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ECW Original Francine went down the events of NXT 2300 and reviewed it on the latest edition of her podcast, Eyes Up Here with Francine:
During the episode, Francine revealed that WWE's John Cone originally contacted her to be the referee for the Hardcore Match between Lola Vice and Jaida Parker , something she could not due after undergoing multiple surgeries that left her core weakened. This led to WWE bringing in Dawn Marie, giving her the chance to make her first appearance for the company since 2005.
The night before the show, WWE NXT Head writer Johnny Russo sent Francine word she would be a backstage interviewer in segments, but Francine had lost her voice while appearing at the Rhode Island Comic Con that weekend. Francine offered to pull herself from the show, but instead, WWE had her film a cameo at ringside before the 10 woman tag team main event.
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Francine's podcast issued the following:
This week on the Eyes Up Here with Francine Podcast (powered by iHeartRadio), ECW's Francine commented on her recent appearance on NXT's 2300 Arena event. "The Queen of Extreme" shared about her experience the original plans for the night pitched to her by WWE's Talent Relations representative, John Cone:
"Hi Francine, this is John Cone from WWE Talent Relations. We crossed paths back i 2006 when I was a referee for the relaunch of ECW. I have something I want to run by you if you have a minute, 'We'd like to know if you would be available to be the special guest referee for one of the matches. It would be with the NXT talent Jaida Parker and Lola Vice."
"I then talk to my husband, and he said, 'Did you not forget about the five surgeries you've had on your abdominal?' 'Well, yeah.' 'Do you really think you can be quick enough with the way these girls work.' These girls are good, and they can work. 'Do you think you can get down and get the false finishes and run around?' I was like, for me, because my core is so weak, just lifting myself up getting into the ring is slow. I was like, 'I guess I'm not going to be able to do it.' I contacted John the next day and I explained what happened to my stomach."
On an alternate plan pitched to creative:
"I pitched an idea about me being a guest timekeeper. I thought of a spot I could do with one of the guys on the card. He said, 'Thanks for the suggestion, I'll send it to creative, Then I get a text the following Tuesday, this is the night before, I hadn't heard anything for two weeks and I'm thinking, 'I'm booked, I think, but I have no idea what I'm doing. On Tuesday, they send me a script to be a backstage interviewer. I go, 'Ah, I can't do this.' My voice is shot. It was bad. He's like, 'Did Johnny Russo get with you about tomorrow?' I said, 'I haven't heard from him, I wasn't contacted since last week, I don't know anything about tomorrow.' This is at nine the night before. "Johnny Russo texts me at 10 with the script for the backstage stuff. I type back, 'Johnny, I'm so embarrassed to say this. I have no voice. I don't have a voice.' It just wasn't going to work. I literally say, 'If you want to pull me off the show, I totally understand."
"A couple of the boys were like, 'You can sit front row. That's what they do with a lot of the legends.' I said, 'Do you still want me to come even though I can't talk?' He's like, 'We'll figure something out tomorrow. Let's see how you are in the morning and go from there. We could have you sitting in the crowd or being a timekeeper. We'll make it work, don't worry.' I did offer to stay home, but at that point they put out the opening and they put me in the opening of the show. I guess it was too late to pull me, or they thought I should be there, which I was appreciative of that."
The response from fans following the NXT event:
"Looking back at socials and seeing some of the old school fans mad and saying, 'They could have done something more with you than just stuck you in the crowd.' Yes, they could have, but it was me who couldn't do it. I just wanted to make that perfectly clear. Would I have liked to have done more? Of course. I would have loved to have an entrance and walked to the ring and did something. It just wasn't in the cards for me. Just being included was enough for me.
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