Report: WWE Expected to Bring Back “Talking Smack” to WWE Network After Smackdown

The return of Talking Smack is coming soon to WWE Network. PWInsider is reporting that Talking Smack is expected to return to WWE Network very soon, possibly this month. Mike Johnson of PWInsider phrased it by saying it “may be as soon as later this month.” That means either this Friday, August 21 after Smackdown or the next week, August 28 for the return.

Talking Smack was a popular post-Smackdown show that started in July 2016 when WWE did the brand extension due to Smackdown going live to Tuesday nights on USA Network at that time. One year later in July 2017, WWE decided to cancel the show.

Earlier this year in June when WWE launched the free version of WWE Network, they brought back Raw Talk, which has aired right after Raw on WWE Network (the free and paid version) for the last three months.

The reason fans loved Talking Smack is because the characters of Smackdown were cutting great promos that weren’t like what they were saying in the ring while others were getting a chance that didn’t normally get promo time. It also worked so well because Renee Young and Daniel Bryan (who was retired at the time) were excellent hosts that were easy to watch, funny when needed and they could be serious too.

The most memorable Talking Smack moment was in August 2016 when The Miz went on a huge rant against Daniel Bryan, who questioned Miz’s toughness among other things. It was a fiery promo from The Miz that felt real (like a shoot) and those kinds of things are so rare on WWE TV that is resonated very well.

There is no word on who the hosts of Talking Smack will be, but they could go with Renee Young in a hosting role and perhaps fellow announcer Corey Graves could be the other host. The Raw Talk has had Charly Caruso as the main host with different men like Samoa Joe, R-Truth and MVP as co-hosts at different times.

Analysis: It makes sense that WWE would bring back Talking Smack since Raw Talk returned in June. Frankly, I don’t get why it took so long.

I’ll miss Daniel Bryan’s Tout references. That’s for sure.