Buffalo, New York rapper and businessman Westside Gunn (Photo Credit: Vani Digital LLC).
Hip-hop music’s influence on pro wrestling — believe it or not — goes back decades.
When the New World Order (NWO) — one of wrestling’s most influential factions — became a cultural flashpoint featuring Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, they utilized the phrase “4 Life,” a riff off West Coast rapper Mack 10’s 1995 track, “For Life.”
Currently, WWE Superstar “Main Event” Jey Uso, one of wrestling’s most popular figures, benefits heavily from hip-hop’s influence on the sport.
Despite recent naysaying from wrestling fans who bristled at the fact that Smackdown’s rebranding features a track from rapper Megan Thee Stallion, rap’s influence on the sport is here to stay.
Buffalo, New York rapper Westside Gunn, who grew up an avid wrestling fan and a front-row fixture at many wrestling promotions, appears to have the gravitas—and, most importantly, the financial backing—to pull off “Fourth Rope,” a wrestling promotion that’s aligned with his concert series “Heels Have Eyes,” along with his new album “Still Praying.”
The event, which took place last weekend at Chicago’s UIC Forum, featured musical performances from Dave East, Boldy James, DJ Premier and Pete Rock. The in-ring portion of the event featured wrestling matches with TNA wrestlers Moose, Joe Hendry, Masha Slamovich, AJ Francis, Mike Santana and Jordynne Grace, along with independent stars Zilla Fatu and Cha Cha Charlie.
It’s not a shock that Westside Gunn, who might be pro wrestling’s most influential evangelist alongside Washington D.C. rapper Wale, would parlay his fandom into curating something more tangible along with his music. After all, the names of some of his tracks are loaded with wrestling puns such as “Cruiser Weight Coke,” “Gorilla Monsoon,” “Lucha Bros,” “Dudley Boyz” and “Brossface Brippler,” among many others.
Phil Lindsey, a wrestling columnist for Bleacher Report and cohost of the “Grapsody” podcast, says Westside Gunn creating his own promotion was a long time coming.
“This just felt like the logical next step for him, in a lot of ways, because he was showing up at all the wrestling shows, and he was showing that he was a hardcore fan,” said Lindsey. “And he had talked a lot about wanting to be acknowledged by some of these companies like WWE… it just felt like, for him, he wanted to be hands-on the wrestling more. And so this just felt like it was only a matter of time.”
“Heels Have Eyes,” in this columnist’s opinion, was a rousing success.
Westside Gunn successfully amalgamated his interests under one roof: his music, which includes an extensive catalog of albums and mixtapes with Griselda members Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, his wrestling fandom and his keen fashion sense (the lines at shows to buy his merch are the stuff of legend).
Also, the wrestling personalities involved were hyper-aware of the moment’s history by accurately describing hip-hop’s place—more so the lack thereof—in wrestling circles.
Fourth Rope commissioner/AEW personality MVP seemed like he was making the call from inside the house. Recently, there’s been a lot of talk regarding how the WWE doesn’t curate storylines for Black male talent. He was a part of “The Hurt Business,” an all-Black stable recently rebranded as “The Hurt Syndicate” in AEW.
Wrestling scribes have pointed out the absence of Black male main eventers in recent Premium Live Events (PLEs), most notably “Bad Blood,” in Atlanta, a predominantly Black city that remains influential in hip-hop culture.
In response to the critiques, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque stated that he “doesn’t see color” when giving wrestlers opportunities.
“They’ve never welcomed hip-hop in professional wrestling,” MVP told the packed crowd. “Sure, they’ve had a little dose here and there, and they’ve had some cultural appropriators doing some things here and there. This is the first time in my life and my career — and yours — that authentic hip-hop and professional wrestling are sharing the ring together.”
TNA wrestler AJ Francis was on last Saturday’s card. Francis, a former WWE/NXT wrestler, echoes MVP’s sentiments regarding wrestling embracing hip-hop whether the powers that be like it or not. Also, he knows the culture and wrestling go way back.
“… The marketing genius of West is not just it’s a sold-out wrestling show; it’s a sold-out wrestling show named after the album he just dropped, which is also talking about the show. He’s building a brand within his own brand that’s an offshoot of his fandom of wrestling. The man’s a genius,” said Francis. “Wrestling is the culture. People have been rapping about wrestlers since forever. OutKast gave Dusty Rhodes bars. This ain’t new, but the difference is now it’s more open and embraced, not just within the culture, but from the wrestling side of it.
“I was trying to do ‘Hit Row’ in WWE three years ago, and people looked at me like I was crazy. And now every show has a Sexyy Red or Westside Gunn…”
TNA wrestler AJ Francis (Photo Credit: Trilavision).
Francis, who curates his own music, believes that Westside Gunn is one of wrestling’s best advocates in hip-hop culture. After all, some people who attended “Heels Have Eyes” may have come for the music but stayed for the wrestling.
“[Westside Gunn] is one of the original ones. The only people I know that have been heavy on the wrestling game in the hip-hop community for a long time is Westside Gunn and Wale — and they both had their own cut of that wrestling room,” said Francis. “It’s amazing to be able to see West do this and not need it to be WrestleMania weekend. Not need it to be Royal Rumble weekend. You know there’s an AEW show going on right now. WWE had a pay-per-view [Saturday] in Saudi Arabia; we sold out a wrestling show in Chicago. That says a lot for West.”
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