13 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 23)

9. A Touch Of Class

Byron Saxton
WWE.com

Byron Saxton and his family suffered a deep, personal tragedy as his father, Walter Kelly Jr., passed away over the weekend, leading to the announcer's absence from last night's SmackDown.

A sad, sad situation, and WWE deserve credit for handling it with class. SD's second hour saw Michael Cole arrive to take The New Day's position at the table. As Cole sat down, Tom Phillips explained why his usual broadcast colleague wasn't there that night, dropping a quick, touching tribute that concluded with "we love you, buddy," in a moment that surely meant a lot to Byron.

Big props to WWE for this. Big, big props.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.