Former WWE broadcaster Kayla Becker, better known to fans as Kayla Braxton, recently opened up about one of the more uncomfortable parts of traveling with WWE. While she has fond memories from her time with the company, she admitted that some interactions and autograph sessions involving fans’ children crossed the line.
According to Braxton, these situations often occurred at airports in the early hours of the morning after WWE shows. What looked like genuine fan encounters were sometimes carefully planned by people hoping to make money by selling signed merchandise online.
Children became a tool for aggressive autograph seekers according to Kayla Braxton
Speaking on TMZ Sports’ Inside The Ring podcast, Kayla Braxton called out autograph hunters and eBay resellers who use questionable tactics to get signatures.
She recalled seeing adults bring their children to airports, knowing that WWE talent might find it difficult to say no to a child. Braxton also said that she often saw people carrying stacks of photos, including modeling pictures meant only for resale.
“Going to the airport at 5 am leaving a SmackDown and having some dude with 40 bikini photos of me with their child right next to them that should be in bed. Because they know if they have their kid with them, we might not say no to them. Like get a clue,” Braxton said.
Instead of meaningful moments between fans and talent, these interactions felt more like business deals designed to make a profit.
Rather than refusing every autograph request, Braxton recalled that Nikki Cross or someone else from WWE came up with a solution that allowed her to acknowledge genuine fans while discouraging resellers.
She decided to give one autograph per person.
“I’ll sign one for you. And that’s it. Because I know you’re about to go sell them. I’ll sign it for you, and I’ll personalize it to you because here you go. Here’s a courtesy that I don’t even owe you, but I’ll give this to you. I’m not about to make you a bunch of money to sign to sell more photos of me. And that’s kind of how I started working, too,” Braxton said.
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