Kayla Braxton joined WWE in 2016 as a host and a ring announcer. Initially, she worked for the NXT brand, but just a year later, she started working on pay-per-views as a backstage interviewer. Eventually, she also started appearing on Raw and SmackDown.
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Even though Braxton was never a WWE wrestler, she was always quite popular. Most fans know her because she has interviewed many Superstars backstage in WWE. But despite being a regular face on WWE programming for many years, fans don't really know too much about Braxton.
UPDATE: 2024/06/26 17:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
Kayla Braxton is leaving WWE. After spending nearly a decade with the promotion, it was revealed that the popular personality would be heading in a different direction. Given this recent news and the big change in her career path, it only makes sense to take a renewed look at Braxton's life inside and outside of WWE, and what the future may hold for her. Although WWE fans might take less of an interest in her overall, there will be many fans she has made along the way who will keep up with what she does next in her life and career.
Kayla Braxton Parted Ways With WWE In 2024
It Was Revealed She Would Be Leaving The Company
- Braxton's last WWE show was revealed to be at Madison Square Garden
- She revealed she was leaving in a social media post
- Her time in WWE was 8 years
Kayla Braxton shocked fans in June of 2024 by revealing in a social media post that she would be leaving WWE. On Instagram, she confirmed she would be leaving after 8 years, and thanks the likes of Michael Cole and and Paul Heyman. She noted that she'd been offered some new opportunities and was excited to take what she had learned and use it elsewhere.
“After nearly 8 years holding the microphone on WWE television, I am setting it down to pursue my next chapter. Next week at the world’s most famous arena, I will be officially signing off."
Kayla Braxton Will Not Be Going To AEW
She Shut Down Rumours
- After it emerged that Braxton was leaving WWE, there were reports of her heading to AEW
- There were reported "talks" between the two sides
- Braxton blasted these reports
Like anyone who leaves WWE, there is always talk of them heading to AEW. The same happened with Braxton, with reports from the likes of Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio suggesting that she held talks with AEW - but this was apparently not the case. Taking to X, Braxton said that she would not be leaving the biggest wrestling company in the world to go to another wrestling company.
"The support from u guys has been overwhelming. I am so thankful for u. But I did wanna make 1 thing clear as I enter my final week in WWE: if I wanted to keep working in wrestling, I wouldn't be walking away from the largest wrestling company in the world. Nice try, rumor weeds."
Kayla Braxton Turned Down WWE In The Past
She Did Not Want Anything To Do With Wrestling
- It took some time for Braxton to come around to joining WWE
- Her past troubles had led to her disliking wrestling
- Her joining WWE was a big step un overcoming some trauma
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Once on Lilian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast, Kayla Braxton revealed that she initially said "no" to WWE. That's because her mother used to be in a relationship with men who were abusive towards her and many of them had one thing in common: they were WWE fans. Braxton said that the company was a trigger for her and she never watched it in her childhood. One of the reasons she eventually decided to join the company was to show those men how far she has come despite what they did to her. She also said that WWE has healed her a lot and that she has grown and matured there.
Kayla Braxton's Personal Life Has Been Brought Up On SmackDown
Braxton Has Had Several Troubles In Her Life
- WWE often blurs the lines between fiction and reality
- Kayla Braxton was the target of Paul Heyman's words
- Braxton's real life issues were brought up on WWE programming
Kayla Braxton has had a lot of ups and owns in her personal life. Most fans probably don't know but Kayla Braxton was raised in foster care in Alabama. When she was just nine years old, her mother was sent to prison. Braxton was abused by her mother's boyfriends and this really affected her. After going to foster care, she realized that she could have a positive impact on other kids so she started participating in public speaking competitions.
WWE haven’t been shy to include some of the hardships suffered by Braxton on television. During a backstage interview with Paul Heyman, a frustrated “Wise Man” took out his anger on Braxton and brought up family issues. Braxton would (kayfabe) hit back at Heyman on X, stating, “At least one of us in that interview knows the meaning of professionalism and class.”
She Was Happy With Her Other WWE Roles
- Many interviewers such as Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, and Renee Young have transitioned to the commentary desk
- Braxton doesn't think she'd be suited to the role
- She has never taken up the headset
Braxton has engaged in a variety of roles throughout her WWE career, but one thing she does not want to do is give it a go on the commentary desk. She discussed this on Busted Open Radio.
“They’ve talked to me about being on the commentary desk. I give so much kudos to commentators. That is a difficult, difficult job. I remember talking to Renee Paquette when she was doing it. Talk about a talented woman who could do pretty much anything under the sun. But it’s difficult, so I don’t think that’s gonna be my route”. (H/T POST Wrestling)
Kayla Braxton's First PPV Appearance Was Backlash 2017
She Didn't Get A Main Roster Call Up
- Braxton was an interviewer backstage at Backlash 2017
- She remained on NXT
- In 2019 she was officially called up
Kayla Braxton was a regular fixture on WWE’s weekly shows and on premium live events (pay per views), but it all had to start somewhere, and for Braxton her first PPV event was Backlash 2017. She was a backstage interviewer on this show, which featured matches like Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles, Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal, and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler.
For a couple of years, Kayla Braxton worked on both WWE’s main roster shows and on NXT, and it wasn’t actually until 2019 when she received her full main roster call up. She’d been working across all four shows in Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, and NXT, putting in the work and hours for WWE. Her replacement in NXT was Alicia Taylor.
Kayla Braxton Built Herself From The Ground Up
Braxton Studied For A Degree In Broadcast Journalism
- Braxton always pursued this sort of career
- She studied in broadcast journamlism
- She worked hard for the position she is in today
Kayla Braxton is someone who really did build herself up, putting in a lot of hard work to make a name for himself. Braxton has a broadcast journalism degree from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. In an interview with WWE.com, she revealed that even when she was in college, she was producing digital content for the internet.
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Just a few months after she graduated, she started doing even bigger things. She started her own weekly segment online covering TV and other entertainment, and very shortly it reached the top 20 market in the area.
Kayla Braxton Suffers From Sleep Paralysis
She's Been Open About Her Struggles
- Sleep paralysis can be a tough thing to do through
- Braxton is someone who suffers from it
- She has talked about her struggles with this condition
Kayla Braxton has been quite open about some of the more deep and personal details regarding her life, and one of those she revealed on Twitter not too long ago, revealing her life-long struggle with sleep paralysis, in which the brain is active but the body is still sleeping, with the individual not able to move their muscles, in addition to other scarier elements in regards to dreaming/nightmares too.
She explained that,”I’ve had sleep paralysis since I was a kid. Last night, a little girl ran in front of me before plopping on my bed. She just stared at me. I could hear her footsteps and feel her move. It was so real. But I couldn’t move or speak til I forced myself to sit up - then she was gone.” For someone in an onscreen capacity to open up about things such as this, it will no doubt help those who suffer from it too. She even recently got a tattoo to showcase her battles.
Kayla Braxton's Real Name Is Kayla Becker
She Changed Her Name For WWE
- Most names in WWE are gimmicked
- WWE kept her real first name
- She was born as "Kayla Becker"
Like many in WWE, Kayla Braxton is someone who also has a "ring name". Her real and "shoot" name, is Kayla Becker, which isn't too far away from her chosen WWE name. WWE often does this to ensure that they own the rights to a name that works for them, which makes sense. In recent years, this has seen WWE make some very unpopular and sometimes controversial changes to the names of their superstars, many of whom made a name for themselves under a different moniker.
Braxton's real life behind the scenes isn't something she has been silent about, also revealing to those online that she was biracial.
Kayla Braxton Is 33 Years Of Age
She Could Spend Years In The Wrestling Business
Date Of Birth | Place Of Birth |
|---|---|
June 7, 1991 | Wadley, Alabama, US |
Kayla Braxton entered the thirties club in June of 2021. She worked for WWE but since she's not a wrestler, age doesn't really matter too much in her job. Braxton only does the talking part, and she's quite good at that role.
She is now 33 years of age, with plenty of years left to give to whatever career she wants.
Kayla Braxton Has Had Some Embarrassing Moments In WWE
She Has Fumbled In Some Interviews
- Braxton's time in WWE hasn't always been smooth sailing
- Roman Reigns was attacked by scaffolding during an interview
- She blacked out during an AJ Styles interview
Every WWE star has that one moment in their career that they don't want to hear about. For them, it's just too embarrassing to even talk about it. Kayla Braxton has one such moment in her WWE career too. Although she's just a backstage interviewer sometimes, things can get weird working around WWE Superstars. One time, Braxton was about to interview Roman Reigns backstage when a scaffold fell on him. Braxton screamed for help and, according to her, this was one of her most embarrassing moments.
Another moment came during Kayla Braxton's first year on the main roster, not everything was smooth sailing, even after her time spent in NXT. During an interview with AJ Styles, she explained on the Out of Character podcast, that she had a kind of blackout live on air, in which she completely lost her train of thought and didn’t remember what she was supposed to do or say. AJ Styles, being the professional and veteran that he is, quickly noticed this and grabbed the microphone himself, before cutting a promo, completely distracting from what could have been a big flub. Braxton said that, “No one knew anything. That was terrifying. No one said anything, business as usual.”
Kayla Braxton Is Under 5 Feet In Height
She Is Quite Shorter Than Most Female Wrestlers
- WWE likes to have interviewers shorter than wrestlers
- Kayla Braxton is only 4'11
- Most wrestlers tower over her
Probably the first thing a fan would notice about Kayla Braxton is that she's quite shorter than most people around her. Those who don't know, she is only 4"11'.
When standing beside someone like Omos (who's the tallest wrestler in WWE), she looks really small. Again, it doesn't really matter too much because Braxton isn't a wrestler and that size difference doesn't affect her job.
Kayla Braxton Has Had Multiple Roles In WWE
She Was Chosen To Host The Bump & Talking Smack
- Braxton has done a lot in WWE
- Talking Smack is now canceled
- She is a trusted name to host WWE shows
Podcasts have become really popular in the last couple of years. Many wrestlers have their own podcasts or talk shows where they can talk about anything they want. Even WWE has quite a few and one of them is The Bump. Here, WWE Superstars tell stories of their life and talk about many different things. Kayla Braxton was a co-host of WWE The Bump.
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Braxton also took up the reins from Renee Young, being chosen as the host of Talking Smack when WWE still ran the show. She could also be seen on pre-shows for WWE PLEs.
Kayla Braxton Seems To Still Be Single
Braxton Isn't In A Public Relationship
- It can be hard keeping personal life private when in the public eye
- Braxton has not revealed herself to be in a relationship
- She has been open about her sexuality
Even though Kayla Braxton is quite vocal on social media, she doesn't talk about her personal life too much. Although she did once reveal that she was engaged in 2016 but called off the wedding. In 2020, Braxton tweeted that she had been spending the last four years alone on Valentine's Day. And while she was linked with many wrestlers, she never confirmed her relationships with any of them. So it's safe to say that Kayla is still single.
In 2021, Braxton revealed that she was bisexual, though some hate led to her temporarily stepping away from social media.
