Byron Saxton

[2.0] "Really awful. A sterile, WWE-fabricated and -approved drone that more resembles a first-gen Host from Westworld than an actual human being. Nothing sounds genuine coming from Byron Saxton's mouth, probably because it isn't. Much like Michael Cole, he was under orders to never actually show any emotions other than A. Excitement and B. Indignation. Unlike Michael Cole, I don't think Saxton could actually do any better without those constraints. I've never heard such lifeless enthusiasm. I didn't know that was even possible. Dude was a nothingburger wrestler and now well over a decade later he's somehow even more of a nothingburger announcer, or interviewer, or janitor or whatever WWE programs him to do these days. When WWE has all-AI announcers and wrestlers twenty years from now, Saxton will be what they base their models on. Doesn't look like anything to me."

[4.0] "It's amazing all the things Byron Saxton tried and has been just thoroughly mediocre at. Mediocre in the ring, mediocre as an interviewer, mediocre as a commentator, what has he provided to be memorable aside from one of the worst finishers of all-time?"

[6.0] "I think he's decent. Nothing more than that. He wasn't very good as a commentator but I think he's been just fine as a backstage interviewer."

[5.0] "Saxton has become a steady and recognizable presence in WWE for what he brought to the commentary desk and backstage segments. A contestant on the original NXT, Saxton's in-ring career was brief, but he found his true calling behind the mic, where his professionalism, reliability, and easygoing demeanor helped him carve out a long-lasting role. Though often the butt of jokes from his commentary partners--particularly Corey Graves and Michael Cole--Byron plays his role well. He's the straight man in a team dynamic, often providing earnest reactions, clean play-by-play support, and a sense of grounded enthusiasm that balances out more sarcastic or heel-leaning voices. While he isn't the flashiest or most dynamic commentator, he's consistent, polished, and never tries to overshadow the talent in the ring. Saxton may not be a fan favorite in the traditional sense, but his contributions are valuable. He brings stability, a touch of sincerity, and a genuine respect for the product that comes through clearly on air. He's not a standout star, but he's a team player who adds to the overall presentation--and sometimes, that's exactly what a broadcast needs"

[4.0] "Mid at best. Even if he was a great in-ring wrestler, he just doesn't have the look. He has a very babyface look about him, you wouldn't be able to take him seriously as a heel nor as an actual wrestler. In-ring he was incredibly below average, not sure how or why they decided to sign him up, but they did. He's below average on commentary as well. Just all-round below average."

[7.0] "I understand the low rating, but the thing with Byron is he is decent in any situation you put him in. Right now as a backage interviewer he does his job and he's good, I liked him on commentary, he was (for his time in NXT, a 4/10) a wrestler for a bit, and he is a house show/occasional ring announcer who knows what he's doing and doesn't mess things up."

[4.0] "Byron Saxton was a very basic and generic wrestler who had nothing really going for him, which moved him to commentary, and he isn't the best at that but better than certain former commentators."

[4.0] "Not a very good wrestler or commentator, but not offensively bad. Was the worst part of one of the worst PG era booths."

[5.0] "Saxton is fine as a commentator and interviewer. He has a clear passion for pro wrestling that shines through when he is on commentary. Haven't seen a lot of his wrestling but what I have seen isn't great."

[7.0] "He s a pretty decent commentator and a good backstage guy. He doesnt annoy me like Kevin Patrick. I think his rating is too low. I dont know how good he was as a wrestler but as a commentator he is fine, he plays his role good. I would rather had him on Raw instead of Kev Patrick"

[5.0] "He's a nice guy and it shines through his commentary. I don't find him too annoying unlike Kevin Patrick, but he is a good enough commentator."

[7.0] "I've always thought that Byron Saxton is actually great. Saxton's goofy innocent babyface character fits in perfectly with Corey Graves' heel self-aware character, too bad they aren't on commentary together anymore. It sucks that he got demoted to the role of a backstage interviewer. It's hard to really show off that character when he really only says "please welcome my guest at this time". I think he's certainly underrated."

[0.0] "An abysmal commentator, added no depth whatsoever and his character was annoyingly biased toward the face even when they did heel actions. I know this is probably not his fault it's just the script but he didn't deliver his lines well either."

[4.0] "I've never liked Byron Saxton as a commentator, but oh well. I give him this rating so as not to be mean to him, who I don't even know."

[0.0] "Absolutely terrible, terrible color guy. No wit, no humor, no emotions, no useful insights. Simply repeating the same lines like an NPC with fake "emotions". I've actually started to enjoy Corey because one, he's witty even if sometimes annoying and two and most importantly, because he occasionally reveals what an idiot Saxton is by pointing out how inane, unfunny, or useless his last call/remark was. A false finish? "How did [insert "Superstar" name] kick out of this! ". A wrestler gets jumped? "And [insert "Superstar" name] from behind! ". With the same tone and delivery every. single. time. He doesn't even try to pretend this is a wrestling show, where he is calling an athletic contest. He just comes off as a corporate employee, with no love for the business, who does what he's told and repeats the same lines over and over with no emotion because he was told to do so. And he probably is, or was by Vince, and now he can't go back to being a normal person. Sometimes, the unholy amalgamation that is him and Walmart Joe Rogan assault my ears and intelligence as a wrestling fan so much that I simply mute the TV. I know the show's quality doesn't help but why does this guy have a job while Nigel McGuinness exists? I guess he's too British for the American audience but I digress. The show is starting to get better with HHH, so I hope they get this guy off the air and bring a Caprice Coleman or a Jerry Lawler at his peak because him and the other two really drag the show down."

[3.0] "One of the cringiest commentators of all time, and Excalibur still exists. I don't know how he's still employed, maybe he has some backstage favors, but he wasn't that great as a wrestler either, pretty much no talent there. No clue how he's still employed, he's had his moments to be sure and his exchanges with Cole and Corey can be entertaining from time to time, but they're fare and few in between."

[0.0] "I've recently began watching RAW again for Cody and I can't believe Saxton is STILL there on commentary. Saxton has to be my least favorite commentator of the modern era. There's no other commentator that makes me roll my eyes more than Byron Saxton. He's a robotic face commentator who talks a lot but says nothing. I don't think he knows a single fact about wrestling outside of main roster trash. His cheap and phony commentary is made even worse by how much he's insulted and ridiculed by almost all of his colleagues including Michael Cole. I think my least favorite thing about him is how he tries to get the babyfaces over and how he blindly hates the heels. He acts like a child when he does the 'Heels do X I don't like it but when babyfaces do the same thing it's so heroic" shtick. Saxton is enough reason to stop watching RAW entirely."

[2.0] "Poor in ring talent and his Commentary work is so generic. He tries too hard to justify the actions of a babyface while blindly condemning the actions of a heel."

[2.0] "I did not know him as a wrestler but as a commentator he is awful. I am sure his hands are tied working within WWE's ridged scripted system but I hate the way he tries to justify everything faces do but condemn heels for everything they do. He really adds very little to commentary."

[2.0] "Downright unbearable as a commentator. He's (to a point) charismatic, I guess, but his delivery is horrendous. He's clearly playing the role of a face commentator, but he adds almost nothing and just comes off as painfully goofy. His chemistry with Corey is okay, but that's mainly because of Corey throwing insults at him most of the time. As a wrestler...Well, there's a reason why he's not doing that anymore. One of the worst finishers I have ever seen and just as forgettable. Hard to believe his tenure with WWE is as long as it is."

[3.0] "Painful to deal with on commentary. He brings nothing to the booth. Is uninteresting & has no credibility. I know he's in amazing shape, so I'm not sure why his wrestling career flopped so hard (although I do recall him having one of the worst finishers of all time). But I do remember him sapping the energy from the room just as quickly back then as he does now. That said, I prefer him over Renee or Cole."

[2.0] "He was a flop wrestler and now here he is as a flop commentator. I don't know how he still has a job on the main roster meanwhile guys like Vic Joseph, Mauro Ronallo, and Nigel McGuinness are on 205 live and NXT (no disrespect to those shows). He is incredibly cringe and the way he tries to get gimmicks over like Bayley or New Day is by acting like he's literally 3. On top of that, he is literally just a punching bag for whoever else is on commentary with him and what does he say to defend himself? Absolutely nothing."

[4.0] "Saxton wasn't very impressive an in-ring talent and didn't have the charisma to make much work. He has since translated to the commentary role, and he's a mixed bag there. He looks the part of an analyst but he often can be too cliched, too contrived and sometimes, too forced when he tries to defend a babyface. He shines best when he can work off Graves as the too have some chemistry. Saxton is by no means the worst color guy the company has had but he is inoffensively meh."

[7.0] "Never saw the guy compete and I hated his guts when he started commentating. Now I have come to accept that he will never be awesome and that he'll be that Corey, Owens, JBL etc. shit on. And he's entertaining at that."

[4.0] "What little I saw of Saxton in the ring was pretty rough. He's not a great talker, I don't think, but he plays the role of dweep-who-gets-picked-on-by-every-other-announcer pretty well, making the occasional meek comeback but never going out of his way to undermine the other commentators to get his heat back. He's typically been the weakest part of the commentary teams I've seen him in, but for whatever reason I'm not ready to write him off as outright inadequate just yet."

[2.0] "Terrible in his current role on the broadcast team and it's made worse by the fact that he's on all the television as well as the big shows. I don't know who loves this guy backstage, but he adds virtually nothing to the broadcast and he actively distracts from it because JBL (another horrible commentator) stops to yell at him with Vince McMahon's voice. If I were running things, this guy would've been one of the first people I'd release."

[0.0] "This guy is almost as bad as Michael Cole. just terrible. Nerdy and lame. Never has anything interesting to say, I can't figure out why he's on TV. One of the reasons I end up muting the TV during matches, the other reasons being Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. Constantly lets the other announcers punk him, and doesn't seem to know shit about Wrestling."

[3.0] "A bland clone of Michael Cole. Love to make up alliterative phrases that don't make sense in context. If this guy is the future of WWE broadcasting, fans are in for a long ride."

[6.0] "As a wrestler, he was an average performer with possibly 1 of the worst finishers I've ever seen. As a commentator, I'd say he has found his place. Hopefully he'll continue to grow and go far."

[7.0] "Saxton seems to have traded in his wrestling trunks and boots for a headset and microphone, but that's just fine by me. We need as many announcers in wrestling as we can get. And Saxton is a very entertaining color commentator. I'm glad he's been promoted to Smackdown. He'll bring a lot to the show."

[6.0] "Very charismatic and can pull off some heel antics on commentary without comming off as overly annoying or trying too hard."