Alicia Taylor’s Wild Road From Death Metal Drummer to WWE’s Voice of RAW
If you only know Alicia Taylor as the powerhouse ring announcer on Raw, buckle up. Her path to WWE swings from blast‑beat clubs to Disney pop tours, a stint of living in her car, and a critical assist from rock royalty.
Early Days in Michigan
Taylor (real name Alicia Warrington) fell in love with wrestling and heavy music about the same time.
“I’ve been a fan since I was like four or five,” she said on Busted Open Radio. “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.”
The ring wasn’t her only stage.
“I started singing in death‑metal bands when I was, like, 14 or 15,” she added.
From Hannah Montana to Moving in With Ozzy and Sharon
A chance call landed her behind the kit for Hannah Montana and later for Kelly Osbourne. When the tours ended the paychecks stopped, and Los Angeles rent hit hard. Taylor slept in her car for months, hustling odd gigs to stay afloat.
That changed after a rehearsal with Kelly Osbourne:
“Kelly asked, ‘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.’ … Kelly brings me home to Ozzy and Sharon. Sharon’s like, ‘Okay, show her the room upstairs.’”
Taylor stayed with the Osbournes until she got back on her feet.
“I love them. I have nothing but good things to ever say about the Osbournes,” she said, crediting the family—and her appearances on their early‑2000s reality show—for jump‑starting her on‑camera career.
A Chance Meeting With Rhyno
The bridge to WWE came through mutual friend Nicole Fiorentino of Garbage and Smashing Pumpkins.
“Rhyno goes to see Smashing Pumpkins. My friend Nicole texts me, ‘Do you know this guy? I know you like wrestling.’ She sends me a picture of her and Rhyno,” Taylor recalled.
Months later she crossed paths with Rhyno at an indie show in Michigan.
“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’s recommendation led to a tryout, then a job with NXT. Taylor’s gritty cadence and genuine love of wrestling quickly made her indispensable, and she eventually moved to the blue brand.
Raw’s Voice Today
Today Alicia Taylor commands the mic every Monday night with the same confidence she once brought to death‑metal stages. Her journey, full of detours, drum fills, and a little help from the Osbournes, is a reminder that the road to WWE is sometimes louder, stranger, and far more musical than anyone could predict.