Broadcaster and former rapper Joe Budden recently attended a WWE Raw event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and to say he enjoyed the experience would be an understatement. Having not watched wrestling since he was a child, Budden was completely drawn in by the live spectacle, from the production to the in-ring action. He shared his thoughts on his podcast, expressing a newfound appreciation for the art of professional wrestling with a charming and humorous unfamiliarity.

A Newfound Appreciation

Budden was captivated by the entire production, from the moment he arrived backstage. He described the scene as a well-oiled machine, with a multitude of departments working in unison to put on the show.

“When I tell you I had a time,” he said, “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.”

He was equally impressed by the wrestlers themselves, noting how polite and welcoming they were.

“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.”

The in-ring action and the crowd’s energy were infectious. Budden found himself chanting along with the fans, even though he was hilariously out of the loop on some key figures. He described the opening segment, comically misremembering a legendary name:

“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.”

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Budden Gets Caught Up In The Excitement

When a challenger emerged for Rollins, Budden was completely lost but caught up in the crowd’s excitement.

“I was like, ‘Yo, who the f*ck is this dude?’” he recalled. Thankfully, his friend, wrestling journalist Kazeem Famuyide, was there to provide some context. “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! Let’s go!’”

Budden Thinks The Scripting Makes It Better

The fact that wrestling is scripted didn’t detract from his enjoyment; in fact, it enhanced it.

“I think that it’s just more beautiful to me knowing that it’s not real. It’s iller. That makes it ill,” he explained. “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.”

He also commented on the dedication of the wrestlers, who work 52 weeks a year.

“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.”

During the show, Budden witnessed a women’s tag team match featuring Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss against Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. He also saw Sheamus take on Rusev, declaring himself “team Rusev.”

Budden concluded by saying he would “definitely be back” and expressed interest in working with WWE in the future.

“It was inspiring; it was a sight to see. I’ll be back, and let’s work!”

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Who is Joe Budden?

Many people remember him from his huge 2003 hit “Pump It Up,” which even got a Grammy nomination. After a long career as a rapper, which included his time with the hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, he retired from the mic to focus on broadcasting. These days, he’s best known as the host of The Joe Budden Podcast, where his unfiltered and often controversial takes have earned him a reputation as a major media personality.

[via Fightful]