On the latest Notsam Wrestling podcast, Kayla Braxton talked about her journey to WWE, getting help from the NXT fans, working with Paul Heyman, the WrestleMania rain delay, horror movies, and more.
Kayla said she was not comfortable working as a ring announcer:
“I have to be honest with you, and I’m very open about this. Ring announcing is not something that I want to do. It’s a skill set, and I think I did fine with it, but it’s a very difficult job, and those that do it well every week are just incredible. They make it look easy, but it is not an easy job. Coming from a broadcast background, I’ve never used my voice like that. It definitely took some time to find my voice, but ring announcing probably is what helped me become a better host, like hosting The Bump. You learn how to go on the fly and interact with people. It definitely made me a lot quicker. I’m grateful for that phase of my WWE time, but I’m grateful that it is behind me now.”
Kayla on finding out she would be working with Paul Heyman on Talking Smack:
“I think at that time, I had already gone through four co-hosts at that point. I didn’t know Paul very well prior to being told he was going to be my co-host. One thing that I realized was, ‘Wow, if they’re putting Paul Heyman next to me on the show, they must really care about this show.’ You can say a lot about this Mr. Heyman, but he is brilliant. I have become a much better host because of him. Being able to go back and forth with him, my quick wit has gone up here. He’s kept me very sharp.”