On his Off The Top podcast, Rikishi reacted to the viral claim by rapper Westside Gunn – who said he helped make WWE cool for the younger generation – and to Gunn being kicked out of RAW after spending over $5,000 on travel and tickets. Rikishi was surprised by Gunn’s ejection but made it very clear that WWE does not depend on celebrities for success.
The hosts brought up how Westside Gunn attended RAW, was thrown out during the first match, and later claimed WWE treated him like “nobody” despite being a longtime fan who frequently references wrestling in his music. Rikishi immediately said the situation felt suspicious. “It’s weird to me that he would pay $5,000 to come to the show and get kicked out within minutes,” Rikishi said. “Something really bad had to happen for you to get kicked out of a wrestling show.”
He said WWE removing a celebrity – especially one with a young audience – is extremely uncommon. “This is the first time I’ve heard of any celebrity being evicted from a WWE event,” Rikishi said.
The hosts then brought up Westside Gunn’s claim that he “made wrestling cool” again for the youth, implying WWE may not understand the value of his influence. At that point, Rikishi’s tone changed completely. “Are you stirring me up?” he asked. “My blood pressure’s rising!”
Rikishi was emphatic: WWE does not need celebrities to remain relevant. “WWE is too strong of a power,” he said. “Do you really think they need any celebrity’s help to get out there? Come on.” He clarified that while he always appreciated celebrities showing love, he never believed WWE depended on them to attract viewers.
He said he enjoyed meeting celebrities backstage during his career – from Chuck Norris to Snoop Dogg – but none of them defined WWE’s success. “It was cool when celebrities came to watch us,” he said, “but WWE is not relying on anybody to make them cool.”
While Rikishi expressed sympathy for Westside Gunn, saying he likes him and his music, he reiterated that WWE’s massive global machine does not require outside validation: “At the end of the day. WWE doesn’t need celebrities. They’re strong enough without them.”
According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE’s issues with Gunn stemmed from two points. One reason was that company officials were upset about Gunn using a Times Square photo of WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase and Virgil without proper clearance.
Secondly, WWE was also unhappy that members of Gunn’s crew publicly posted that they were bored and falling asleep during SummerSlam, while sitting in a suite at the stadium, something that reportedly rubbed the company the wrong way and contributed to the escalating tension.
Gunn said that while he still loves wrestling, he will stop promoting WWE moving forward and will instead focus on pushing his own brand, 4THROPE, which he says supports the culture out of genuine passion, not obligation.
