Three years ago, if you asked someone if they would ever expect a wrestler to be a guest on The Joe Budden Podcast, New Rory ‘N Mal, or Club 520, they would probably look at you bewildered. Fast forward to now, the company is larger than life, and everyone wants a piece of the pie. If you aren’t creating content involving the WWE, you are behind the eight ball.
“That feels good,” former WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill told Billboard about the visibility the company has gained via premier, hip-hop-leaning podcasts. “A lot of the podcasts I’ve been doing recently are successful Black podcasts. I want to put on for the culture — and, more than anything, I really want to have more of a Black fanbase in wrestling. We’re there, but we can be so much bigger. I believe anything that we put our hands on turns to gold.”
There are multiple reasons that people who normally would not discuss wrestling now share their takes on the sport, attend the live events, and even invite the superstars onto their shows for interviews. There was the undeniable Roman Reigns title run from 2020 to 2024, which included his dominant Bloodline faction, the ascension of current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, and the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Many fans cite that storyline as the thing that brought them back to the product.
Business-wise, Endeavor Group Holdings acquired the WWE in 2023 and merged it with the UFC to form a new parent company, TKO. Last year, the WWE also unveiled a partnership with ESPN to broadcast its premium live events. And, arguably most importantly, they struck an additional deal with streaming titan Netflix, where Monday Night RAW is broadcast live in the United States, and all WWE programming can be found globally.
Netflix hasn’t stopped at just hosting the once-longest-running episodic television show, though. The entertainment brand has fully immersed itself in the WWE ecosystem, and helped to further bridge the gap between the squared circle and hip-hop, which already had an ongoing relationship.
In recent years, Drake appeared at Elimination Chamber, Lil Wayne performed at Wrestlemania, and Travis Scott played a significant in-ring role in the storyline involving Cody Rhodes, John Cena and The Rock. Thanks to Netflix, on any given Monday, one can find Killer Mike, Lil Baby, Bun B, Metro Boomin, Quavo and countless other hip-hop figures sitting ringside watching superstars go to war.
Lil Yachty, who has also made several appearances at shows, took things a step further by joining new WWE United States Champion Trick Williams on-screen and helping him win the title from Sami Zayn this past weekend at Wrestlemania. “It was mutual,” Williams said of his new allegiance with the Atlanta rapper.
“Yachty’s been around for a while. Obviously, he loves the product, and he wants everybody to know that. He ain’t no celebrity promoting nothing – he wants to be down with WWE. I’ve known Yachty for a couple [of] years now, and they asked me how I would feel about doing something with him. It was a no-brainer. He wanted to work with Trick, Trick wanted to work with Yachty, and we got gold.”
This duo may not be stopping at just in-ring activity, either. “Who knows man? Maybe we’ll put out a whole album,” The Anointed One said when asked about possibly getting in the booth with the Solo Steppin’ Crete Boy. “I think people want to see what Trick and Boat got to say.”
Netflix upped the ante in bringing these two spheres together this past Monday (April 20) ahead of the highly-touted Raw After Mania. Their Brunch, Beats & Bodyslams event was hosted at LIV Beach Club in the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, including a “Who’s Who” of WWE superstars, artists, celebrities, and media. Club 520 brought their unhinged humor to the forefront with a live podcast featuring Cargill, Je’Von Evans, and comedian Lou Young.
New York hip-hop veterans Fabolous, Jim Jones, Maino and Dave East, hosts of the Let’s Rap About It podcast, camped out in a villa overlooking the entire event and reminisced on where their wrestling fandom began. Loso, in particular, wanted to set the record straight on the long-discussed rap battle between himself and John Cena, which was allegedly supposed to happen at Wrestlemania 19 in 2003.
“I remember somebody reached out about it, but I didn’t really take it seriously. I think that’s why [John] went on to Wrestlemania and called me out,” the Brooklyn rapper said. “I didn’t even think it was a real thing. In that time, I wasn’t an avid wrestling fan or paying attention to that world. What’s crazy, is I had my son in 2008, and eight to nine years after that, he started liking wrestling. So it got me back into it.”
Fab was recently highlighted during RAW at Madison Square Garden, and called it a full-circle moment. “I grew up as a kid watching wrestling. The Hulk Hogan, [Macho Man Randy Savage], The Ultimate Warrior era. Now I’m here,” he stated.
“Being able to be at the shows [and] bring my son, it’s definitely something I look back on and say my career has led me into so many different worlds. It was a really cool thing.” Fab even said that if The Miz was looking for a new theme song, he’d be willing to do it, because he feels The Miz is “cool.” Surely, The Awesome One would be thrilled to hear that.
His partners in podcasting echoed his sentiments regarding wrestlers they grew up watching. Jim Jones was enthused at the idea of managing a wrestler, and hand-picked The Rock as who he would love to advocate for. Dave East, known for his commitment to fitness, expressed his willingness to get into the ring one day and make a moment by taking down either Sting or Stone Cold Steve Austin. Maino, who’s recently gone viral for the memes generated from when he looks down at people through his glasses on Let’s Rap About It, may have created a new meme. He said that the wrestling version of himself was none other than the late great Rowdy Roddy Piper; Twitter, do your thing with that one.
It is difficult to forecast where the relationship between the WWE and Hip-Hop will go because so many of the recent major moments between the two have been unpredictable. One thing is for sure and two things are for certain; whatever happens next, Netflix will be at the core of it. As long as the WWE stays hot and Netflix continues to pour into the Hip-Hop community, the artists who have been longtime fans will be thrilled whenever they get the call to make history. Then, now, and forever. Together.
