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Kayla Braxton

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Kayla Braxton
Birth nameKayla Becker
Born (1991-06-07) June 7, 1991 (age 33)
Wadley, Alabama, U.S.
Alma materBelmont University (BA)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Kayla Braxton
DebutDecember 21, 2016
RetiredJune 28, 2024

Kayla Becker (born June 7, 1991) is an American sports broadcaster. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she worked as a backstage interviewer under the ring name Kayla Braxton.

Early and personal life

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Becker was born in Wadley, Alabama, on June 7, 1991. She is biracial.[1] When she was nine years old, her mother was sent to prison; she subsequently grew up in a foster home. As a teenager, she participated in public speaking competitions. She graduated from Belmont University with a degree in broadcast journalism. During her time in college, she started creating online content and had a few digital entertainment shows for her school and around Nashville, Tennessee. Six months after she graduated, she began hosting her own entertainment web and TV segment in the top-20 television market in Orlando, Florida.[2][3]

On March 4, 2021, Kayla revealed that she is bisexual.[4]

Career

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WWE (2016–2024)

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In October 2016, Becker signed with the American professional wrestling promotion WWE and was given the ring name Kayla Braxton.[2] She debuted on the October 20, 2016 episode of NXT held in Lakeland, Florida as a host and ring announcer.[5][6] She appeared on her first pay-per-view as a backstage interviewer during Backlash on May 21, 2017, and followed it up with appearances at Battleground 2017, SummerSlam 2017, Hell in a Cell 2017, and more PPVs.[7][8] While working as a ring announcer on NXT, Braxton appeared on Raw, 205 Live and SmackDown where she would act as a ring announcer and backstage interviewer. She permanently left NXT on April 17, 2019, to the main roster and was replaced by Alicia Taylor the following week.[9][10][11] Braxton was a backstage interviewer on SmackDown and co-host of The Bump. Since August 22, 2020, she has been the host of Talking Smack, which at that point was renamed to SmackDown LowDown, alongside Paul Heyman.[12][13] On June 22, 2024, Braxton announced that she will be leaving WWE after the June 28 episode of SmackDown.[14] On July 1, Braxton's profile on WWE's website was moved to the alumni section.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Upton, Felix (January 14, 2019). "Kayla Braxton Fires Back at Fan For Calling Her "The Whitest Black Girl" He's Ever Seen". Ringside News. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Byron Saxton (April 20, 2017). "Exclusive Q&A: Inside Kayla Braxton's journey to WWE and NXT". WWE. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "Kayla Braxton". WWE. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "WWE star Kayla Braxton comes out as proudly bisexual moving Twitter post". PinkNews. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Fernandes, Steven (October 20, 2016). "NEW TALENT DEBUTS AT TONIGHT'S NXT EVENT, NEW ROLE FOR SHAWN MICHAELS, WWE DECLARES DIVIDEND". PWInsider. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Twiss, Andrew (October 21, 2016). "ASUKA VS. EMBER MOON, SANITY, WOMEN'S BATTLE ROYAL, GARGANO, SWANN, CIAMPA, ARIES AND MORE: 10/20 WWE NXT IN LAKELAND, FLORIDA LIVE REPORT". PWInsider. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Salgado, Sebastian (May 21, 2020). "WWE Backlash 2017 – Kickoff: Video, coverage and results – Superfights". Súper Luchas. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Salgado, Sebastian (July 23, 2020). "WWE Battleground 2017 – Kickoff: Video, Coverage and Results – Superfights". Súper Luchas. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Moore, John (April 17, 2020). "The Bella Twins Explain Reasoning Behind Attack On Ronda Rousey (VIDEO)". Prowrestling.net. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Ryan Satin (October 8, 2018). "The Bella Twins Explain Reasoning Behind Attack On Ronda Rousey (VIDEO)". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Jeremy Peeples (August 21, 2018). "WWE 205 Live results: Lucha House Party vs. Murphy & Nese". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 21, 2020). "Talking Smack To Return On 8/22, Xavier Woods And Kayla Braxton To Host". Fightful Wrestling. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Morgan, Nick (September 5, 2020). "9/5 WWE TALKING SMACK: Kayla joined by Xavier Woods, Alexa zones out as she twirls her expanding dreds, Jey talks about Heyman and facing Reigns, Cesaro talks about relating to Big E's frustrations". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Brennan, Corey (June 22, 2024). "Kayla Braxton Announces She Is "Signing Off" From WWE Following 6/28 SmackDown | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Mukherjee, Subhojeet (July 1, 2024). "Kayla Braxton Moved to Alumni Section After WWE Exit". Ringside News. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
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