WWE star addresses departure from weekly show

2023 was full of highs and lows in WWE, and now one popular star has issued new comments on a major change they underwent.

Kayla Braxton began hosting WWE's The Bump when the show launched on October 2, 2019. After 240 episodes, she was pulled from the co-host role this past August as the company went with Megan Morant for that spot instead. Braxton noted then that she was not leaving the show altogether as she planned to still create weekly content and serve as a correspondent.

This week's episode of The Bump was the "Best of 2023" show, with Braxton joining Morant, Matt Camp, and Ryan Pappolla. The group looked back at the best moments on the show in 2023, and one was labeled "Kayla Passes The Torch" from August 2.

The 32-year-old WWE star took to her Instagram Stories with a screenshot from The Bump, then expressed gratitude and praised her replacement.

"Always will be eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be the host of @wwethebump for 4 years. Love seeing @meganmorantwwe killing it and miss my pals @themattcamp and @bodieisryan every week. Love you guys! [face holding back tears emoji]," Braxton wrote.

Screenshot of Kayla Braxton's post on Instagram Stories

Braxton has appeared on eight Bump episodes since stepping down as host. She's had interviews with John Cena, LA Knight, Edge, actor Matthew McConaughey, and actor/musician Landon Barker. She appeared for the Payback and Fastlane post-show recap episodes and the Halloween special dressed as Zelina Vega.

Kayla Braxton reveals childhood dream that brought her to WWE

After graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism from Belmont University in Nashville, Kayla Braxton was producing her entertainment TV/web show in Orlando.

She was then hired as a news reporter for local NBC affiliate WESH-2. WWE hired Braxton in October 2016, and since then, she's worked in various roles, including host, ring announcer, and backstage interviewer, among others.

The 32-year-old recently appeared on Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast and said she already knew what she wanted to do for a career when she was nine. Braxton said she wanted to be on TV.

"In the South, if you know we have this thing called 4H and it's like agriculture, sewing, whatever. We all were required to compete in one of these things and I saw public speaking on there. We had to give a speech and I noticed all the other kids had notecards. I was like I'm gonna memorize mine and I did and I won. I didn't even tell my foster parents I was doing this because I didn't want to disappoint them when I didn't win. They were so proud of me and that was the first time an adult was proud of me. I was like, 'Well, this is what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life,'" she said.

Braxton was recently a trending topic on X after she fired shots at a disrespectful online troll and contacted their employer.

Where does Kayla Braxton rank on your list of all-time great on-air personalities? Sound off in the comments section below!