In a candid and inspiring interview on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, WWE ring announcer Alicia Taylor opened up about her extraordinary life path—one that took her from homelessness in Los Angeles to the bright lights of WWE NXT, and from drumming for major pop stars to pursuing a lifelong love of professional wrestling.
Taylor shared deeply personal moments, reflecting on her early fandom, musical career, and the key figures—like the Osbourne family and Rhyno—who helped change her life.
Taylor’s wrestling journey started early in Saginaw, Michigan:
“I’ve been a fan since I was like four or five. We’re both yelling at the TV… My grandpa would always make 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.”
Before wrestling, Taylor pursued music—starting out in death metal as a teenager:
“I started singing in death metal bands when I was, like, 14 or 15.”
That passion led to a successful 18-year career as a professional drummer, touring the world and working with big-name artists:
“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 played with Kelly Osbourne, released a live DVD, and performed in 11 countries. Taylor was also part of Lillix, signed to Warner Brothers Canada, and played with Miley Cyrus during her Hannah Montana run:
“Yea, in the show Hannah Montana, before she started twerking. It was Hannah Montana.”
After moving to Los Angeles with limited funds, Taylor hit rock bottom:
“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 led to periods of homelessness:
“Yeah, a couple times. I like to think luxury homeless because I had a car. I was sleeping in the car.”
She found temporary shelter in band rehearsal spaces:
“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 the Osbournes, with whom Taylor had worked closely for years:
“‘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’s just like, ‘Mom, Dad, Alicia is staying with us.’ Sharon’s like, ‘Okay. Show her the room upstairs.’”
“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.”
Taylor credited her time with the Osbournes and her appearances on their early 2000s reality show as a launching point for her career in entertainment.
At a crossroads, she turned back to her first love:
“I was getting out of music and thought, what do I love? Nothing but wrestling.”
Though she felt it was too late to train as a wrestler:
“I’m not going to be a wrestler at this age,”
She instead created a YouTube interview series with wrestling legends:
“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.”
A surprising connection brought her dream full circle. Through her friend Nicole Fiorentino (bassist for Garbage), Taylor was introduced to Rhyno:
“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.”
Later, she met Rhyno in person at an indie show:
“We start talking. He’s like, ‘I know your friend from Smashing Pumpkins.’ This is how we met and became friends.”
“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.’”
That connection led directly to her WWE audition.
“Long story short, here we are, six and a half years later.”
Today, Alicia Taylor is a key presence in WWE as a ring announcer for NXT, often seen on main roster shows as well. Her story is one of unshakable determination, creative reinvention, and a lifelong love of wrestling finally fulfilled.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more heartfelt stories from WWE’s behind-the-scenes stars and exclusive interviews from across the wrestling world.
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
