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Former WWE broadcaster Kayla Becker spent eight years with the company before departing to broaden her outlook on the sports spectrum in general.
Becker recently partnered with BZZR as she continues her broadcasting career. Pro wrestling fans who tune into Becker’s sportscasts will certainly be reminded of the days she was behind the broadcast desk for pre-shows, backstage for interviews or even ring announcing.
She explained how she was able to get the WWE gig in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. She said she was hosting a travel segment for a local station before someone from WWE reached out to her and asked whether she would be interested in announcing.
“So, I knew someone who was working there and they knew who I was because I was an ‘Orlando personality.’ And they were like, ‘Hey, would you be interested in joining our announce team. And I never watched wrestling a day in my life. And I was like, I just don’t know that’s where my career is headed,” she said. “And they sent me there one day to Full Sail (University) where they were doing some tapings and immediately I was just enthralled.
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“I was like this is the craziest, coolest world I’ve ever experienced, been a part of. All the wrestlers who were superstars, behind the scenes they were so cool, so knowledgeable, so exciting. So, literally, I was like, let’s do it. Maybe I’ll be here for a year or two. And fast forward, eight years, basically, kicking and screaming, I finally had to walk out of those doors. That was the coolest part of my career bar none.”
For someone who had never watched wrestling in their entire life, getting thrust into WWE was like being thrown into the deep end of a pool when you’ve never swam before.
Becker was in for a treat.
She recalled to Fox News Digital the moment that got her hooked.
“I think the first pay-per-view I remember, maybe the first one that I attended, was the Royal Rumble,” she said. “At the time, I think I was just attending. I worked there but I still wasn’t on the main roster yet. So, I kinda just got to be there as a fan and the excitement in the building of a Royal Rumble, if you never experienced it, there’s nothing like it. In that moment, I remember getting goosebumps and then I was like, wait, I work here. I’m a part of this world now. One day, I’ll get to announce, which I did. I was a part of many Royal Rumbles. I think that was probably one of the first moments I was like dang, this is kind of a cool place to be.”
Becker’s job was way different from the athletes that perform in the ring.
She got a taste of doing in-ring announcing before becoming a backstage interviewer and hopping on pre-show broadcasts. She said she didn’t really enjoy her time as a ring announcer and felt like she performed better as a backstage interviewer.
“I think my first gig I was an NXT backstage interviewer and I did ring announcing for house shows. So, we’d go around to the small armories around Florida and I’d ring announce,” Becker told Fox News Digital. “And I never was a great ring announcer. Never really loved it. The fans, I’ve been gone for two years, they love to remind me on Twitter, that I wasn’t a good ring announcer. OK, pipe down guys. You try doing it. It’s not easy. But those days I think were some of the most stressful. Any ring announcer will tell you. You mentioned Alicia Taylor, we have Mike Rome, Samantha Irvin was there for a while, that is one of the most difficult jobs, I think, across the board. People underrate the ring announcers and the referees because that I think is so stressful, so on the fly. As a ring announcer, we don’t have cards. You have to memorize hometowns, weights, monikers, the cadence in which you say their names. I remember just like spending hours beforehand just kind of saying these things over and over to myself. And when you get in there, you’re live. I remember this one time, I was supposed to say, ‘The first one to incapacitate,’ I said, ‘decapitate.’ And you’re live and honestly, would also work. If you’re decapitated, you can’t continue wrestling.
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“But then as a backstage interviewer, as an actual ‘journalist’ of the company, it was a lot different. I think a lot more creative went into it in my part. I got to talk to the superstars, talk to the writers, how to best put forth the stories they’re trying to tell on screen. I think I had a lot more fun in that role because I think … I had a lot more fun trying to tell the story versus screaming into a microphone.”
Becker credited John Cena’s mentorship with helping her become the best she could be in her position.
“Listen, John Cena will be synonymous with wrestling and Hollywood for all of time,” she said. “John Cena was one of the first mentor-type people I’ve ever experienced when I first started in WWE. I was ring announcing house shows and he was giving me advice on how to be better and it kinda went on throughout the years. He’s such a good mentor and example backstage.”
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Now, Becker gets to be front and center in all sports with BZZR as the new social media platforms looks to unite sports fans from all fandoms into one spot.
Read the full article here
