Grammy Award-winning musician Jelly Roll made his in-ring debut at WWE SummerSlam 2025, teaming with Randy Orton against Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul. Though he and Orton lost, Jelly Roll received praise for his performance, from fans as well as wrestlers. He can now count WWE star Jacob Fatu among his supporters, with Fatu recently praising the musician for his dedication to training while appearing on “The Bootleg Kev Podcast.”

“You see cats come in all the time and just get it in. You seen the transformation in him, but it was more than that,” he noted, adding that other WWE names like Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo helped train Jelly Roll as well. According to Fatu, the true proof of the artist’s character came into play after they were done training, when it was time to clean thing ring.

Fatu explained that Jelly Roll actually offered to help and didn’t make a scene about it, and while he was excused from helping out, he insisted and still offered his assistance. “Man, bro just cleaned the whole ring… Did what he had to do, wiped his feet, but also seeing the love and the passion,” he added. “Professional wrestling brings different colors, different cultures, different backgrounds [together].”

Jelly Roll has undergone an incredible physical transformation over the past two years, shedding plenty of weight while training to be a pro wrestler. This past Friday on “WWE SmackDown,” Jelly Roll picked up a win over Kit Wilson, potentially setting himself up for a match at WWE WrestleMania this year.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Bootleg Kev Podcast,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

On Monday night, WWE made a familiar trek to Madison Square Garden in New York City, with the famed arena hosting one of the last few “WWE Raw’s” on the Road to WrestleMania. While MSG has always been familiar stomping grounds for WWE, it’s become even more so recently, with Monday’s “Raw” the second time WWE has run the storied arena over the last four months, and the third time in the last year. And that trend will continue for WWE and MSG come this Summer.

During the commercial breaks on “Raw,” new WWE star Danhausen announced they will be returning to the Garden this Summer for another edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 18. The news, first reported last week, was further confirmed this morning in a press release, revealing that the MSG SNME will coincide with Fanatics Fest NYC Weekend, which is scheduled to take place from July 16 through July 19. Tickets for SNME will go on sale this Thursday.

The special will see SNME return to its roots, as the first two SNME specials in 1985 were held in the New York/New Jersey area. Despite that, this special will be only the fifth time WWE has run a SNME in New York or New Jersey, and only the second time SNME has taken place out of the Garden. The lone MSG/SNME special took place back in August 2007, headlined by CM Punk and The Boogeyman defeating John Morrison and Big Daddy V. The event also featured John Cena defeating Carlito in singles action, and Evander Holyfield facing Matt Hardy in a boxing match.

In today’s pro wrestling landscape, many fans and wrestlers hold different opinions on the value of “work-rate” compared to storytelling and psychology. AEW star Chris Jericho is of the belief that many wrestlers have lost sight of what’s really important, as revealed in an interview with GamesHub.

“Match quality has become so overemphasized,” Jericho said. “Wrestling is about connecting with the crowd, capturing the imagination and the interest of the people watching.”

Jericho then reflected on his WWE WrestleMania 18 match against Shawn Michaels, which he previously referred to as one of his favorite storylines. He pointed out that this match had everything he just listed, but noted that they got there because of a great storyline. According to Jericho, many of today’s highest-rated matches don’t get the same kind of engagement from the live audience. 

“A five-star match should mean the crowd is going crazy in a sold-out stadium,” Jericho stated. “You can also have a five-star match in a community center in front of 50 people, so the rating in isolation is irrelevant. It’s character, its storyline, it’s charisma. That’s what wrestling is about — it was in the 1930s and it is now.”

Jericho believes that a given star’s success in pro wrestling should depend on their connection with the audience, with the AEW star citing The Ultimate Warrior as an example of someone who didn’t have “great matches” but built a relationship with fans nonetheless.

At 55 years old, Jericho acknowledged his limited time left in the industry. However, looking at the current state of the industry, he isn’t too sure if today’s wrestlers will reach the same point of their careers. “You can already see what serious injuries do – a bad neck surgery changes everything,” Jericho warned. “The longevity may be harder to sustain when there’s so much emphasis on the physical at the expense of charisma and character.”