Byron Saxton Was Once Considered As Original Host Of NXT Brand

WWE commentator Byron Saxton has revealed he was originally pitched to be one of the first hosts of the original NXT. He made his comments on Ryan Satin’s on the Out of Character podcast. Check out what he had to say (per Fightful):

“I do recall when I first got to be part of one of the main shows because I started on SmackDown. So, I do recall, like they had put out in announcement at the time, I was at the Florida mall in Orlando, sitting in the food court. Reading the announcement online all of a sudden, I was like getting heart palpitations. Like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just hope I don’t mess up. I hope I do good.’ It’s to this day, I still a nervous wreck before every show,” he said. “It’s one thing when you’re told, but it’s only official when it’s online. It’s kind of funny to say. But in this case, there’s me. When I actually read the press release, I’m like, ‘Man, this is really going to happen.’ I think, to your point, it is because a lot of times, you know, I had been told I was gonna have an opportunity, like the Clash of Champions thing that didn’t happen. I remember when ECW closed, I was told that I was going to be one of the hosts on NXT and then that didn’t happen. So I’m always like, oh, let’s see, you know, which a lot of people in our industry do, which I’m sure you know, they don’t necessarily believe it until it actually happens when it actually happened, and then when I was actually on the air, it’s like ‘Oh, boy, this is real now.'”