Sam Roberts received a ton of heat from fans online for his rant against Bianca Belair during Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Pre-show. Roberts said that Belair didn’t deserve to be on a TakeOver special as she didn’t stand a chance to NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.
Roberts’ somewhat-bizarre rant left co-hosts Charly Caruso & Pat McAfee a bit shocked. Roberts seemed lost for a few seconds but that could have been because someone was communicating with him in the headset.
“We’re going to get to see Shayna Baszler be dominant as she always is. We get to see Bianca Belair finally step up and get the opportunity to challenge for the women’s championship,” Roberts said. “It’s… I j… it’s not… I mean, I don’t think it… it’s not Take-Takeover worthy. Bianca Belair, she’s a good athlete but look at the list of women champions. You got Shayna Baszler, you have Charlotte, you have Sasha Banks, you have Asuka, you have Kairi Sane. This is a list of the elite women in wrestling and Bianca Belair is nowhere close to that list. Takeover has become what Takeover has become. There’s only 5 matches on this card and we’re going to sit here on the panel and act like there’s a possibility that one of the most skilled women in the history of NXT needs to worry about another woman hitting her with her ponytail.”

Caruso then defended Belair and said that she prides herself on being the strongest, toughest and the fastest. Roberts wasn’t done. The SiriusXM Satellite Radio Host & longtime wrestling fan said that the match was a waste because Belair just isn’t ready, as seen below:
“She’s not,” Roberts said. “She’s not going to win. She doesn’t have a chance to win the match. You know she doesn’t have a chance. Even you [McAfee], with those rocks clinging in your head, you know Bianca Belair does not have a shot at beating Shayna Baszler. And when we walk into a Takeover knowing that the challenger doesn’t have a shot to win the championship, we’re wasting a match. Bianca Belair is a great athlete. I would love to see this match on NXT TV. Put it on NXT TV. She’ll be champion one day, but you know what day she won’t be champion? Today. She’s not ready.”
Belair, who went into TakeOver with an undefeated TV singles streak but lost to Baszler by submission without tapping out, responded in a WWE YouTube Video and said that Roberts can kiss her backside. You can see her response in the video below:

Belair said, “You know what? Mr. Sam can say what he wants to say because I literally just pushed Shayna to her limit. So, Mr. Sam, you can kiss me ass.”
Belair also talked to Sarah Schreiber about the match. She said, “You know what? Being undefeated is not just a record. Being undefeated is a mindset, and I just had my first NXT Takeover match, and the title was literally in my fingertips. So, Shayna knows that one day I’m going to take that title from her because I’m undefeated.”

I hope Sam Roberts’ comments about @BiancaBelairWWE were scripted because if it wasn’t, he really sucks at knowing how to hype a title match #NXTTakeover @WrestlingInc
— Raj Giri (@RajGiri_303) January 27, 2019

Sam Roberts says Bianca Belair doesn’t deserve to be on a TakeOver event quite yet and gets headed that was not cool at all he needs to be respectful and professional at all times ????????#NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/CANbMXY6YQ
— BeyondThe3Count (@BeyondThe3Count) January 27, 2019

Honestly, who the hell crapped in Sam Roberts cereal this morning? #NXTTakeOver
— Zachary Breer (@zb_sk8_) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts just have a stroke?#NXTTakeOver
— Ross W Berman IV (@RossWBermanIV) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts is not a fan of Johnny Gargano and Bianca BelAir. Calling Gargano a loser and Bianca unworthy of being on the show #NXTTakeOver
— Allan Albert (@AllanAlbert07) January 26, 2019

What the hell is Sam Roberts trying to say? #NXTTakeover
— Alan Proctor (@APWrestlingBlog) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts’ brain just break?
— Corey (@Corey5771) January 26, 2019

What is this racist bullshit Sam Roberts? Bianca is not Takeover worthy? Go fuck yourself.
— James Parsons (@jamesparsns) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts just malfunction or something? #NXTTakeOver
— Matt (@MShadows17) January 26, 2019

SAM ROBERTS SHOOTING FROM THE HIP???? #NXTTakeOver
— Matt Simpson (@_Matt0409) January 26, 2019

Is Sam Roberts drunk or having a stroke right now? #NXTTakeOver
— MileHigh303 (@Emperor_of_Beer) January 26, 2019

Bianca Belair needs to hair whip the shit out of Sam Roberts. #NXTTakeOver
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLewis216) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts has been crap. He’s trying so hard to be a heel.
— Fight Bomaye Fight (@BomayeKO) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts gets the shovel out for Bianca Belair, damn. #NXTTakeOver
— Andrew MacDonald (@andrewisgood) January 26, 2019

Whoa I thought we almost lost Sam Roberts there for a second. #NXTTakeOver
— Sean Murphy (@Murphs56) January 26, 2019

WOW SAM Roberts dropping the truth bomb on BELAIR!!! #NXTTakeoverPhoenix
— Jason (@Jernst222) January 26, 2019

WHOA! Sam Roberts just said Bianca BelAir should not be on tonight’s TakeOver…… Frankly, I agree with him. #NXTTakeOver #NXTYearEndAwards
— Rusty (@RustyRages) January 26, 2019

What happened with Sam Roberts? Did that beard infect him with negativity? #NXTTakeOver
— Allan Albert (@AllanAlbert07) January 26, 2019

Somebody needs to unplug and plug back in Sam Roberts, i’m p sure. #NXTTakeOver
— Steven Rondina (@srondina) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts just have a stroke? #NXTTakeOver
— ♠?Brandon (@LordKraken1562) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts is on the fritz. Someone needs to reboot him.#NXTTakeOver
— Kyle Decker (@kfd2010) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts full on BURIED Bianca BelAir there. JESUS. #NXTTakeOver
— Matty I D (@MattyID) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts trying so hard to argue against Bianca BelAir without actually making a point. Like it sounds like he’s trying to dance around something.
— lib morgan (@fxkdreaming) January 26, 2019

Woah did Sam Roberts just shoot hard there?
— Genuine Wrestleboys Podcast (@WrestleboysCast) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts experimenting with a racist gimmick. Fair play
— Alpha Entertainer: Michael (@kaossm) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts just have a stroke
— ?????????????? (@p_erezident) January 26, 2019

Jebus Sam Roberts, this is super cringey.
— Koby (@KobysaurusRex) January 26, 2019

Ummm. Sam Roberts just went full shoot lol
I love it.
I would love if everyone just spoke their mind more!!#NXTTakeOver
— #BBPW (@BBprowrestle) January 26, 2019

For the first time ever. I agree with Sam Roberts talking about Bianca Belair. @BiancaBelairWWE prove him and me wrong tonite. Tear the house down. #nxttakeover #NXTTAKEOVER #nxttakeoverphoenix #NXTTakeOver #NXTTakeover
— KoreyDead ?? (@Korey100) January 26, 2019

sam roberts is a racist pass it on
— victo ortiz (@thesweetvee) January 26, 2019

H-Man bout to go out there and give Sam Roberts a shoot pedigree
— Jake Nazar (@jake_nazar) January 26, 2019

Who forgot to update Sam Roberts’s software before the show?
— Ross W Berman IV (@RossWBermanIV) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts have a brain fart then WTF #NXTTakeOver
— Kurt (@KurtMCR) January 26, 2019

Not sure if Sam Roberts had a CTE flare up or what, but then what he said after confirmed it. #NXTTakeover
— Logan (@LoganBDoubleU) January 26, 2019

Wow for once i actually agree with Sam Roberts @OKayFabe @CorruptedPOD @CountdownEnded
— Matt the Misfit (@MattTheMizfit) January 26, 2019

Damn Sam Roberts just dragging Bianca Belair #NXTTakeOver
— Koranteng N.O (@Ghnanayaw) January 26, 2019

sam roberts blowing up after getting yelled at over his headset! #NXTTakeOver #NXTTakeOverPhoenix
— James (@JACRunner) January 26, 2019

Did Sam Roberts just lose his marbles on live TV
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts laying the truth down #NXTTakeOver ??
— chiari fighter (@carbon_robert) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts about to get fired hahaha what a shoot. #NXTTakeover
— Cubs World Series 2019 Champs (@SammyP4Real) January 26, 2019

Sam Roberts is working a whooooooole bunch of nerds lol #NXTTakeOver
— #Broken Matt Warren (@MWarren115) January 27, 2019

I think everyone owes Sam Roberts an apology #NXTTakeOver
— giants all day (@dougcyrus1) January 27, 2019