Joe Budden Expresses How Much He Enjoyed WWE Raw Experience, Says Knowing Wrestling Is Scripted Makes It More Beautiful To Watch

Budden had a great time and said he’ll be back.

The post-SummerSlam edition of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Among the celebrities and notable names in attendance was host, podcaster, and music artist Joe Budden.

He spoke extensively about his experience at Raw during the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. Budden shared that hearing the crowd chant for the likes of Roman Reigns and L.A. Knight got him hyped up. He had a great time and stated that, in a way, it’s more beautiful to watch the product knowing that it’s scripted. Budden has an appreciation for the athleticism and performance aspects of it all.

“Woah, buddy. When I tell you I had a time. (It was at) The Barclays (Center) … And I’m just looking at the production. They got a million different departments with thousands of people working one event in concert, cohesive. We on these headphones, we on these walkie-talkies and it’s work. We get backstage, now the wrestlers is shooting back there so they’re like, ‘Aye! Quiet! Quiet!’ It’s production, and I’m just looking, and they shoot, and then they stop shooting and they did that a few times and then all the wrestlers walking by and then you’re talking to all the wrestlers. The guy wrestlers, the girl wrestlers and everybody is so polite, and just warm and welcoming. They don’t care I don’t know wrestling. They don’t give f *ck. ‘Hey man, nice to meet you…’ Oh my God (Budden laughed). We are catching a little vibe, aren’t we? We are having a slice back here… So they start the monologue. Al Heyman, somebody… Paul! Paul! Al Heyman? Where’d I get Al from? So Paul Heyman is up there projecting, giving the best monologue ever with Seth (Rollins). They smoked this monologue. Camera down, lights down. Now we got some fighters coming out. I don’t know who these people are, but, when the crowd start chanting, I’m chanting. It’s a very organic experience for me. OTC! OTC! OTC! OTC! Yeah, f*ck they talking about? I don’t know who’s a good guy, a bad guy, but if the crowd is chanting, yeah! We on that. OTC! OTC! And then I guess Seth Rollins was out there bragging that he had the belt, and then some (expletive) came out. I was like, ‘Yo, who the f*ck is this dude?’ Kaz (Famuyide) is a wrestling head so he’s breaking everything. He said, ‘It’s too much story to give you with this one, but this guy right here, they used to be in a group, they split up,’ yada, yada, yada. I said, ‘Word?’ The crowd start chanting, ‘L.A. Knight! L.A. Knight! L.A. Knight! L.A. Knight! L.A. Knight! Let’s go!’ They wasn’t really f*cking with Seth. He was on some bad guy sh*t. They wasn’t really feeling son. Anyway, long story, less long, the matches were great, the production was great. Watching all of that was great. Shout out to Netflix. Shout out to f*cking WWE. It was amazing. I would definitely go back. I’m in.

And it was just like a culture shock, right? Because in the writing, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In the writing, so much of the sh*t that’s from our childhood is still in there, right? The sh*t that used to work on me. Like, when the ref turn his back and then (expletive) start jumping. ‘Turn around! He right there!’ So I’m seeing this work in person. So now because I’m an adult watching, I’m kind of getting the groove of it so every time somebody win, and they get up on the turn-rope, to the top and talk to the fans, and it’s some new (expletive) that come out. They right behind ‘em. ‘He gonna get you, man! Turn around!’ I think that it’s just more beautiful to me knowing that it’s not real. It’s iller. That makes it ill. 

Dawg, for them to be pulling some of them moves and slapping some of them (expletive) and earth slamming, the acrobatics. I’m like, alright, real or not, scripted or not, some of this is gonna hurt… And I’m in the gym now, so everybody that come out there is like this (muscular person). You’re like, God damn!… We had a time in there though. We had a real good time. Them wrestlers was saying they work 52 weeks a year. They said, ‘We get off when we don’t feel well.’ I was like, ‘That’s how I do the pod…’ Think of an entire city traveling to different cities for 52 weeks in concert, working together to put on this show. This is one of the most amazing sh*ts you’re ever gonna see. So, I’ll definitely be back there.”

He discussed seeing Charlotte Flair in action and knowing her because of her father. Flair and Alexa Bliss defended their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez.

“‘Yo, that’s Ric Flair’s daughter. Yo, that’s what’s-his-name son.’ She’s the Tag Team Champion with the other little, little, little girl. So then the Mexican girls came out, because that’s the thing, it’s kind of Love & Hip Hop-ish too, and I’ll say this in closing, it’s Love & Hip Hop-ish too, in terms of production. While you’re talking, giving your speech with your homie, music gonna come on and now you going to look stupid in the face, and your enemy is coming down the aisle… Them Mexican girls came out there, I said, ‘Oh sh*t. This is getting deep.’ The Mexican girl had a little girl with her so now they’re just gonna battle Ric Flair daughter (Budden laughed) … Nah, for real. I don’t know their names. It was the Mexican girl and the little girl and Ric Flair and the short one but they champions, and they won of course. You ain’t gonna beat the f*cking champion on Raw. Kick rocks.”

Another one of the bouts that Budden got to see was Sheamus versus Rusev. He stated that he’s a big fan of Rusev. Budden reiterated that he’ll be back at a WWE event and wants to collaborate with the company.

“For this to work, these big, giant fighting-ists of the fighters have to be soft, gentle, kind, and know how to talk to people from every age, every walk of life. It’s totally not the same at all. You could be out there booing ‘em. That Irish (expletive) that was out there fighting. The big Irish (expletive) that was fighting my man Rusev. Don’t play with Rusev. I’m team Rusev too. I don’t know if he’s good or bad… He was getting booed the whole f*cking night, but backstage, he taking every picture with everybody… It was a sight to see. It was inspiring; it was a sight to see. I’ll be back, and let’s work!”

The next stop for WWE is the 8/8 Friday Night SmackDown from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. John Cena and the new WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, are advertised for the show.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit The Joe Budden Podcast with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.