In a revealing interview on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio today, WWE ring announcer Alicia Taylor opened up about her remarkable and often challenging journey to her current role, detailing everything from her early wrestling fandom and music career beginnings to drumming for pop stars, facing homelessness, and the pivotal support she received from the Osbourne family and wrestling veteran Rhyno.
Taylor’s love for wrestling started young, watching alongside her mother in Saginaw, Michigan. “I’ve been a fan since I was like four or five,” she shared. “We’re both yelling at the TV… My grandpa would always made fun of us. He’s like, ‘You know, these guys go and have beer afterwards.’ We’re like, ‘No, they’re not’, and we were so angry about it, but me and my mom would always go to wrestling every time it came to the Saginaw Civic Center.” Her own musical journey began early too, and in a perhaps unexpected genre: “I started singing in death metal bands when I was, like, 14 or 15,” Taylor noted.
This led to an 18-year career primarily as a professional drummer. Taylor recounted playing high-profile gigs, including touring 11 countries and releasing a live concert DVD with Kelly Osbourne. She also played with the band Lillix, who were signed to Warner Brothers in Canada, and held the drum seat for Miley Cyrus during the massively popular Hannah Montana era. “Yea, in the show Hannah Montana, before she started twerking. It was Hannah Montana,” she confirmed.
Despite these successes, Taylor eventually grew weary of the industry. “I had an 18 year career in drumming. I hated the music business at some point. I got out of music. It’s disgusting,” she stated bluntly. Chasing musical dreams led to difficult periods, particularly after she moved from Michigan to Los Angeles on her own with minimal funds. “LA was a struggle. I had like, $700. At that age, I was like, oh, $700 I can make it in LA… I wasn’t gonna tell my mom the thing I came out here for didn’t really work… don’t have any money, can’t get an apartment.” This resulted in periods of homelessness. “Yeah, a couple times,” she admitted. “I like to think luxury homeless because I had a car. I was sleeping in the car.” She also found temporary shelter in precarious situations. “Luckily, I had some friends that would let me sleep in their band rehearsal space in downtown L.A… There was a hole in the window of the rehearsal space, and I had to kind of sneak in once the band cleared out. I’m just in this abandoned warehouse essentially in downtown L.A. by myself at night. That was pretty scary.”
Help came from her longtime friends, the Osbourne family, whom she considers “like family” after more than 20 years. After a rehearsal with Kelly Osbourne, the situation came to light. Taylor recalled Kelly asking, “‘Where do you live now?’ I was like, ‘At the moment, nowhere. I’m staying in my car.’ She’s like, ‘You’re coming home with me.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to impose.’ She’s like, ‘No, don’t be ridiculous.'” Kelly brought her home to Ozzy and Sharon. “Kelly’s just like, ‘Mom, Dad, Alicia is staying with us’. Sharon’s like, ‘Okay. Show her the room upstairs’.” Taylor expressed deep gratitude: “I stayed with them for a bit until I got back on my feet. I love them. I have nothing but good things to ever say about the Osbournes.” She also credited them for helping launch her entertainment career, partly through her appearances on their early 2000s reality show, The Osbournes.
Facing a career crossroads after stepping away from music, Taylor reflected, “I was getting out of music and thought, what do I love? Nothing but wrestling.” Believing a career as an in-ring competitor wasn’t feasible at her age (“I’m not going to be a wrestler at this age”), she launched a YouTube series interviewing wrestlers. “I started interviewing wrestlers. That’s where I met Terry Funk, Stan Hansen, and I started getting all these legends on the show right away. It took off pretty quickly.”
This YouTube show became her unexpected bridge to WWE. Taylor explained the connection happened through mutual friend Nicole Fiorentino, bassist for Garbage and formerly of Smashing Pumpkins. “Rhyno goes to see Smashing Pumpkins. My friend Nicole texts me. She’s like, ‘Do you know this guy? I know you like wrestling.’ She sends me a picture of her and Rhyno,” Taylor explained. Months later, she encountered Rhyno at an independent show in Michigan. “We start talking. He’s like, ‘I know your friend from Smashing Pumpkin.’ This is how we met and became friends.” When Rhyno saw her interview show, he asked, “‘Did you ever think about working for WWE?’ I was like, ‘Well, of course, but how am I going to do that? Everybody wants to work for WWE.’ He’s like, ‘Let me show them your stuff.'”
Rhyno submitting her interviews led directly to a WWE audition. “Long story short, here we are, six and a half years later,” Taylor concluded, now serving as a prominent ring announcer for WWE, primarily on the NXT brand but also appearing on main roster shows. Her journey highlights a unique blend of musical talent, resilience through hardship, strong personal connections, and a lifelong passion for wrestling finally realized.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
