Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Kayla Braxton On Paul Heyman Feud, R-Truth, The Rock's WWE Return, Leaving The Bump

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

Kayla Braxton (@kaylabraxtonwwe) is a broadcaster signed to WWE where she works as a host and backstage correspondent. She joins Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about how she got her start working on TV in Orlando, her childhood dream to play in the WNBA, getting hired by WWE, learning about pro wrestling on the job, her on-screen feud with Paul Heyman, why she insists that she is 4'11.5" tall and that her Wikipedia page should be updated, hosting The Bump and her decision to leave the show, being backstage for The Rock's return on Smackdown, what the atmosphere was like in Chicago when CM Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series and much more! Quote I'm thinking about: "If you’re willing to do things others aren’t willing to do, you’re going to get results others aren’t going to get." - Tony Robbins Sponsors: MYBOOKIE: Bet on WWE! Get up to $200 cash bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 25% ZBIOTICS: Get 15% off with the code CVV and have a better morning after you drink at http://zbiotics.com/cvv FITBOD: Get 25% off when you use the code INSIGHT at http://fitbod.me/INSIGHT BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com GHOSTBED: Get 40% of your purchase with the code CVV at http://ghostbed.com/cvv MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are go. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van. Are you, my friends? Welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Thanks for being with us. And thank you for making Insight, one of the top wrestling podcasts on the planet.

And it's because of people like you who show up each and every episode. No matter who's on the show, I'm just so appreciative that you find these conversations as interesting as I do. Please hit that follow button. If you haven't already, it helps the show so, so much. And as the show continues to get bigger,

the guests will continue to get bigger. So I'm sitting here in Orlando right now. Maybe you saw my post on social media. I flew here to record six interviews in two days. So I may have reposted a behind-the-scenes shot of one or two of those. So if you check me out on Twitter, Twitter or Instagram. You'll get a little sneak peek of what those are. So actually, you'll be seen the first one on Tuesday. So there, there you go. This Tuesday will be the first of the

interviews that we've recorded here in Orlando. And I know you're probably thinking, oh, man, who lives in Orlando? I mean, the answer is like pretty much every pro wrestler lives in Orlando. So there's a lot to choose from here. But you will not be disappointed with the interviews that we have next Tuesday and Thursday. And then my goodness, or into the new year. I feel like 2023 just flew by. It's crazy. This interview today for today's episode is one that we shot in our studio in L.A.

And look, you know how talented Caleb Raxton is. From her backstage interviews to the bump to hosting the pre-show panels, she brings it every single time. And I met her. I'd been following her on social media for a while, but I met her in Chicago at Survivor Series. I bumped into her there and I was like, I would love to have you as guest on my show.

Where do you live? She goes, I live in L.A. And I said, oh, my gosh, I live in L.A. too. Let's make this happen. So it was so good to be able to just chat with her about how she got her WWE job. And it was so interesting to hear that her dream job when she was growing up was to play in the WMBA. And then she's like, yeah, but I'm four foot 11. and a half, which is very important.

She's not 4 foot 11. Like the internet says, she is 4 foot 11 and a half. Give her that half inch. But we talk about her time in WWE, her feud with Paul Heyman, The Rock's Return on Smackdown recently, so many other things to get into. If you enjoy this,

please snap a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening. Tag us so we can share it as well. She's at Kayla Braxton, WBE.E. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And here we go. Enjoy this conversation with Kayla. Oh, great socks.

They are donut socks. I like it. Thank you so much. Oh, wow. Donut just put you in a great mood. Oh, man, with the dad jokes right out of the door. Yeah, there'll be nonstop. You got another one for me? You'll have to see. Oh, what's a dentist's favorite time?

2.30. 2.30. I'm a newfound dad, so I've got... Oh, listen, I got you. Please. Yeah, and our referees started. something called Total Zebras. I helped them launch that because we all of me and Jason Ayers and Dan Inglow loved Dad Jokes.

So I was in one of theirs last year. They're going to revamp it in the new year. So I highly recommend if you're a Dad Joke fan to follow Total Zebras. Can you remember one from what they did from that bit? I did it in maybe Toronto. So we were outside the, what arena do we do there? The Scotia Bank Theater, Scotia Bank Arena. And I was around the hockey players in the front.

Yeah, yeah. What was my joke? I think I said. Why do hockey players like baking? I don't know. Because they're great at icing. This is so good. Thank you.

You can never be in a bad mood when you're hearing a dad joke. No. If you are, then you suck. These are such tall heels. Thank you. I'm not five feet, but today it just felt like a day that I wanted to be five feet. You seem, I mean, you're quite a bit taller than I am, so. What is your official height?

Well, okay, there's a whole thing about that. I'm 4.11 and a half. But when I was very vocal about this because Wikipedia has me as 411. Why is your height on Wikipedia? Well, is everybody's height? My height's not on there. Oh, well, maybe if it's just, you have an abnormal height, it's on there. Okay.

So I told the internet, can some, I don't know how to do Wikipedia or change things. So they thought it would be funny to go in and change it to like 4.9. So for a while they put me at 4.9, but they refused to give me my 0.5. So you want your Wikipedia. height to be four, 11 and a half. Yes. Why not round up? I try that.

People call me out on it. I'm just trying to be honest. You don't want to be in the five foot club? I would love to be in the five foot club. People look at me and they're like, no, you're not. Hey, maybe one day. Yeah, maybe one. I'm in my 30s, but hey, by 40s, we'll hit five years.

You'll hit another growth spurt at some point in time. I don't know. Maybe you do some yoga and stretch things out. Okay. I don't know. One of those, like, torture machines that, like, stretch your body out. Maybe. Yeah.

I think if those worked, there'd be a lot of short dudes that would be trying that stuff. is going to, after this episode aired, I promise you, someone will fix this Wikipedia entry. I hope so. Four 11 and a half. If you put five feet, I won't be mad. No, it's, it's going to be fixed. There's enough people watching us that know what they're doing. Good. This is going to be fixed. Do it. That'd be the best Christmas gift. So glad we could do this in person here in L.A. How long have you been in L.A.? Everyone has an L.A. store. Yeah, it's just past a year in Los Angeles. Hey, congrats on your L.Aversary. Thank you. I just made that up. I liked it. I made up a lot of L. I was calling it, California for a while.

Hey. My name is K-A-Y-L-A, but the last L.A. Yeah. Oh, that's good. I mean, I feel kind of an imposter, but I was trying. You're able to live anywhere because I feel like people with WWE either live in Connecticut, but they live in Central Florida. They live in Orlando.

That's a great thing about my gig. I've been in the company now for over seven years. Yeah. The first couple years, I was in Orlando because I was working at N-X-T at the Performance Center. But now I can live wherever I want as long as I'm near a major airport, and that goes for most of us. So I was like, there's never going to be a time in my life where I can just get up and go. And WWE was so supportive of me coming out to L.A.

I was living in St. Petersburg, Florida beforehand. So, yeah, I was like, why not? So what's the goal here in L.A? Because everyone comes out here. And they're like, I want to do. Yeah. I think I just wanted to, it's a lot of opportunity out here. I wanted to grow, obviously, within the company and also looking for other opportunities to do, like, some crossover work.

I love entertainment and celebrity. news. And that's kind of where my career started. So where else, what better place to go than Los Angeles? And the way WWE has been so good lately about bringing in celebrities. And we're realizing how big the fan base is in the entertainment world. So the whole idea was me to come out here, be on the red carpets. I'm sure, you know, we'll cross some paths now that we're back, back rocking and rolling on premieres and stuff. So I saw you at the premiere for, what was that movie called? The J-Lo movie. Oh, oh. You were there, too, Zeus. The J-Los. The J-Ler. movie. Yeah, Jennifer Coolidge was in it.

Yes. I freaked out when I saw her. Oh, my gosh. Why can't I remember the name of this thing? I feel bad. Oh, we have all the world's information here. Hold on. We will figure it out here. Hmm. Great movie. Yeah, it was a really fun movie. And it was called shotgun wedding. Shotgun Wedding. There we go. I saw you at the premiere for shotgun wedding. We sat in the same row. Oh. How good was that after party, too? That's what I was so fun. Like, right on Hollywood Boulevard. And we were just like casually hanging out with Jennifer Lopez and Ben and Coolidge.

I didn't get that close to them. I kept inching closer and closer. Okay. And then what happened? Security started inching closer to you? They started pushing me further and further away. But yeah, I've seen you at a few things. I thought you might be at the Iron Claw on Monday. I know. I was not there, but I'm so excited to see. I'm hearing it was absolutely incredible. Yeah. And your friend John Cena was there? Friend John Cena. Could see him, but he heard. We heard that he was there. I love that you use that when you sat down with him. I had to do it.

He had no idea I was going to do it. And John and I have only met a handful of times. He doesn't know how hilarious I am. So I wasn't sure how it was going to be received. And, of course, he had a great time with it. So what a great guy. I feel like that joke has, I think John Cena's already so incredibly popular and talented. That joke has like taken it like just that much like one level up.

That's what he said. It's like my specific joke. Well, we even said that. He said the longevity of this. joke. He said it's insane that it's stuck around for this long and people continue. It's going to be around forever. It's wild. It's great.

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Oh, yeah. So I studied broadcast journalism in college. I minored in sports broadcasting. I really wanted to be a sports report. Before that, I wanted to play in a WVE. NBA. Let me just start there. Okay. I played basketball through high school. It was my favorite thing and I wanted to cover it one day. Back to me not hitting five feet tall. It just wasn't realistic. So the next best thing was let's be a sports reporter. But my first job out of college ended up being

an entertainment and travel hosts. You can't be picky when you're right out of college. And it was an awesome opportunity in Orlando. And I did that for a couple of years. If you're ever on YouTube, people at work pull me aside all the time and they're like, was that you giving a tour of the Cinderella Castle, like, look it up. It does not look like me, but it was like 15 years ago. And it's like the main thing. You'll see if you want to see inside the Cinderella Castle, it's 22-year-old Kayla showing down. What outlet is this you were reporting for? This was for NBC, the local NBC affiliate, West 2 News in Orlando. Look for you to be in a market like that. It was the coolest gig ever. I mean, I was so like persistent with the news director.

Hey, kids who are looking for jobs, you know, be persistent and take initiative. I was just harassing him on every outlet. So what are we talking about? Just sending lots of emails. calls. What are we talking? So I went through LinkedIn. Is LinkedIn still a big deal now? I think so. I bet on that time. Like it was like popping. So I was like looking up news directors. I wanted to work in Orlando. So in Florida. So it was just email and news directors. And Bob Longo, Bob Longo, if you're listening to this, I love you. He's the reason for my career. The job posted was a traffic reporter job. And as I told you on the way over here, I'm very navigationally challenged. And when I told my dad, I was like, I'm going to go. audition to be a traffic reporter. He goes, Kayla, we live in a town of 500 people and you need your GPS to get to the gas station. Like, you're trying to get people to work on a busy day.

That just should be a criminal event. I failed miserably. I tripped and fell on the green screen. It was one of the most embarrassing moments ever. For your audition? Yeah. Oh, oh. So, and Bob Long goes a straight shooter. He's like, Kayla, we love you, but you sucked. This is not going to work out. So I was defeated, went back and moved in with my parents. Oh, that's such a hard thing you do when you're, you know, sometimes you got to do it. And then this job listing hit for this brand new position called the Orlando My Way reporter and the gig was to go around central Florida and just show people what's fun to do, whether it's bars, restaurants, theme parks. And so I reached out. I said, I want this job. And he's like, you're not qualified. We have like 20

other people who are. Sorry, it's not going to work. But if you're ever in Orlando swing by. And I did. I was in town. And then I always said, I never heard about the job. One random day I got a call from an unknown number. And he goes, hey, Kayla's Bob Longley, we got the job. We'll send you over the details. Click. What? I mean, I don't even know why.

I found out why later. I was very cheap and I could shoot and edit all my stuff. Hey, but that's a good thing to know. Yeah, honestly. Like where as money has as you can. Right. Produce, edit, report. All of it.

Yeah. So, yeah, I did that for two years. And it was amazing. And I definitely prepared me for this gig. And even Michael Cole says, like, the stuff he saw me do there is what he brought me here for. Kind of be like that. fun entertainment girl. But I'm just so fascinated that that was the thing that led you to WWA.

Because I think a lot of people think, oh, in order to get to WWE, you've got to know the ins and outs of WWE and how many championships every single person has won and the location of all 39 WrestleMania's. And you're like, no, I didn't really watch wrestling before. And I was very open. I'm still very open about that. And I think that also was a kind of a positive thing, too, because I didn't, coming in fresh, being able to be molded into something that they do want me to be.

Yeah, you don't have to unlearn things. Exactly. It also didn't come in like superstar struck. You know, like someone big could walk by, be like, I don't know, you know. Obviously, you know who Randy Orton is, but back then maybe I wouldn't have, you know? Sure. So, yeah, it's wild. And at the time, I was like, I'll do this for a year and see what's next.

And year eight. We're going on year eight. Wow. And I love it. Congratulations. Thank you. How did you even find the gig? Actually, someone within the company reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested.

Yeah, a former employee who I knew outside of work asked if I wanted to work with WWE. And initially I was like, I'm good. Like, no, thanks. I was still chasing that entertainment travel gig. Yeah. But then growing up, like one thing my grandfather always told me was like he always used a term unexpected opportunities and how you just need to grab them because you never know where it's going to lead. And that was kind of like my drive to do it.

I was like, you know what? I can do it for a year. It's going to be great on my resume. I'm going to learn a lot, meet a lot of people. There's no downside here. And then it was not even six months. And I was like, I am obsessed with this place. It's so cool.

I think you've gotten more opportunities with WWE than you ever would have got if you went down the entertainment. Like if you were working for E or Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight, I feel like you're getting way more opportunities here. Oh, without a doubt. And again, the whole term sports entertainment, I'm getting the best of both worlds. I get to do the sports thing. I get to do the entertainment thing.

I've worn almost every single hat you can possibly wear in WWE. I've grown. Yeah, I mean, there's no way. And, you know, I have friends, no, you know, not disrespect, but like friends who are with the other path who are just kind of more stuck in a lull because they're pigeonholed into the one specific thing and not being able to grow. Yeah, there was a, you know, like I've worked in entertainment news my entire career. There was a time when people used to turn on the TV at 730 and watch entertainment news to find out what happened today. And then, you know, the internet really came into, you know, what it is now. And there's, why would I watch a show in the evening when I could just pull up my phone and go, oh, that's the latest with the celebrity.

Exactly. Exactly. Quick TikTok search and you got all your stuff. TikTok search function is so good. It really is. I love me some TikTok. So what did your WWE audition look like? So when I came in, I was a ring announcer. People tend to forget that I ring announced for my first several years. Give us a little. No, absolutely not. I retired. I hated it so much. I always say this.

The ring announcers, I mean, Samantha, which by the way, freaking incredible, she's going to be historical in this company. But people don't give ring announcers, I think they credit they deserve a lot of times because they're just this voice of God. That is the hardest job I've ever held. When I say I hate it, it's not because I didn't like think it was a great gig. It terrified me. It is a very difficult job to do.

In what way? Well, I'm a TV person, so I'm used to it to camera. This is to crowd. I have extreme stage fright in front of people. Like, that is a fact. I have a hard time with people. And then you have to memorize all those things, like the weights, the hometowns, the monikers, everything. It's just a lot put on the ring announcer, and they make it look so freaking easy.

And then using your voice that way, I don't, that's not my, I can't talk like that. I think people also forget how much of a part of the actual presentation of the entrance that is. Yeah. Like how much that that is a moment in the entrance in itself to get the crowd involved. Absolutely. It's, yeah. So I give so much kudos to all of our ring announcers. But it wasn't for me.

And I told them I'll be the best ring announcer I can possibly be for you as long as you want. But I made it very clear. I would like to, I'm a journalist at heart. I want to like be able to be that here and like host shows. Like I did the bump for the last four years. Yeah. And they were very open to that. And Michael Cole has been instrumental in getting me to where I wanted to be in

WWE. And when the opportunity came up, the bump, they came to me and asked me if I wanted to host it. And then that, like, revived my career here. That was, like, the coolest thing I could have ever done. So your actual audition, like, oh, I didn't even answer your question. ADD. My actual audition was at the Performance Center. And we were given, like, a script on how, like, to host a live event or, um,

a live event show. So to come out, welcome the crowd. Almost like an MC. Like for anybody it's never been to a live event. Yes. So that was kind of the audition process. Okay.

Instead of like the camera stuff. Which if anybody's only been to Raw or SmackDown, that position really doesn't exist. So this is, yeah, this is like a totally like a live event type of thing. Yes, 100%. So you're welcoming the crowd, letting them know what to expect and there's giveaways.

Is that? Yeah, like a giveaways, merch, just whatever. I'd have to do some interviews. But I will say like, I'm so glad. Not all the announcers that are hired now have to go through

the performance center. I'm so grateful that my generation of announcers like me, Mike Rome, we might be the two. I think there was Greg at that time too. Yeah,

but the two there are still here that were, yeah, I think it's just us. But we talk about how glad we are that we had to go through that performance center era

because I think that's why we're still here and like thriving because we learned how to do every, we could do any, you could throw, oh, Byron.

Byron, uh, Crown, Joel got like he he can wear he can do everything he's a Swiss army knife and I told him that I've I've been in the presence of Byron many times because he hosts the press conferences but after the last press conference and Survivor series I said man I don't think people appreciate how good you are what you do so good he can do everything and and people don't realize that you've got the earpiece in and you're hearing so many different things and you need to make it seem to the audience like you know

exactly what's going yep you've got it all under control mm-hmm so again Shout out to ring announcers. Shout out to all you guys. Seriously. Oh, thanks. When did it go to a point where you actually, like, were able to showcase a little bit more personality? I think it takes a while because I do want us to be very kind of stoic.

You've seen the backstage interviewers and how we stare into the distance as the superstar walks away. But I also think that kind of goes into, like, just making sure we get the job done. I honestly think the bump. Like when the bump started and people saw bump Kayla and actually realized, oh, she has a personality, they're like, okay, we want that on camera backstage of Smackdown. So that was so good to get that go ahead to just be Kayla. Yeah, because so often, especially in the last, call it decade or so, backstage interviewers have just been like asking a question, waiting for the answer, and then that's the end of it.

You've been like worked into this a little bit. It's taken some time, but you've been like worked into this. Yeah. And Paul Heyman, I mean, I gave a lot of credit to Paul. Man, like, I had so much fun doing all that back and forth with him with the bloodline. But, you know, Paul and I were doing talking smack together. And we didn't really know each other at the time. I knew, like, we didn't really interact a lot.

And getting to know him on that panel and getting to go back and forth and realizing we're both kind of spitfires, like, helped immensely. And then he, you know, got me on camera to do those bits with him on Smackdown with the bloodline. And then now I am the sassy. backstage interviewer. Like, the writers will even, oh, wait, am I allowed to say that? It's real. Wrestling is all real. My interviews, though, I'm told I can be a little sassy. So, how did Paul pitch the segments that you had? I don't even know. I think he just really wanted to help me. And he does that with a lot of, I see him with talent, other interviewers. Like, he just really wants to see what our strengths are. And then he, I don't know, he just makes it happen. I

I honestly don't know how he made it happen, but he did. But look, it goes from, like, you having some fun and interacting with Paul Heyman to, like, it then became a focal point of the show where he's going to be walking backstage and you're going to pop out of nowhere and surprise him. Yeah. And there was a whole compilation. People have made tons of compilations online about those and we just like, hey Paul, hey Paul, and him yelling.

Oh, it was so much fun. Did that just randomly happen one day? I don't even remember how the first one happened. And a lot of times, like, Paul and I, we just go. Like, there's not, like, really talking about beforehand. We just, whatever happens happens. And I think that, like, the, his freak out happened on one and it's just hit big. And so we just kind of kept doing it.

Got a good reaction. Fans loved it. I feel like Paul could be pretty intimidating. But is that just the character? I mean, he can be, but not to me. To you, you guys have, I mean, see me? Great rapport, yeah. Yeah.

He's, yeah, we have a great relationship. And, again, he's just, he's always so helpful. And even if it's a segment that he's not a part of, you know, he wants to, you know, give feedback and give notes. And like, you know, I really appreciate it because everyone's so busy on those days. You know, there's not a lot of time to stop and, like, show that you care enough to give feedback. So, yeah, it's definitely helped me become a better broadcaster. Walk us through what an actual TV day looks like. So I imagine you fly on Thursday.

Yes. And then Friday is showtime. It's go day. Yes. So, you know, arrive at the building. around 2 p.m. Eastern time. I immediately get into hair and makeup. So that takes about an hour or two. And then you're just kind of hurry up and wait, you know, just waiting to see what you're needed for. Do you get with the people that you know you're going to have segments with beforehand and go,

all right, so here's what I'm setting you up for. Like, how should I phrase this? Sometimes. But it's such a quick, you know, fast-paced day. Sometimes you don't until you go live. Really? And I'm a big fan of lot. I love just being live. So there's no safety net when you're live, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I love it. I love it. Do you ever get segments where like it's coming up in a minute and they're like, actually, we're going to go this direction instead?

Oh, yeah, like almost every single week. Really? Like stuff changes. Like, yeah, you just got to be. I almost like don't like being told what I need to say until right before because I don't want to like get different things in my head and then mix up because things do change throughout the day based on what happens in the ring. So I love, like, that's the adrenaline rush of just, like, going.

I thrive on that. How fast does the TV day feel like it goes? Once the show starts like this. Yeah. Leading up to it, you know, get hurt and wait. But yeah, once the show starts, it's like, all right, everyone like, yeah, 10 o'clock is here before you know it. Yeah, I imagine between 8 and 10 is just boom. Boom.

Because it's eight segments, is that? It just, it depends. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it goes by really fast. Wow. Yeah. I'm always so impressed with how you guys are able to do what you do. And I think one of the most important parts of your job is making the people that you're talking to,

making the people on the other side of the microphone look like a star. What do you think is the key to that? I think one thing we, as backstage interviewers, have to keep in mind is that it's not about us at all. Like, our job is to put the talent over. the moment we make it about us, like being too expressive or whatever, it just takes away. And over time, the more you're on camera, like with me being here almost eight years, you naturally become a personality that people expect and want to see on camera. But I think the more that you even show to talent, that you respect them enough to realize about them,

they want to bring you in more as a part of it. But I think, yeah, 100% I think it's just keep yourself small. It's not about us, but do a great job and it'll make you rise. The United States Soccer Federation Present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinemberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking.

I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stake their claim, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

I think one of the best episodes of SmackDown, maybe ever happened a few months ago. Rock and John Cena. Oh, my gosh. On the same show. And none of us knew. You didn't know? No.

When did you find out that the Rock was in the building? Like 30 minutes per maybe. Like, because he was with Pat McAfee that day on college game day. I don't even think this was planned. I think Pat McAfee has this way of making everybody want to be his best friend. The fact he got the Rock to come to Smackdown. I mean, that's a very Pat McAfee thing. But I think it was just like that.

Like, you know, Rock was in town. So why not swing by Smackdown? At what point did you hear like that he was in the building? I mean, I think it was literally like as it was happening. Like when his music hit? Maybe a little bit before that, but like very, it was like right then. It was a surprise for all of us. Wow.

Like I freaked. And that was the second time I've ever met him. The first time was when we premiered on Fox for the first time. What was that? Like three or four more than that, however many years ago. Yeah. Five years ago. I close to, yeah. Yes. And I saw him and I was like, I have to say hi to him. And I kept like talking myself up. I'm like, it's now or never Kayla. Like he's got to do it. And I saw him and he was like done socializing. And he was walking back to like his bus.

And I was like, now's your time. And I went up to him. And I said, Mr. the Rock. I was like, oh my God. He's called him Mr. The Rock. But he turned around and we had like a five-minute conversation. and he's so good about making you feel like you're the only person in the room. And he, like, looked me in the eye and just asked questions about me. And that was incredible. Like, he's such a genuinely good human being. Yeah. And so this time, he remembered me.

I was trying to get an interview with him, but he's a busy man. He promised me next time he sees me, I'll get my interview with him. Third times a charm. Third times a charm. But it was so cool. And like he said, was Sina there. What city were we in? Do you remember?

Colorado somewhere. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, maybe. Anyway, you were there, so. I don't even know where I'm going to be this week. The fact the fans bought their tickets without knowing that was going to happen was such an incredible, incredible. I mean, imagine fans who have been fans forever, and that may have been their very first show. And they bought their ticket.

I think when they bought tickets, we didn't even know Sina was going to be there at the time, when the tickets went on sale. Right. I think you're right. So people bought their tickets. Then they found out Sina's going to be there. Then Pat McAfee is there. And then the rock comes out like, holy cow. Yeah.

The rock has this like special quality that he makes you feel important in that moment. And it's so rare with anybody, let alone the biggest stars in the planet. He turns the moment around and he makes like you feel great. And it's such a unique quality and I try to borrow that as much as I can from him. But nobody does it like he does it. I agree. But we all should take that, you know, from him. Like you said, he's the biggest star in the world. So busy. He doesn't have to stop to talk to anybody. But the fact he does. Yeah. And I feel like a lot of celebrities get talked at like, you know, you're meeting them and you're telling them all the things. And they just kind of stand there and go. Yeah. Oh, wow. Well, thank you. Yes, thank you. He, like, he involves you. He like, I, I saw him for Black Adam last year. And it was like, hey, you still living in Miami. And I'm like, he does. What? He remembers that. You were, you know where I. What? I know. I know. I was like, this is crazy. And then a friend of mine who was watching the conversation came over after, he goes,

I just want you to get this straight. The Rock was making small talk with you. And I'm like, I know. Like, that's how great of a guy he is. So for all of that to be part of that one show on SmackDown. And I think like you mentioned, like the fact that that was so special because the Rock wasn't announced before. Because people weren't buying tickets to know that he was going to be there. All of that.

So great. And again, for all of us, just backstage, like, it just kind of boost morale a little bit that, you know, oh my gosh, this is our co-workers. These are our coworkers. Like, these are my coworkers. Like, who gets to say they're co-workers with John Cena and the Rock? You. Right? Me. Yeah. Right. You. Who are some of your favorite coworkers that you see Weekend, Weekend, Week out? Like on air? Yeah. People we might know. Well, let me just tell you how extremely happy I am that Our Truth is bad. He's always been one of my favorite.

people in the world. We got to host Raw Talk a few times together. And now we're kind of like tossing up some ideas for he and I to host potentially a show of some sort together. Like what? I mean, that's all I'm saying. It's like literally like WB hasn't even signed off on this. This is just me and truth talking about it. So you put out a tweet out about this though. I did. People definitely responded to it. But so happy like that he's back. He's really fun to have. You introduced me to Art Truth when we're in Chicago. So thank you for that. Oh, is that one. Oh, that's right. You're like, you haven't met him yet? He's the cool. He's the coolest. He's someone good to have on your show.

He said that you will give me his phone number, and I'm like, okay, I'll pass it along to you. So he will sit right there and we'll leave this happen. That'll probably be your best, like, interview ever. I don't know if an hour is enough time with our truth, though. You must need to bring him on as a co-host, to be honest. Like, have him for like 10 episodes, and we still wouldn't tell his full story. Exactly. Fantastic.

So happy that he's back. What a return? I know. At Survivor Series. Perhaps the biggest return of the night at Survivor Series. I think so. I stand and say, That was the biggest return of the night.

Did you see when Triple H in the press conference was like, all right, we got to talk about return tonight. Our truth. Our truth is that. I do think people, fans, I mean, we're so elated to see that, you know, he's just set this fresh breath air on camera, like with the comedic aspect, the stuff he's doing with the judgment day, the jelly rolls.

He's just so natural and just so good. Yeah, and it just, none of it feels like forced. Everything he does just feels like, yeah, it's totally something. our truth would say. He's like a, he's like a human form of a happy pill. I like that's how I describe him or like or like F3, you know. Wow. Wow. Thank you for working out and use the coat CVV to save some money at extrapranage. I'll bill you. Yeah, beautiful. Who else do you love working with? Love working with obviously, um, the usos have so much fun with them. Um, love Ria. So what, and the female locker rooms are so great too. Like we all get along.

very well. We're having a secret Santa this week. Like, it's such like a cohesive, like, family. What's the price limit? We said 50. Oh, that's, that's very generous. Yes. And I'm not, when is this going out? Maybe two weeks, probably after Christmas. Oh, great. So it's this week. So I can say who I got there. Yeah. So another incredible person I work with who doesn't get the credit that she deserves is Jess, our rep. Is she your secret son? She's who I got. Oh, so what did you get Jess. So she is obsessed with her golden retriever Bowen. So I got her a where's bold bowen like where's Waldo got her a custom book made and she's a whole book where she gets to find her dog in there. That is so thoughtful. And then I got her she's fitness queen. So I got

her like a cool ornament that says Mary Liftness. Wow. And then. I'm surprised the book itself wasn't $50. It's like $25. Jeez. Now everyone's going to go buy this. Look at you promo and everything. Right. So yeah, I've got to have some fun little things. That's very kind. Do you have any inclination of who your secret Santa might be? Not a clue. Who has you? Not a clue. So we'll see. I hope I did well. Speaking of the female walker room, I feel like the iconics really got your name over. I miss them so much.

They're the best. I just saw Cassie like a week ago in Milwaukee an event called Blizzard Brawl. They're just the sweetest. Her and Sean. Yes. And their moms now, which has been so great, All the new mothers in wrestling and WWE lately, it's been so cool to see. It's such a testament. Women can do both. Absolutely. And WWB's been so supportive of that too. So, yeah, I love it.

There's been so many babies running around backstage. But I feel like them saying Kayla, like really. Hey, Kayla! Yes, that's where it all started. People still do it. Of course they do. I feel like that became almost like a catchphrase for you. It did.

Yeah, they're great. Yeah, that's kind of the other thing with wrestling. You need a thing to like attach to. And that became like your thing. Hey, Kayla. Yes. And that became like the thing, at least for a little while. Yes, absolutely.

Now it's probably whatever you're going to do with our truth here. The secret project you're working on. He sent me some great ideas for names. I'm not going to share anything yet, but they're, we'll workshop them. Okay. This is the great thing about you and WWE is you keep growing and you keep wanting to do more and bigger things. Where could you possibly go from here in WWE? Um, you know, I'm not sure. I mean, there's just now with like, you know, we, we've, you know, with Endeavor and there's like, you know, all these other like platforms and resources that we can use. I'm really trying to tap in, tap into that. Whether it be podcasting, I've wanted to do a podcast for, for a long time. I've thought about trying to pitch a late night show, like something that's the bump, but like after dark, you know, a little more fun.

No, Vince used to host a late night show. Yeah. Way back in the day. So, yeah, I don't know. We'll see. And they've been so good to me about noticing when my, like, creative juices are feeling stalled. Like, I think there's a lot of, a lot of loyalty back to me since I have been here for so long. And, you know, during the pandemic was kind of rough because around that time, three of our back to the interviewers left.

And so, and I wasn't necessarily ready to jump into all those spots, but I had to. There was no other option. And I remember my first kickoff show. I was never planning to do those. I was terrified, like, to do a kickoff show. And it was when Renee left. And Cole goes, hey, you have to do the next kickoff show because Charlie was gone, too. And I was like, what?

Like, I've never done a kickoff. Like, what are you talking about? I think my first one was going to be like a right before mania. And mania is a two-hour kickoff show, by the way. Anyway, all this to say, I was terrified. And Cole looked at me and goes, why? You can do this in your sleep and walked away. And that boosts of confidence of just like, why are you worried?

will help me so much versus, okay, well, you need to get in here. We need to work on this. He was like, Kayla, why are you nervous? You can do this? And I was like, he's right. I can do this. And now I've done it. So I love that Michael Cole is getting the appreciation that he is so long deserved.

I've been such a fan of his work since the 90s. And I feel like now people are finally going. He's getting his flowers. Yes. Finally. Yes. That's why I dressed up as him for Halloween this year. I saw that.

Did you catch that? Did he know? No. Not a clue. Not a clue. So you just like walked in and you were like... So I talked to... Could it be?

I talked to Brian Fatham, who had talked to Kevin Dunn about it. And everyone loves messing with coal. So when I brought it forward, Fatim was like, oh, yeah, we'll make this happen. So I got that. I found that little singlet on Amazon, had Serrat, who's in one of our seamsters, put coal on it, Got all the wig was bad. I wish I had more time to do the wig and the sole patch. And then I texted Bailey because they have that long feud.

I was like, hey, will you do this with me? And she's like, hell, yes, I'll do it. So Cole had no idea. He was told that Bailey was cutting a promo, an open challenge. And then Cole was told to do commentary over it. He was already standing up getting ready to go. And then I come out. He's like, what the hell?

Like everyone, it was so amazing. I wish I had learned a like a wrestling move before that I could have done with Bailey instead of just falling to the ground. but whatever. Can you do a Michael Cole impression? Not really. Oh, my. No one says W-W-E like he does.

How does he do it? I don't know. The way he enunciates it. W-W-E. W-W-E. I'm like, W-W-E. I think we all do. Yeah.

W-W-E. Yeah. W-W-E. Yeah. And he always says it so clearly. But, yeah, I think his catchphrases now would be like, oh my. It's boss.

time. Yes. It is so funny. He's having so much fun right now. Like he's just having casual Cole. You know, like it's like he's just having a great time. As he should, it's like 27 years here. But how is casual Cole one of the greatest of all time?

I mean, I don't know. He is though. You want to talk about someone doing something in his sleep? Yep. He's just naturally. So good. Incredible. And it's so cool.

Like Kevin Patrick, who I absolutely love. The fact he's getting to learn from someone like Michael Cole. The very few people on this planet who can say. I learned how to do commentary from Michael Cole. Like, that's a really cool thing. Yeah. Is there an opportunity you think for you to do it? They brought it up.

They brought it up to me. And I was like, no, like, no. And I did it kind of at the on-sale ticket party in L.A. a couple of years ago with Fluffy. And they just let me have fun. They're like, Caleb, we've got to put you on commentary. Just you and Fluffy? It was me, Fluffy, Corey.

So Corey was obviously like keeping it all together. Someone's driving the ship here. But there's a clip online. We played it on the bump of my commentary. And it was hilarious. Like I forgot I was doing commentary. I think Austin Theory was in the match. And I was just like, get off him, theory.

Like I was going super fan mode. But, you know, it was fun. Is it, like, it's so involved. And I think that people don't realize that to be a great commentator, it's almost, I mean, it's so difficult to do. Is that what, is it that it scares you? Yeah. Oh, gosh.

Like, when I think about the preparation I do for a two-hour kickoff show, which happens once a year. And then a regular kickoff show happens once a month. And even that can be very nerve-wracking because of all the stuff you have to know and retain and questions you ask. I go through the card and just make sure I know all the stories and everything that's happening.

Try to get some questions together to throw out to my very wild panel. They get going. It's hard to wrangle them back in, but it's fine. And yeah, that's kind of it, just knowing what's going on. And then it runs pretty smoothly. But yeah, like having to do that every single week

and then have to talk for two hours straight, I don't, and like make sure you're sharp and getting to graphics and doing traffic and then tell, you know, telling the story and calling the moves. No idea how they do it. All while somebody is telling you like, oh, why someone's in your ear.

Yes, this is coming up in 10, 9, 8, yeah. Or then things change like that. Like, oh, that's a skill set. I honestly have no desire to ever do it. I really don't. I feel like I would be so stressed and I'd be gray before I'm 35. But, yeah, they do a great job.

If you didn't grow up watching wrestling, then you get the W.W.E. audition that turns into the job. Where do you start? Because there's 40 years now of history with WWA. How do you start? I remember when I got hired, because I got the job,

and then I was going to be, like, a few weeks before I actually reported to the Performance Center. Yeah. They gave me the WWB network. So they're like, just, just watch. I ended up watching not what I was supposed to. What was the animated show that they had for a while? Oh, yes.

So I'm just sitting there watching cartoons. So really it's hard. There's nowhere to start. Even watching like NXT. They're like, okay, NXT's on tonight, watch it live. And I remember like noticing it with sanity, right? With Nikki Cross and all them. Not knowing what was going on.

And then trying to like explain what I thought was happening, which was it was. You know, you have to really be immersed and like know the stories going all the way back. Yeah. If someone just drops you into it, you need an explanation. Yes. Of like why this person is fighting this person. Yes. If you're not even aware of wrestling in general.

Exactly. The psychology of like, I'm looking at it like a sport, which you can't look at it in the same way. But I will say as, you know, immersive as this place is and how much we're on the road and around each other, you learn so fast. Like it took no time before I was like, ah, I feel like I've been watching wrestling for my whole life. But you, I don't feel like you're in the position where you need to know, like, what the main event at WrestleMania 18 was or something like that. Which I actually think is great because you don't need to be a historian to be grading your present job. That also was great about The Bump. Matt Camp, who's the host of the Bump.

He can tell you every single detail of when and where and what have. He is like literally the historian and the encyclopedia of wrestling. So it really worked out when I was on the show, I'm like, he could like fill in all the blanks of like the history of what happened. And I could just be the personality talking about what's now. It was a great balance. Yeah, because there's so much history, right? And somebody who's watching at home and has the benefit of having all the world's information sitting in their hand can go, oh, actually, actually, you said this, but the true fact here is another thing right here. Have you been called out on making a small mistake?

When I first started, I did. Like, I was doing a house show, a live event and going around and like, you know, less is more as I've learned. Like don't try to like look like you know everything by trying to spit out too many facts because you're probably going to mess up. But I was trying to. And I think I miss like the amount of time someone has held a certain title by like one. But this guy sitting in the front row stood up and he schooled me. Like he just was like actually was this time. Like you need to like, he like schooled me.

I'm like needing to know my stuff. Wrestling fans are very passionate. But I did make sure after that and since then just to make sure I do my due diligence or just like don't bring. it up if I don't know enough about it. That's probably, I mean, less as more is probably the best lesson to be learned here. The idea that like, I could just say their hometown and their name. I don't need to say how many times they were the champion. Yeah, just keep, keep kiss. Keep it simple, stupid. Keep it simple, stupid. If we were to go back as you were like applying for colleges, what did you, what was the dream job at that point in time? I've, I've always known I wanted to be in

television, like since I was nine. What, what happened at nine that made you want to be in television? Um, so I, um, public knowledge, I was raised in a, in a foster family and I moved into the foster home when I was nine years old. Prior to foster family, really rough childhood. I was, I was in special ed, not because I was dumb. I never went to school because I was taking, you know, a lot of stuff was happening. Um, so I never applied to myself. But when I moved to the foster family, they were very big on like school. We had tutors, like education. And I went to the small school in Alabama. And, uh, in the same. South, if you know, we have this thing called 4H. And it's like these agriculture, sewing, whatever.

We all were required to compete in one of these things. And I saw public speaking on there. Well, Ms. not applying herself was like, this seems easy. And it's got to get up there and talk. I don't have to do anything. So we had to give a speech. And I noticed all the other kids had note cards. And I was like, I'm just going to memorize mine.

And I did. And I won. And that was the first thing in my entire life I had ever won. And they gave me like a big purple ribbon. And I didn't even tell my foster parents I was doing this because I didn't want to disappoint them if I didn't win. And I got off the school bus and it was a very like Willy Wonka and the Chalka Factory, like running down with my golden ticket, down the driveway, I want, I want. And they're like, we don't know what she won, but congratulations. And they were so proud of me.

And that was like the first time, like, an adult had been like proud of me. And I was like, well, this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. So I was a competitive public speaker. That's so nerdy all through high. school. I went to the White House and spoke in front of Bush, went to the Oval Office, and got to hang out with him. Wow. And then it was a no-brainer. I'd go into some form of broadcast. Wow. Yeah. So the dream job would have just been hosting a TV show. I always wanted to be Oprah, but who didn't? And then I got, again, like sports and entertainment. I just always wanted to have like my own talk show. Again, that's why the bump was such a big deal for me,

because it really solidified me in that, like, oh, she's a host. You were so great on the bump. I love. Why leave the bump? You know, it's just time. There's a season for everything. I think also because I've been here for so long, I recognize that I have a lot of responsibilities, which might prevent up-and-comers from having opportunities. There's only so many here. And Megan Morant's hosting now came in, was so eager to learn, like really, like shot up fast in the company.

And we were kind of testing her coming in and sitting in co-hosting. and she's killed it. And so me holding on to that show, I feel like isn't, you know, beneficial to growing our team and making our team bigger so everyone can do more. So it was just time.

It was time. And everyone was supportive of it. And I still pop in every once in a while. Yeah, we're just building something new. Have you taken an in-ring bump? Yes. So we used to have to take bump classes. Or we had to take a bump class.

The announcers did. This was many years ago. And so we all had to cut. Because the whole thing is, if we're in the ring and, like, something goes sideways, we've got to learn how to get out of the ring safely. And we're wearing high heels. You've got to learn how to fall. You've got to learn how to fall safely.

So we went into the performance center. We got to use the mat that's... Like the crash mat? The crash pads, yeah. But I'm terrified. Like, Vic Joseph and Mike Rome are fearless, and they're, like, fallen and having... Doing a great job. I get the tough enough helmet on.

I'm just like, Michael Cole is loving this. I think he filmed it. and I did my bump, and I'm so scared to go backwards. Even as a kid, I don't like doing anything falling backwards. Anyway, I did it. Didn't tuck my neck. And I, like, whimpered away crawling into the corner. I couldn't move my neck for days.

And that's when I was like, I have so much respect for what these guys are doing every single week. Like, the amount of bumps our guys and girls are doing on a Smackdown, holy cow. So all of that is to say you're probably not having a match anytime soon. I don't think in this lifetime. Yeah, I think. the thing, I went to wrestling school when I was 20. Taking bumps hurt a lot. Running the ropes.

I've heard that. I know. Running the ropes like, because it hits you right here and the meaty part of your back and kind of wins you a little bit. Then you get a nice bruise for the first week or two of running the ropes. And then the people that do this,

the men and women that do this for a living, they're just callous to it. Exactly. Bumps don't even hurt anymore. It's like playing guitar, right? Yeah. That's a great. Yeah, your fingertips get all calloused.

I just, I don't understand because you run the ropes for the first time, you're like, I'm never doing that. And then you, you know, some of the people that are doing it, 20 years in, like Randy Orte. Yep, doesn't you feel it. Also, he is massive. He's, like, bigger than the ring. So the ropes probably hurt less on him. He's deceivingly large.

He's so big. And he looks better now than he did when he left. Like, he's in Cruz, like, how? He looks better now at 43 than he's ever looked. Does. What is going on here? I don't know. It's a little time off really helps.

Time off. I think he's so. I think he's happy, you know, loves his family. I think, yeah. I always have such, he's always another one. He's just so, like, kind backstage and helpful and, like, genuinely wants to, like, when I saw him for the first time in catering since he's come back, he stood up, him gave me a hug, catching up, he cares, you know?

Oh, wow. Something's happening right now in wrestling, in general. It's more popular than maybe it's ever been. Mm-hmm. Are you starting to feel this or when did you start to feel this? Oh, for sure. I think maybe when we started even bringing it. and like Logan Paul and Bad Bunny into it and just seeing like...

Even Bad Bunny's match at WrestleMania, I guess his first real match, at WrestleMania, I guess, 37. That I feel like people were starting to go, oh, bad bunny is part of this. Oh, I haven't watched wrestling in a long time or I've never watched wrestling, but I like Bad Bunny. So now I've got to start watching. Yep. Yeah, there's a lot of eyeballs on what you guys are doing. You said more now than ever.

Maybe. Like I think that wrestling fans like to go back. to like the attitude era was the best. And of course, hindsight's like, I don't know. People look at things with like rose-colored glasses. Yeah, the attitude was great. This is going to be like the new great. Whatever this new era is called is pretty fantastic.

Yeah. So I'm like, I can't go anywhere. It's like, I want to stay. I mean, I know, I'm like, have I overstayed my welcome in WWW? I don't know. But now I'm like, now I'm going to stick around and see what's about to happen. What's about to happen? Your guess is as good as mine.

Is Roman Rain's going to be the champion for the next eight years? Who knows? Could be. Who knows? He'll be the champion. I mean, it's a hell of a run that he's been on. Honestly. And then a great job.

Has becoming an employee at WWE made you a WWE fan? Oh, yeah. That. And then also, like, because of the relationships, you build with the talent. Like, they're my friends. So I'm so excited to see them go out there and, like, do their thing. And, like, when some of the females go out there and do their match, they'll have waiting in guerrilla as soon as they're done to, like, see what they're doing.

Give them a hug and say congratulations. Like, it's such a big family. you're naturally a fan. And I do get, after maybe Survivor Series, I was like, I was with Jackie Redman and I was so nervous because I don't know what's happening. I was so nervous about one of the matches. And I literally said, I'm so nervous. And she like busted out laughing at me. She goes, that's so endearing. She goes, you're like, we're fans. Where did you see CM Punk for the first time at Survivor Series? When he walked out. None of us knew. No way. No. And I love that. I love that we can so be surprised backstage. I don't want to know everything. Even I was a ring announcer,

I would ask to not know. Like who would win? Yeah. Also, are we filling the court curtain back too much? I mean, everybody knows. But I like to, I want to be surprised because I am a fan. And I want to be as excited as the fans are out watching it. It just makes it just more special. I missed CM Punk coming out. You met? What were you doing? So super grateful to be able to be at the WWE press conference. And the way those work is one, two, three at the last match, the PR people grab us and we all go to the press room immediately. Because the press conference starts as soon as the event ends, right?

So it was one, two, three at the end of the men's war game match. We're all being carted away. We're sitting in the press conference room. And then someone in the back was like, I can't believe he's here. And I thought they were talking about like one of our friends or something, like a colleague. They're like, no way. CM Punk is here. And then we crowded around this little mall.

monitor on the floor and we're like, he's, he's like, we're, like, we're 200 feet from, but we're not in the, yeah, we're in the building, but we're not in the, so I didn't. Oh, dang. Well, at least you can say you were there, though. Technically. Yeah, yeah. But I didn't even get like the shock of like watching it unfold on TV. Gosh, like, I get like the way the crowd popped for that. That building, it's a special building for the acoustics there. I don't know if it's that wood ceiling or the roof's a little bit lower. But I'd never been in that arena before. And I walked in there and the chance just before the show even started, I'm like,

it's really loud for however many people are in here. And there's so much, you know, like Chicago, like so much history with WWE and this wrestling in general. So I feel like there couldn't have been a better spot. Man, it's his hometown. Even that too, just like, yeah, that was. But yeah, I had no idea. Even when I was doing my kickoff show,

people were like cheering like, CM Punk and had the signs. And Booker T turned around at one point and goes, guys, he's not here. And I was like, oh, because Booker didn't know, but we're just like trying to kind of shut them up so we could talk. And I was like, okay, let's, he's definitely not. Like, we honestly had zero inkling that it was happening. Wow.

What a year 2023 has been for wrestling. Oh, yeah. Like, think about it. We just talked about the Rock returning, the Rock and John Cena be on the same show, our truth returning. Yeah, Randy's back. Randy's back. Rannie's back.

and hell froze over, that a great t-shirt. I don't know how you guys are going to top this in 2024. We always find a way to do with, though. You know, we got the rumble coming up, which means we're on the road to WrestleMania. Yeah, they always have a way to top it. Do you have a favorite match now that you're in this world of WWE? A favorite match, like of all time?

Yeah, sure. Oh, goodness. And it could be a favorite match that you've been, you know, there to watch. And that's hard to always narrowed down to one. Very hard to do that. I think. Maybe was it, Summer's, no, that was a quick one. I said Becky and Bianca.

I don't see anything with Becky or Bianca, especially, that, anything with those two in it are, like, top tier to me. I like it. But, yeah, I can't narrow it down yet. But, like you said, it's been, there's been so much in the last year. But I do think it's going to go down in history. It's, like, the best era in wrestling. whatever they're going to call this era. It's...

It is the era. That should be what it's called. It's the era right now. With NXT, like, I love how much they're intertwining NXT to make it, like, as big as Raw on Smackdown. There's so much talent. Like, it's crazy watching and just seeing the level of talent at NXT. I mean, it matches the level of talent on Raw on Smackdown.

And then peppering in, like, The Undertaker's on NXT. What? What? What's on NXT? CM Punk, yeah. Yeah. It's pretty amazing. I love it.

if someone wants to do what you are doing for a living, what's like the first step they should take towards that? I don't want to say, like you mean as a broadcaster in general? I think there's a lot of people that want your specific job. Probably. It's also something else. It's really cool to sit and think about. Like there's a handful of announcers in WWE.

And there's only one WWE. And so it is wild to think that we have those like few sacred positions. But I don't, I mean, I think just, like I said earlier, you know, take initiative, you know, learn, try to like, like we said earlier too, like learning how to even shoot and edit, like me knowing how to edit, shoot my own stuff, get on there and host. Being a one-man band as far as like the technical side, I think is really, really helpful. But yeah, like when you, I have fans reach out to me sometimes and ask me the question, like how they can follow my footsteps. I really respect

that. Like, reach out to us, you know? We can steer you in the. in the right direction. But I think just keep watching, stay up to date and what's going on and yeah, just take the initiative. I think people really undervalue the fact that we have, you know, this thing in our pocket that can make you comfortable on camera. I think there's a lot of people that don't utilize the fact that they could take that out and just film themselves at any point in time, even if it's just for yourself or uploading it to social media or YouTube. Like getting comfortable on camera, I think must be a helpful thing. In broadcasting in general. Yes, and just starting.

Like, when I was in college, I kept, I was talking to, I'm a mentor of mine who was on local television about wanting to do like be a broadcaster. And he's like, just start, like, shoot something on your phone and upload it. And I was like sitting on, I was like, oh, I don't want to do. I don't want to do it. Finally did it. And that was like the start of my first talk show that I started at Belmont University. And that was it just starting. I haven't stopped since then.

Yeah. Put your foot on the gas and then it's not going to, it's not going to come off. That's my favorite advice. Just start. Whatever it is that you want to do, you've got to take that first step to get to that last step. Amen. What's that quote? You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Ooh, I like that.

It's almost as good as your dad jokes. Almost not quite. What is this tattoo that's right here? The other side, yeah. Oh, it's my dumb one. It's a paper airplane with a butter jet underneath it because I feel like it's, you know, I'm always on an airplane. I always feel like a little kid. Window or aisle?

Oh, window. Okay. Oh, yes. You can sleep against it. 100%. But it's always tough because then I like have to pee and it's so uncomfortable. I have to ask people to move and they're always asleep. Yes.

I try to like be sneaky and crawl over this elderly man and then I slipped. Like it was a whole thing. The flight attendant was busting out laughing because they're watching me do it. They're like just wake him up. If you can wake up one of the two people, usually the next person will be like, oh, I'm sorry. Now I'm awake. Yes. Yeah.

I end every conversation with gratitude because it's such a big important part of my life. And by the way, thank you for coming in here. I love this worked out. Thanks for having me. I'm glad we finally connected. No, it's been so great having you here and hearing your story.

And by the way, congrats to you and everything you've done. Thank you. Right back at you. Thank you. You are such an important part of what you do on SmackDown. And I think that the fans appreciate you being there so much.

You bring so much of an element to when you're on screen with the other superstars. Thank you. So gratitude is such a big part of my life. I wake up every day. I say out loud three things I'm grateful for. I do it before I go to bed too. So what are three things in your life that you're grateful for?

My health. The freedom that I've had to travel the world and be out here in Los Angeles. And my friends. I think having a really good circle of friends is so important, especially the older we get. Yeah. It's a good, solid group. So, yeah. I like it.

Do you have a dad joke to wrap things up here? It's where we started. Oh, gosh. I don't know. Yeah. I'm on the spot now. You're on the spot. You know what?

Just go follow me on Instagram and I post him every single day. Okay. There it is. Go follow Total Zebras. They have so many of good jokes. They're so good. So good. Oh, I have one.

Okay. Here it is. Never mind. What do you mean? Well, I was in I can't even Never mind, I can't think of it. Everyone was Minneapolis.

Never mind. Okay. We'll find this. Just like mix this part out of the interview. No, it's too late. You need to delete this. It's too late. Okay.

I'll find one. We have all the world's information. I made a joke there because we were in Minneapolis. We were in Minneapolis or something or and I was like everyone knows where the big apple is. But does anybody know where the Minneapolis is? Hey, that's pretty good. Everyone like yelled at me.

me for that one. These aren't even good jokes, but since I just pulled them up, I'll give you one. Okay. Oh, these are really bad. Why don't lobsters share? Because they're shellfish. Oh, bump but I'm... That's perfect. I'll use that one. So good to see you. You too. Thanks for having me.

Thank you so much. Of course. There we go. And I just feel like conversations like this make you appreciate all of the little things that the WWE announced team does that you might not. even be aware of. Such a great conversation with Caleb Raxton and man, I don't know about you, but I'm interested to hear and to see what she's cooking up there with Our Truth. What could it be? What will it be called? Also, how long until Our Truth is on the show? Man, that will be such a good one when that happens. And you heard, you heard Kayla. If you have any sort of Wikipedia

knowledge, please go in there. Go in there. Add that half. Finch to her height on Wikipedia. She's not four foot 11. She is four foot 11 and a half. Not five feet, but four foot 11 and a half. So go in there and make that update in there. Snap a screenshot. Let us know what stood out for you the most from this conversation. Let us know you were listening. Tag us. She's at Kayla Braxton, WWE. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. You may have seen, I've shared this quote a few times this week on social media, but I feel like it just means so much. to me, especially with the growth of the show over the last six months or a year. And I get a lot of people who are listening to the show right now, this might be the first episode you've ever

listened to. Or maybe you've only listened to three of them. I appreciate you so much. I appreciate you just as much if you've listened to all 544 episodes that we've had. But the growth has been huge over the last few months. And I just appreciate you so much for that. Robin says, if you're willing to do things that other people aren't willing to do, you're going to get results that other people aren't going to get. Be great. Be grateful. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. It's an Ask CVV episode coming out tomorrow. So if you have a question, we've still got time. Send it over to me using that hashtag AskCVV. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock,

but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them?

To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your. favorite platform.