order while making almost no mistakes is impressive.

His other notable trait is his knowledge of countless wrestling maneuvers. He knows names for just about everything a person can do, sometimes in multiple languages.

His chemistry with Taz, Tony Schiavone and other members of the AEW commentary teams has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.

Excalibur is as much a part of the DNA of AEW as anybody.

Samantha Irvin

What can we say about Samantha Irvin that hasn't already been said countless times?

She has carved out a reputation for herself as one of the best ring announcers to pick up a WWE microphone by having incredible vocal power and by coming up with unique ways to introduce certain people.

Chelsea Green, Ricochet and the members of Imperium are just some of the people who have benefitted from her unique pronunciations.

When she introduces Gunther, she almost goes into a German-Austrian accent. When she calls Giovanni Vinci's name, she's much more enthusiastic. And when it's time for Ludwig Kaiser, she drops her voice and goes into a much smoother tone.

Irvin is also a gifted singer. Check out the video above to see her deliver an amazing performance.

Prince Nana

Managers are an important part of pro wrestling.

For developed characters, they can enhance a performance; for newcomers, they can assist in carrying the load on the microphone until the wrestler is better at public speaking.

Managers can interfere, take bumps for their clients and a host of other things that make them valuable, and one of the guys in AEW who does it the best is Prince Nana.

We all know the dance he does to Swerve Strickland's entrance music is funny, but his real value goes much further than that. He's not just a meme.

He has helped The Mogul Embassy by being the main talker, but when Swerve picks up a mic, Nana steps back and lets the future world champion do his thing while adding some enthusiasm in the background.

AEW was smart to lock Nana down and keep him active by having him manage multiple people. He is always a welcome addition to any segment.

Paul Heyman

Much of what we just said about Nana can also apply to Paul Heyman, but the WWE star has already reached legendary status as a manager/advocate/Wiseman.

Even if you put aside the fact that he ran ECW, the list of clients he has managed is filled with legends and future Superstars.

CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are just the tip of the iceberg. Granted some of his clients didn't exactly pan out, such as Ryback, but he has had far more successes than failures as a manager.

Across multiple decades, Heyman has been one of the guys setting the tone for everybody else. He is often imitated, but never duplicated.