Sam Roberts defends himself.

On the NXT TakeOver: Phoenix kick-off show, panelist Sam Roberts stated that Bianca Belair was "not TakeOver worthy" and that she was "nowhere near" the elite of NXT. You can view Sam's full comments, along with Belair telling him to kiss her ass, here.

On the latest episode of his podcast, Roberts addressed the criticism over his comments.

"WWE invites me to the kick-off shows and they ask me to give my opinion on things. On Saturday, I was not fed an opinion. I have never been fed an opinion," said Roberts. "They ask me to be me and give my opinion. I had a crisis of conscience in that moment. I felt like I was going along with the show and decided to say exactly how I felt in that moment. I know Mark Henry started a campaign saying I owe Bianca Belair an apology. I certainly will not be apologizing to Bianca Belair because my opinion is my opinion. Do I think she deserves to be on TakeOver after her performance? You'll have to ask me at the next TakeOver."

Roberts continued, "There were people, after the show, who had conversations with me about the way I said what I said. But, the fact is, I said what I said. It's exactly how you saw it. Was everybody thrilled with it? No. We'll see how things go as we move forward."

Roberts has been part of various WWE/NXT pay-per-view kick-off shows since December 2016.