Byron Saxton Left Behind TV News Job To Pursue Pro Wrestling Career

Bryon Saxton was a guest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, where he spoke about working in news while trying to get his break in wrestling.

“When I was pursuing wrestling before I got signed, I was working in TV news. My mom to this day would probably prefer me to be there. When I told her that I was actually going to try to wrestle for a living, she’s like, ‘Oh, my baby’s gonna get hurt. He’s going to get black eyes. Why can’t you just stay in the nice air conditioning newsroom in the new studio where no one’s gonna hurt you?’ But you have to follow your heart.”

On his pre-Tough Enough wrestling days:

“I was actually doing work on the independent circuit in Florida and Georgia. So I started in the Indies in 2003.”

“I just started kind of helping out behind the scenes. That turned into me doing interviews, which ended up with me actually wrestling. So I was doing basically three different things. I would help out behind the scenes on the Indies, I would ring announce, and I would wrestle depending on the show.”

“But I always knew obviously the goal was to make it to WWE. I was getting experience and I started sending in tapes. Tough Enough was an example. At the time that I sent in that tape, I was actually working as a production assistant at the new station. I heard about the Tough Enough tryout, so I sent the tape in. This was probably the third time I had sent a tape to the WWE by the time Tough Enough came around.”

“I remember they called me and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we love your audition tape. We want you to come out’, and I’m thinking ‘Yes, this is my chance. I finally get to make it to the WWE and live my dream.'”

“They flew us out to Venice Beach California. A lot of notable names were out there. The Miz was obviously the most popular name that was at that tryout as well as The Boogeyman and Luke Gallows.”

On becoming a commentator in FCW:

“That was Dusty Rhodes. I got signed in September of 2007 to FCW, and we started doing TV I believe in 2008. That’s when Dusty approached me and said, ‘We want you to do commentary and manage a little bit. I want you to really hone your craft behind the microphone.'”

“I don’t know if I get bored easily, or whatnot, but I love doing a variety of things. I feel like it keeps my energy level up and keeps me engaged. So on any given show for FCW, or even non-televised shows, I would be wrestling, I would be doing commentary, I could be ring announcing, or I would be managing.”

“At the time, I had a stable known as the Saxon Conglomerate. I enjoyed all those different roles and I felt it made me a better performer in the long run because I was able to see every aspect of the business.”