Departing WWE Personality Kayla Braxton Disputes Report Of Talks With Another Promotion

WWE broadcaster Kayla Braxton recently announced that she was leaving the company in the coming days, with a report soon emerging that stated the "Talking Smack" co-host may be in conversation with AEW. However, before anything gained too much traction, Braxton headed to social media platform X to toss water on the rumors.

"The support from [you] guys has been overwhelming," Braxton wrote. "I am so thankful for [you]. But I did wanna make [one] thing clear as I enter my final week in WWE: if I wanted to keep working in wrestling, I wouldn't be walking away from the largest wrestling company in the world. Nice try, rumor weeds!"

Today's "Wrestling Observer Radio" featured reporter Dave Meltzer claiming that there had been talks between Braxton and AEW about the backstage personality coming over to the upstart promotion. While Braxton's social media post didn't outright deny talks having taken place, it seems clear that the broadcaster intends to leave the world of pro wrestling behind for the time being.

Meltzer also offered up some alleged details on the reason behind Braxton's departure, stating that it became clear she was behind both Cathy Kelley and Jackie Redmond in terms of prominence onscreen.

During her time with WWE, Braxton had been a ring announcer as well as backstage interviewer and talk show host. Braxton served as one of the first co-hosts of "The Bump" before stepping down from that role in 2022. Her eight-year tenure with WWE will come to an end later this week following "WWE SmackDown."